Writing Process.
5 methods to paragraph organization
1. Chronological Order 2. Spatial Order 3. Order of Importance 4. Cause and Effect Order 5. Compare and Contrast Order
4 areas to consider when revising for ideas
1. Clarity or Purpose 2. Interest 3. Unity of Ideas 4. Coherence
6 methods or modes of writing
1. Descriptive 2. Expository 3. Narrative 4. Persuasive 5. Academic 6. Personal
5 areas to consider when revising for style
1. Emphasis 2. Precise Words 3. Conciseness 4. Smoothness 5. Fresh Words
Topic Sentence
1. Expresses the main idea in a paragraph in a single sentence 2. Lays the groundwork for the words to follow
7 paragraph development strategies
1. Fact 2. Example 3. Statistics 4. Incident or Anecdote 5. Sensory Detail 6. Reasons 7. Compare and Contrast
5 strategies when choosing a topic
1. Listing 2. Questioning 3. Brainstorming 4. Free-writing 5. Interviewing
5 proofreading strategies
1. Read a piece several times 2. Read slowly 3. Read aloud 4. Read backwards 5. Read specifically
4 areas to consider when revising for correctness
1. Sentence Structure 2. Usage 3. Spelling, Punctuation, Capitalization 4. Coherence
5 different purposes of a paper
1. To describe 2. To persuade 3. To entertain 4. To analyze 5. To inform
2 different outline forms
1. Topic 2. Sentence
Questioning
1. Who 2. What 3. When 4. Where 5. Why 6. How
3 questions when considering your audience
1. Who is my audience? 2. What does my audience already know about my topic? 3. What does my audience not know that would interest or that they need to know?
Incident or Anecdote
A brief personal account that illustrates the topic
Spatial Order
A description according to how something is arranged in physical layout
Compare and Contrast Order
A description of two or more persons or things that emphasizes points of similarity and points of difference
Statistic
A fact expressed in numbers
Order of Importance
A move from least important to most important or vice versa
Chronological Order
A presentation of events in the order of their occurrence
Fact
A statement that can be proved
Cause and Effect Order
An explanation of a cause and its effect or of an effect and its cause
Example
An instance or an event that illustrates a point
Emphasis
Are the important ideas central or emphasized? Do wrong or unimportant ideas stand out?
Combine short and ___ sentences
Choppy
Be ___ in your thinking
Clear
Express ___ thoughts
Complete
Choose a ___ title
Creative
Descriptive
Describes an object, person, or place
Usage
Do any subjects and verbs or pronouns and antecedents disagree? Have you used correct pronoun case and reference?
Spelling, Punctuation, Capitalization
Do you have any spelling errors? Are sentences punctuated and words capitalized correctly?
Interest
Does the beginning grab the reader's attention? Do details throughout the piece make the reader want to continue reading?
Sentence Structure
Does your paper contain sentence errors?
Smoothness
Does your writing contain awkward or rough parts?
Sentence Fluency
Effective writing flows from sentence to sentence. But it isn't, by any means, predictable. Sentences vary in length, and they don't all begin in the same way. Sentence fluency gives rhythm to writing, which makes the writing enjoyable to read.
Ideas
Effective writing presents interesting and vital information about a specific topic. It has a clear purpose or focus. Donald Murray states, "It has a controlling vision, which orders what is being said." The ideas are thoroughly elaborated and analyzed and hold the reader's attention from start to finish.
Practice ____ basic ideas
Expanding
Academic
Focuses on demonstrating a specific academic skill
Conventions
Good writing follows the accepted standards of punctuation, mechanics, usage, and spelling. It is edited with care to ensure that the work is accurate and easy to follow.
Precise Words
Have you chosen nouns and verbs that are imprecise or general?
Outlining
Helps organize your thought and put them in a logical manner
___ stylistic sentences
Imitate
Word Choice
In good writing, the nouns and verbs are specific. The modifiers are colorful (and used somewhat sparingly). The overall level of language helps to communicate the message and set an appropriate tone. In short, all the right words are in all the right places.
Organization
In terms of basic structure, good writing has a clearly developed beginning, middle, and ending. Within the text, transitions are used to show relationships between ideas. The overall arrangement of ideas unifies the writing and makes the writer's purpose clear.
Voice
In the best writing, you can hear the writer's voice -- her or his special way of expressing ideas and emotions. Voice gives writing personality: it shows that the writer sincerely cares about her or his topic and audience.
Expository
Informs about a topic; explains or analyzes a process; defines or classifies a topic
Unity of Ideas
Is everything included that needs to be included? Is there anything unnecessary in the piece?
Coherence
Is the relationship among ideas, sentences, and paragraphs obvious and logical?
Clarity of Purpose
Is your purpose clear from your topic sentence or thesis statement?
Fresh Words
Is your writing full of overused words and phrases?
Conciseness
Is your writing redundant? Are there too many cumbersome dependent clauses?
Choose a topic that you ____ ____ and ____
Know about and enjoy
Brainstorming
Listing everything about a topic
Mode
Method or form of writing
It is better to say ___ about ___ than ___ about ___
More, less, less, more
Speak ___ and ___
Naturally and Honestly
Topic Outline
Only words or phrases
Persuasive
Persuades readers to take action or to change their position on a topic
Narrative
Relates a story
Thesis statement is ___ to a topic sentence
Similar
Compare and Contrast
Similarities and differences between two things
Follow the rules of ___ English
Standard
Conclusion Sentence
Summarizes your main idea or gives a solution to a problem discusses in your paragraph
Personal
Tells an individual's own thoughts or feelings
Reasons
The explanation of a truth
Sensory Detail
The use of sense words - sight, sound, smell, taste, touch
Good writers cover topics ____
Thoroughly
Sentence Outline
Uses complete sentences
___ the pattern of your sentences
Vary
Participial Phrase
begin or end a sentence.
Series
combine three or more similar ideas.
Correlative Conjunction
compare or contrast two ideas in a sentence.
Appositive
for emphasis.
Relative Pronoun
introduce the subordinate (less important) ideas.
Jargon
language used in a certain profession or by a certain group of people/ usually very technical and not at all natural
Dangling Modifiers
modifiers that appear to modify the wrong word or a word that isn't in the sentence
Misplaced Modifiers
modifiers that have been placed incorrectly; therefore, the meaning of the sentence is not clear
Wordiness
occurs when extra words are used in a sentence such as a word, phrase, or synonym is repeated unnecessarily
Trite Expression
one that is overused and stale; as a result, it sounds neither sincere nor natural
Cliche
overused word or phrase that springs quickly to mind but just as quickly bores the user and the audience / gives the reader nothing new or original to think about
Indefinite Reference
problem caused by careless use of pronouns / as a result, readers are not sure who or what the pronoun(s) is referring to
Introductory Phrase or Clause
the less important ideas.
Incomplete Comparison
the result of leaving out a word or words that are necessary to show exactly what is being compared to what
Euphemism
word or a phrase that is substituted for another because it is considered a less offensive way of saying something
Deadwood
wording that fills up lots of space but does not add anything important or new to the overall meaning
Ambiguous Wording
wording that is unclear because it has two or more possible meanings
Flowery Language
writing that uses more or bigger words than needed / often contains too many adjectives or adverbs
