Writing Process
concluding paragraphs
ends the essay smoothly, not abruptly, flowing logically from the rest of the essay
problem and solution
informs the reader of the problem and suggests action to remedy problem (similar to a persuasive argument paper)
illustration
the topic sentence is stated and then followed by the details
style
the way the an author uses words, phrases, and sentences to formulate ideas
rhetorical features
style, tone, point of view, sarcasm, counterpoints, praise
points of discussion
supports the essay's thesis, each consisting of a general statement backed by specific details
quotations
the exact words of a source set off in quotation marks
prewriting
this stage of the writing process involve gathering and selecting ideas; teachers can help students in several ways: creating lists, researching, brainstorming,reading to discover more about the author's style, talking, collecting memorabilia or clips from other texts, and free-writing
purposes of writing
to express yourself, to inform a reader, to persuade a reader, to create a literary work
appeal to authority
type of argument in logic in which an expert or knowledgeable other is cited for the purpose of strengthening the argument
typical elements in informative essay
introductory paragraph, thesis statement, background information, points of discussion, concluding paragraph
persuasive
speech or written form in which one sets forth to convince
persuasive / argumentative writing
students learn rhetorical strategies to persuade others, such as by writing editorials, arguments, commentaries, and advertisements
scholarly writing
essays, research papers, biographies--these types of writing are most prevalent in middle or secondary level classrooms
counterpoints
use of contrasting ideas to communicate a message
sarcasm
use of positive feedback or cutting wit to mock someone
praise
use of positive messages to recognize or influence others
techniques for coherence
use transitional expressions, use pronouns effective, uses deliberate repetition effectively, use parallel structures effectively
APA
Salinger, J. D. (1945) 'The Catcher in the Rye.' New York: Little, Brown and Company.
source
a book, article, videotape, or any other form of communication
summary
a condensed statement of main points of someone else's passage expressed in your own words and sentence structure
paraphrase
a detailed statement of someone else's statement expressed in your own words and your own sentence structure
chronological order
a following of one thing after another (key words: after, next, afterward, during, preceding, finally, immediately, first, later, now)
revising
taking a draft from its preliminary to its final version by evaluating, adding, cutting, moving material, editing, and proofreading
climax
the details are stated first, followed by a topic sentence
revising
this is the stage of writing that involves rewriting or "re-seeing;" emphasis is place on examining sentence structure, word choice, voice, and organization of the piece
subject
topic that you are discussing
common transitional expressions and the relationships they signal
addition (also, in addition, too, moveover); example (for example, for instance, on the otherhand, nevertheless); contrast (but, yet, however, on the other hand); comparison (similarly, likewise, in the same way); concession (of course, to be sure, certainly, granted); result (therefore, thus, accordingly); summary (hence, in short, in brief, in conclusion, finally); time sequence (first, second, third, before, soon, later, subsequently, currently); place (in the front, in the foreground, in the back, at the side, adjacent, nearby)
specific language
vague words are avoided
unity
achieved when all parts of the essay relate to the thesis statement and to each other
peer review
acting a referee; evaluating a colleague's work professionally
mapping
also called clustering and webbing; more visual and less linear
rhetorical strategies
analogies, extended metaphor, appeal to authority, appeal to emotion
free writing
writing nonstop about anything
audience
the particular group of readers or viewers that the writer is addressing
comparison
the writer demonstrates similarities and differences between two or more subjects
analogies
are comparison of two pairs that have the same relationship
spatial sequence
spatial, geometrical, or geographical arrangement of ideas according to their position in space (examples: left/right, top/bottom, circular, adjacent)
publishing
the "going public" stage of writing
major activities of revision
add (insert needed words, sentences, paragraphs), cut (get rid of whatever goes off topic), replace (as needed, substitute words, sentences, paragraphs), move material around (changing sequence of paragraphs)
guidelines for evaluating evidence
is it sufficient? is it representative? is it relevant? is it accurate? are claims qualified?
introductory paragraph
leads into the topic of the essay, trying to capture the reader's interest
tone
the overall feeling created in a piece of writing
location
the writer describes a person, place, or thing and organizes it in the description in a logical manner
classification
the writer explains the relationship between terms and concepts
chronological order
the writer shows order of time or the steps in a process
cause and effect
the writer shows the relationship between events and their results
editing
this stage involves checking for style and conventions--spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation
journalistic questions
who? what? when? where? why? how?
MLA
Salinger, J.D. 'The Catcher in the Rye.' New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 1945.
types of presentation strategies
performing speeches, plays, videos; making a speech, participating in debate; creating booklets, brochures, family scrapbooks, or personal web pages; publishing a school newspaper, magazine, or portfolio; submitting work for publication beyond classroom for a literary magazine, local newspaper, professional publication for writers
Toulman's model of arguement
the claim, the support, the warrant
topic sentence
the first sentence of the paragraph; it gives the reader an idea of what the paragraph is going to be about
focus
your assertion that conveys your point of view
creative writing
provides students with the opportunity to play with language, to express emotions, to articulate stories, or to develop a drama for others to enjoy
types of source material
reference works, internet, student-created sources, other
shaping
calls for you to consider ways to organize your material
plagerizing
is to present another person's words or ideas as if they were your own
tone
part of your writing that is established by what you say and how you say it
writing activities
personal writing, workplace writing, subject writing, creative writing, persuasive writing, and scholarly writing
direct quotation
repeats another's words exactly and encloses them in quotation marks
coherence
when the essay supplies guideposts that communicate the relations among ideas
generalizations
can overstate or understate a fact; can cause skepticism; undermine the writer's authority; (key words: all, everyone, always, many, never, nobody); creates inaccuracies; can produce false statements
ways to organize a passage
chronological order, classification, illustration, climax, location, comparison, cause and effect
general reading public
composed of educated, experienced readers, people who read newspapers, magazines, and books
types of discourse
creative, expository, persuasive, argumentative
scoring rubics
descriptive scoring schemes that are developed by teachers and other evaluators to guide analysis of the products or process of a a students efforts; scoring requires certain criteria to be met; example: (3) meets expectation (2) adequate (1) needs improvement (0) inadequate
purpose
either to give your reader information or to persuade your readers to agree with you
portfolios
examples of student's essays, created to organize and explain their selections for end-of-term writing; reveals how much students learn from such reflection; careful attention to students reflections invites instructors to change their approach so that it encourages the process of learning that students describe
background information
gives basic material, providing a context for the points being made in an essay
development
arrange a paragraph, and specific, concrete support for the main idea of the paragraph
shaping
often called composing; putting together the ideas to create a composition
expository
speech or written form in which one explains or describes
compare and contrast
used to show similarities and differences (key words: although, but, still, yet, compared with, as opposed to, different from, either/or, neither/nor, in common, similarly
appeal to emotion
type of argument in which the author appeals to the readers emotions (fear, security, pity, flattery) to prove the argument
student-created sources
a student's personal dictionary of words to know or spell, note cards, graphic organizers, oral histories, and journals
other sources
film, art, media, and so on
formal outline guidelines
number, letters, indentations signaling groups and levels of importance; each level has more than one entry; all subdivisions are at the same level of generality; headings don't overlap; only first word (and proper nouns) of each entry capitalize; introductory and concluding paragraphs omitted, but thesis is state about the outline itself
internet
online: dictionaries, encyclopedias, writers' reference handbooks, books of lists, almanacs, thesauruses, books of quotations, and so on; various search engines and portals to gather ideas and information
stages of the writing process
prewriting (also called planning or rehearsal), shapping, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading and publishing
cause and effect
relationship occur whenever one event makes other events happen (key words: consequently, as a result of, accordingly,in order to, if/then)
indirect quotations
reports another's words without quotation marks except around words repeated exactly from the source
steps of revision
shifting mentally from judgment; read your draft to critically evaluate it; decide whether to rewrite or revise current draft; be systematic
creative
speech or written form in which one expresses thoughts and feelings with imagination and creativity
argument
speech or written form that debates or argues a topic in a logical way
thesis statement
states the central message of the essay, accurately reflecting the essay's content
personal writing
students can express their innermost thoughts, feelings, and responses through a variety of personal writing, including journal writing, diaries, logs, personal narratives, and personal essays
basic requirements for a thesis statement
subject, purpose, focus, specific language, briefly state subdivisions
point of view
the perspective from which a piece is written; first person, third person, omniscient, limited omniscient
audience characteristics
age, gender, ethic backgrounds, political philosophies, religious beliefs, roles (student, parent, voter, wage earner, property owner, veteran), interests hobbies, level of education, amount of general or specialized knowledge about the topic, preconceptions brought to the material
reference works
dictionaries, encyclopedias, writers' reference handbooks, books of lists, almanacs, thesauruses, books of quotations, and so on
evidence
facts, data, and opinions of others used to support assertions and conclusions
drafting
gathering ideas onto paper in sentences and paragraphs
holistic scoring
impressionistic; method based on theory that a whole piece of writing is greater than the sum of its parts; essays are read for a total impression they create, rather than individual aspects; grammar, spelling, and organization should not be considered as separate entities
drafting
in this stage, students begin writing, connecting, and developing ideas
evaluating
in this stage, the writer looks back at his/her work and self-evaluates, and the audience evaluates the effectiveness of the writing
elements in an argument
introductory paragraph, thesis statement, background information, reasons or evidence, anticipation of like objections and responses to them, concluding paragraph
extended metaphor
is a metaphor (a comparison of two unlike things) used throughout a work or over a series of lines in prose or poetry
process writing
learning how to write by writing; is an approach which encourages students to communicate their own written messages while simultaneously developing their literacy skills in speaking and reading rather than delaying involvement in the writing process, as advocated in the past, until students have perfected their abilities in handwriting, reading, phonetics, spelling, grammar, and punctuation
brainstorming
listing all the ideas that come to mind associated with the topic
workplace writing
middle and secondary level students learn how to prepare resumes, cover letters, job applications, and business letters
subject writing
middle and secondary level students learn how to write interviews, accounts, profiles, or descriptions to capture the meaning of the subject being written about
focused free writing
writing nonstop by starting with a set topic
guidelines for reasoning effectively in written arguement
be logical, enlist the emotions of the reader, establish credibility
graphic organizer
(some of which are also called concept maps, entity relationship charts, and mind maps) are a pictorial way of constructing knowledge and organizing information; they help the student convert and compress a lot of seemingly disjointed information into a structured, simple-to-read, graphic display; the resulting visual display conveys complex information in a simple-to-understand manner
self-assessment
can be used in a group work to assist students in raising their awareness about the quality of their contributions to the group; part of any writing assignment to summarize strengths and weaknesses they see in their writing
RENNS
a memory device to check for specific, concrete details: reason, examples, names, numbers, senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch)
assertion
a sentence stating your topic and the point you want to make about it
ways to avoid generalizations
be specific, use facts/data/statistics, use/attribute quotes; quantify don't qualify; use of "it seems," try not to overstate situation, base writing on authority, break down the topic
proofreading
calls for you to read your final copy for typing errors or handwriting legibility