Planning discovering and compiling ideas Shaping organize your material Drafting - writing your material into sentences

es and paragraphs Revising evaluate and rewrite by adding Click to edit Master subtitle style ,deleting, rewording, and rewording Editing check for grammar, spelling, punctuation and mechanics Proofread read to determine any errors
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Chapter 2 Academic Writing.

Not all topics are suitable for ACADEMIC WRITING. Topic has to have enough ideas and issues meaty enough to demonstrate your thinking and writing ability

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WRITING AS PROCESS: AN OVERVIEW

Think of writing as a process: a set of activities you go through to produce a finished product. This process has three distinct stages: Planning and Shaping, Drafting, and Revising/ Editing.

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Chapter 2

How to come up with ideas

Freewrite write nonstop Brainstorm list everything you can about a topic. Words, phrases, whatever comes top mind Journalists questions who, what, when, where, why, how Mapping - visual brainstorming Talk it over Read and Browse

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CLARIFYING GOALS

AUDIENCE: Who are your readers? PURPOSE: What do you want the What is their approximate as a reader to know, do, or feel age/ result interest and knowledge level/ of reading your text? educational level inevaluating, your subject? Are Are you informing, they experts, general public, your persuading, or entertaining? peers or fellow students?

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PLANNING AND SHAPING

Find a focus that fits your purpose and audience before you start. Gather ideas:

Keep a journal. Brainstorm or jot down lists of ideas. Free writing - let your mind go. Mind mapping / idea trees. 5 Ws - (Who, What, When, Where, and Why)

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WRITING OR DRAFTING

Getting your ideas into visible form:

Prioritize your ideas. Write complete sentences. Divide text into paragraphs. Organize paragraphs into Introduction, Body and Close.

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EDITING: EVALUATING YOUR DRAFT CRITICALLY AND MAKING CHANGES Large-scale changes: adding text, cutting, replacing words/phrases, rearranging parts. Editing: checking the correctness of grammar, spelling, punctuation and mechanics. Proofreading: are there any typos?

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WRITING AS PROCESS: LETS COMPARE METHODS

Think of the most unusual or eccentric person you have ever met. In 20 minutes, write a paragraph describing this person to your classmates. Concentrate on getting each sentence right as you go. Do not rewrite your paragraph.

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PLANNING AND SHAPING: PART I About your person, answer these questions:

When/where did you meet? What does he or she look/sound like? Face/ clothing/ hair/ body/ language/ accent? What are his or her tastes in movies/ books/ music/ food/ cars? How did he or she surprise/ teach/ inspire you?

Why should your classmates be interested in him or her? 4/22/12

PLANNING AND SHAPING: PART II

Close your eyes and imagine X doing something he or she typically does. Imagine every detail. Freewrite for 5 minutes about your image.

Write quickly. Dont edit as you go - just put down the words as fast as you can. If you get stuck, just write Im stuck, Im stuck until you think of something.

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DRAFTING

DRAFTING: FOCUSING:

Write a your free writing paragraph. Look at paragraph developing the idea you just wrote down. Take a new page and write down in one Use any relevant details from your sentence Xs single most striking/list or free writing. unusual feature.

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REVISING & EDITING

REVISING: Your classmates are the audience. Will you need additional detail for them to visualize what you mean? Make those additions now. EDITING: Check your paragraph for correctness of sentence structure, grammar, spelling and punctuation and correct errors now.

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REVISING

DETAIL: How have the details you mentioned helped create the central impression of the painting? ORGANIZATION: Is your paragraph organized? Is it coherent? Does it support your core sentence? WORD CHOICE: Are your words precise? Replace any vague words with more precise ones.
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Chapter 2

Thesis Statement

Thesis statement is the central idea of your essay. It states the essays subject It conveys the essays purpose, informative or persuasive It indicates your focus the assertion that presents your point of view It uses specific language It may be briefly state the major 4/22/12

THESIS SENTENCES FOR REVISION

Which of the following thesis sentences are effective? Ineffective? Explain what is wrong with each of the ineffective theses and revise them. Assume an essay of 500 words and an audience of generally educated adults whom you do not know personally.

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SAMPLE THESIS #1 ORIGINAL: George Washington was the first president of the United States. REVISED: As the first president of the United States, George Washington had to resist those who wanted to turn him into a king.

The original sentence is a statement of fact, something accepted as true rather than a worthwhile assertion.

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SAMPLE THESIS #2

ORIGINAL: Student government at my university is worthless. REVISED: Student government at my university has no money, no power, and no mandate.

The original sentence is unrestricted, with a vague predicate. It sounds like what will follow will be an emotional tirade rather than sound reason.

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Chapter 2 Elements in an informative essay

Introductory paragraph Thesis statement central message and appears in the introductory paragraph Background information provides a context for understanding the points Points of discussion supports the thesis statement
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Concluding paragraph

Chapter 2 Outline

Outline shows the relationship among ideas in a piece of writing. Use complete sentences Start with Roman numerals Big ideas Indent and go to Capital letters subjects under the big ideas
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THE INFORMAL OUTLINE

May be all that is needed to get started.

Valuable tool for timed writing, such as exams, as well as for writing with a deadline. Can take any shape the writer finds useful. Checks organization of what has been written. reveal flaws and show what needs

Useful in revision.

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THE FORMAL OUTLINE

Often produced for others. Rules for the formal outline:

Use consistent numbers for headings and subheadings. Follow either topic, sentence, or paragraph style throughout the outline. Use parallel structure. Avoid vague headings such as Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. sure to state your thesis at the top

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OUTLINE FORMAT THESIS STATEMENT I. First main idea A. First subordinate idea 1. First reason or example 2. Second reason or example B. Second subordinate idea II. Second main idea
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Chapter 3 Writing Paragraphs, Shaping essays

Paragraph is a logical unit that develops a single idea, often expressed as a topic sentence. Each sentence contributes to the papers thesis.

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REVISING FOR PARAGRAPH UNITY

Read the following paragraph carefully. Find the main idea, state it in a single sentence (topic sentence). Revise the paragraph to support that idea. Omit irrelevant details. Rearrange and condense material as necessary.

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SAMPLE PARAGRAPH #1
Now 97, Margaret Prescott remembers that the friends she made in her childhood were people who lived within two or three blocks of her house, and that was it. Today, we visit people who live 10-100 miles from where we are located on a daily basis with no problem. She remembers when McKinley was shot in the third grade; the newsboys who ran through the streets shouting Extra! Extra! Extra! she went to Mt Holyoke College in south Hadley, Massachusetts. Getting to the college was a chore: To get to South Hadley you had to get yourself to Boston by train, transfer stations, catch the train for Springfield, take a trolley car to the nearest town, which was Holyoke, and then get from there to South Hadley by horse and wagon and unload your bags. Once you were there you were lucky if you got to go home for Thanksgiving. Her husband worked for a family-owned firm which was a blacksmith shop. They made steel rims which would go around wooden spoked wheels on horse-drawn carriages and some other various parts. Then, as cars came with time, they made custom parts and did interior work. The first car they ever had was made by Ford and was called a Falcon Night; it was made in 1919 and had fold-out rumble seats in the back. 4/22/12

REVISED FOR UNITY

Listening to Margaret Prescott, 97, it becomes apparent that she lived through the evolution of transportation in America. Although we think nothing of visiting people who live 100 miles away, she remembers that in her childhood, the only friends her family made lived within two or three blocks of her house, and that was it. Later, when she went to college (Mt. Holyoke, South Hadley, Massachusetts) she found getting there a chore: To get to South Hadley you had to get yourself to Boston by train, transfer stations, catch the train for Springfield, take a trolley car to the nearest town, which was Holyoke, and then get from there to South Hadley by horse and wagon and unload your bags. Once you were there you were lucky if you got to go home for Thanksgiving. When she married, her husband worked for a family-owned blacksmith shop which made steel rims for the wooden-spoked wheels on horse-drawn carriages. When cars came, the shop switched to custom parts and interior work. The first car she and her husband ever had was a Falcon Night, made by Ford in 1919; 4/22/12 complete with fold-out rumble seats in back. it came

REVISING FOR COHERENT SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT

Descriptions are easier to follow when organized according to a coherent spatial order: top to bottom, left to right, inside to outside, and so on. Revise the following paragraph. Place sentences in a coherent spatial arrangement so your reader can stay located.

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REVISED FOR SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT

Everything about the family home in Fairfield, Connecticut, reminds me of my heritage. The great stone wall surrounding the house, with no mortar to hold the stones together, was placed there by my ancestors. The wall, however picturesque, also served a practical purpose: it made a convenient way to get rid of the rocks left behind by glaciers. Looking beyond the wall to the house itself, one sees the monotony of the thick windows broken up by an immense door with a character of its own. Its two sections open separately; the upper section sports an antique brass eagle knocker. Above the door is an elaborate stained-glass window shaped in a half-circle. Stepping inside the house one immediately notices the floor of long, wooden planks whose unevenness makes the house seem unbalanced. The foundation - the original foundation has settled unevenly. The cast-iron fireplaces have special areas for baking bread. The high, decorative ceiling creates a feeling of airiness. Other attributes include various steep swirling staircases, a trap door, and several small compartments. As a child I found these compartments a place of refuge - just as my grandmother probably had.
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REVISING FOR COHERENCE: CLIMACTIC ARRANGEMENT

Paragraphs can often be made more coherent and more emphatic by arranging details or examples in order of increasing importance - saving the best for last. Revise the following paragraph. Position the sentences and parts of sentences in climactic order.

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SAMPLE PARAGRAPH #3
Parents should spend more time providing their children with guidance and assistance, as opposed to punishment and criticism. Part of ensuring a childs mental and physical well-being is letting her know she is loved for what she is. But parents all too often place conditions on their love. Children learn to understand that they will be loved only if they get good grades. A B grade may be all right, but well love you more if you get an A. As Kathie Durbin points out in her article Grappling with Grades, children are an investment in time. Knowing the child and her abilities and limitations takes time and care. That means time spent just talking about anything thats important in the childs eyes. It means time spent together learning for fun. And it means time at the library and at home reading together. These are the things that can motivate a child, i.e., mold a 4/22/12 childs positive attitude toward learning at an early

REVISED FOR CLIMACTIC ARRANGEMENT

Part of motivating a child is letting her know she is loved for who she is. All too often parents place conditions on their love: a B grade may be all right, but well love you more if you get an A. Children learn that they will be loved only if they get good grades. As Kathie Durbin points out in her article Grappling with Grades, children are an investment in time. Knowing the child - abilities, limitations and all - takes time and care: time at the library and at home reading together, time spent together learning for fun, time spent just talking about anything thats important to the child, time providing guidance and assistance as opposed to punishment and criticism. These are the things that can motivate a child to learn.
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REVISING PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT: COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Comparison (which usually implies contrast) is a strategy of development that allows you to emphasize your point by inviting the reader to see how it is like (or unlike) something he or she is familiar with. Revise the following paragraph, strengthening the point by introducing comparison to the roles expected of boys.
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SAMPLE PARAGRAPH #4 Sex role stereotyping begins in early infancy and develops into outright discrimination by the age of puberty. Right from birth, certain prejudices and preconceptions are telegraphed to girls. Girl babies are coddled and cooed over. Toys are also chosen with specific connotations in mind. Girls get Barbie dolls, tea sets, nurses kits, ministoves. Later they go to ballet classes, piano lessons, and bake brownies with mom. Girls are isolated at home and learn to fear the world at large. 4/22/12

REVISED TO INTRODUCE COMPARISON

Sex role stereotyping begins in infancy and develops into outright discrimination by the age of puberty. Right from birth, boys and girls are treated differently; different prejudices and preconceptions are telegraphed to them. Boy babies are hoisted and roughhoused, girls are coddled and cooed over. Toys are also chosen with specific connotations in mind. Boys receive do-it-yourself kits, chemistry labs, baseballs, model ships. Girls get Barbie dolls, tea sets, nurses kits, mini-stoves. Later, boys ski, camp and play football with dad. Girls go to ballet classes, take piano lessons, and bake brownies with mom. Whereas boys are taught about organization and are exposed to social contacts, girls are isolated at home and learn to fear the world at large.
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REVISING FOR DEVELOPMENT: CAUSE AND EFFECT

When you find yourself trying to explain why something happened, or happens, you are probably thinking about cause and effect relationships. Recognizing that you are doing so may help you to sharpen the focus of an otherwise sprawling paragraph. Revise the following paragraph, emphasizing the various causes of the American tendency to take sports seriously. 4/22/12

SAMPLE PARAGRAPH #5
One might ask: why are people so serious about sports? The answers to this question could be many. For one, people can release their aggressions through sports. Kicking a ball, hitting it with a bat, punching another man in the face can feel good for both participants and spectators. Just think, one man can get in a boxing ring with another and beat him up and its perfectly all right. All right, people love to see it. They cheer them on, Yeah, Ali, get him on the left, the left. Ah, hes down, hes down! Some people make bets on the game. If they win, great, but think of the risk people are willing to take on a boxing match or a horse race. Sports can be healthy. Its good exercise, and again a good way to get out some aggressions, its legal, you can almost always find someone else who wants to play. Sometimes I think sports can be political. When judges announce the score in Olympic games, why is it certain countries that are allies will give the same scores to a country they are not friendly with? Americans are always more aware of U.S. against U.S.S.R. than U.S. against 4/22/12 Canada.

REVISED TO EMPHASIZE CAUSE AND EFFECT

Why do Americans take sports so seriously? No doubt, there are many reasons. Sports are legal, for one, and they provide good exercise. People can release their aggressions through sports: kicking a ball, hitting it with a bat, punching an opponent in the face. Those who do not participate in sports themselves can indulge their aggressive appetites vicariously. They cheer as one man beats up another in the ring; they may become even more involved by placing bets. When the Olympics roll around, rooting for the home team may even take on political overtones. Few get as excited watching the American team play against Canada as they do when Russia is the opponent. Even the judges reflect this partisanship, giving higher scores to athletes from their allies countries. Why take sports seriously? Because the nations pride is at stake. 4/22/12

INTRODUCTORY STRATEGIES: SOME GUIDELINES FOR INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS Provide relevant background information. Tell a brief interesting story or anecdote. Give a pertinent statistic or statistics. Ask one or more provocative questions. Use an appropriate quotation. Make a useful analogy. Define a term used throughout the essay. CAUTION: Dont open with a dictionary definition of a term your audience already knows the meaning of - unless you intend to disagree with the 4/22/12 dictionary.

AVOID THESE IN INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS

Stating the obvious:

In this paper I will discuss the causes of falling oil prices. My assignment is to discuss Hamlets indecision.

Apologizing: Im not sure Im right, but here is my opinion. Clichs: Haste makes waste, War is hell, etc.

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CONCLUDING STRATEGIES: SOME GUIDELINES

Use the devices suggested for introductory paragraphs; avoid using the same device in the introduction and the conclusion. Summarize the main points of the essay. Call for awareness and/or action. Point to the future.

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WHAT TO AVOID IN CONCLUDING PARAGRAPHS

Avoid going off track: Dont introduce a new idea or fact that belongs in the body of the essay. Avoid rewording the introduction: If the two parts of your essay are interchangeable, you need to revise. Avoid announcing what you have done: e.g., In this paper I have tried to show the main causes for Avoid making absolute claims: This proves that Use This seems to prove that Avoid logical fallacies: Conclusions are vulnerable to errors in reasoning.
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apologizing: This casts doubt on your

Drafting and Revising

Click to edit Master subtitle style

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THREE WAYS TO DRAFT

After planning, you are ready to write.

Get started. Dont wait until you have every detail. Your plan is likely to change as you write. Remember that

There will be a second draft, and perhaps a third or fourth. Press on. Dont try to solve every problem as you go.

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WRITE A DISCOVERY DRAFT

Put aside all your notes from planning and shaping. As you write, be open to discovering ideas and making connections. Click to edit Master subtitle style When you finish a Discovery Draft, you can use it as your first draft or as part of your notes.

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WRITE A STRUCTURED FIRST DRAFT

Use your notes from planning and shaping as you write. Work through all of your material. Draft either the entire essay or one or two paragraphs at a time, depending on the length of your essay.

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COMBINE APPROACHES

When you know the shape of the material, write according to that structure. When you feel stuck about what to say next, switch to writing as you would for a Discovery Draft.

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HOW CAN YOU GET THE PERSPECTIVE TO REVISE YOUR ESSAY WELL?

Use an outline to revise: number each paragraph, then write a word/phrase that summarizes the paragraph. If you cannot summarize it, you probably have too many ideas in one paragraph. Ask yourself:

What central idea (thesis) do your phrases add up to? Are there repetitions of ideas?

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REVISING FOR EVIDENCE AND DETAIL

While one early draft may be a profusion of detail without order, another may be fairly well organized, but empty, lacking concrete detail or evidence. Remember that your reader cant follow you to your conclusion if you havent given them enough of the evidence that got you there. Read your copy of the first draft of Role Your Own and ask yourself:

What points need to be expanded? What key assertions go unsupported?

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ROLE YOUR OWN

Anne was a young girl with two children. Pregnant with her first at sixteen, she dropped out of school. At this point it was obvious her life was going to have some drastic change. She would not graduate from high school as her friends would. With no job, she lived off welfare in a tenement. After two years, she had a second child. This one she sold on the black market. Anne had lost all sense of direction in her life. What she was living with was a role she hated. She wanted to make a change in her life, but couldnt.
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ROLE YOUR OWN (cont)

Though society may dictate roles to those who have no identity of their own, with time and thought, one can choose his (or her) own role. Some people may show this in a large and obvious way. Others do it a little at a time. My first two years in high school were a complete disaster. I was not happy in the schools I was placed in. I skipped a lot of classes and was labeled a delinquent. Then I went through a metamorphosis. I went to a new school where I proved that an individual, along with a little help from friends, can pull him/herself together and take on a new and better role.
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ROLE YOUR OWN (cont) In the film, Diner, Beth is what the society of her time (the fifties) considered a fulfilled woman because she was married. At that time the role of women was on the verge of change with still a long way to go. Women were not nearly as career-minded and rights-oriented as their sixties counterparts were to become. Instead, a womans aspiration was to be married. But Beth is not so sure this is her aspiration. She questions her status.
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ROLE YOUR OWN (cont)

Women are a prime example of how a group of peoples roles can change with time and thought. Up until recently, women had limited rights and specific duties. Then, there seemed to be an awakening consciousness to the opportunities that could exist for women. Maybe Beth couldnt change; perhaps she lived too early. But I changed and so did Anne, who went on to become an investment broker. Once a person can realize what is most important to them in life, they can begin to mold their own role outside of what society may expect of them.
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REVISING ROLE YOUR OWN

1.

Anne was a young girl with two children. Pregnant with her first at sixteen, she dropped out of school. At this point it was obvious her life was going to have some drastic change. She would not graduate from high school as her friends would. With no job, she lived off welfare in a tenement. After two years, she had a second child. This one she sold on the black market. Anne had [lost all sense of direction] in her life. What she was living with was a role she hated. She wanted to make a change in her life, but couldnt.

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REVISING ROLE YOUR OWN (cont)

2.

Though society may dictate roles to those who have no identity of their own, with time and thought, one can choose his (or her) own role. Some people may show this in a large and obvious way. Others do it a little at a time. My first two years in high school were [a complete disaster]. I was not happy in the schools I was placed in. I skipped a lot of classes and was labeled a delinquent. Then I went through a metamorphosis. I went to a new school where I proved that an individual, along [with a little help from friends], can [pull him/herself together] and take on a new and better role.

3.

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REVISING ROLE YOUR OWN (cont)

4.

In the film, Diner, Beth is what the society of her time (the fifties) considered a fulfilled woman because she was married. At that time the role of women was on the verge of change with still a long way to go. Women were not nearly as career-minded and rightsoriented as their sixties counterparts were to become. Instead, a womans aspiration was to be married. But Beth is not so sure this is her aspiration. She questions her status. 4/22/12

REVISING ROLE YOUR OWN (cont)

Women are a prime example of how a group of peoples roles can change with time and thought. Up until recently, women had limited rights and specific duties. Then, there seemed to be an awakening consciousness to the opportunities that could exist for women. Maybe Beth couldnt change; perhaps she lived too early. But I changed and so did Anne, who went on to become an investment broker. Once a person can [realize what is most important to them in life], they can begin to mold their own role outside of what society may expect of them.

5.

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