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THEWRITINGPROCESS:Thebestwritingisdone,notlastminute,butthroughaprocessusingthesestages:
• Freewriting:writingcontinuously lettingthoughtsunselfconsciouslyflow(oftenforabout10to20mins)withoutregardtospelling,grammar,styleetc.,andnocorrections aremade. An excellent technique to push through writer’s blockandtoexploreagiventopic.
• Brainstorming: is like freewriting in thatyouwritedownwhatcomes tomind,but it is different because it is a list ofwords andphrases andnot a string ofsentences.
• Journalistquestions: creatingquestionsusing:Who?,What?,When?,Where?,Why?,andHow?Then,writingoutsentencesorphrases inanswer,astheyfityourparticulartopic.
• Clustering/listing:methodsusedtoorganize ideas.Clustering involvescreatinganinformalmapwithyourmainideainacentercirclewiththesupportingideasandevidenceincirclesconnectedtothemainideaatthecenter. Listing isthemost informal kind of outline in which you jot down your main points andpossiblesupportingpointsandevidence.
• Outlining:aformalized,logicaloverviewofanessayin“skeletal”formconsistingof the thesis, the main supporting points, and the specific evidence used toillustrateandprovethesupportingpoints.
• Drafting: using an outline and focusing on proving amain idea, compose theessayandincludeanintroduction,bodyparagraphsandaconclusion.Therewillbemultipleversionsinthedraftingstageasyougetyourideasintheshapeyouwantthemtobe.
• Revising: the larger elements of writing generally receive attention first—thefocus,organization,paragraphing,content,andoverallstrategy.Revisingusuallydealswith chunksof text longer thana sentence, and frequently canbequitedramatic.Wholeparagraphsmightbedropped,othersadded.Eventhecontentmightchangedramatically,fortheprocessofrevisingstimulatesthought.
• Editing/Proofreading:checkingsuchthingsasgrammar,mechanics,andspelling.Don'tedityourwritinguntiltheotherstepsinthewritingprocessarecomplete.
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WRITINGASAPROCESSNOTAPRODUCT
Theicebergdiagramabovegivesavisualimageofthewritingprocess.Unfortunately,many“wreck”themselvesbyjustfocusingonthefinalproductratherthanprocess.Thiscangiveyouwriter'sblockandnon‐processwritingisnotgoingtobeyourstrongestorbesteffort.Pre‐verbal,subconsciousstage:Thewritingprocessdoesn'tstartwhenyoubegintypingupyourpaper.Thewritingprocessbeginsasyoustartexaminingyourfeelings,thoughts,andideasonatopic.Invention:Youmoveonnexttoinventionasyoustartfocusingyourtopicinyourmind,gatheringinformationasyoudiscussthetopicwithothers,doingresearch,andbrainstormingyourthoughtsusingwordsandphrases.Composing/Drafting:Then,youmoveontocomposing/drafting.Atthisstage,youstartgettingideasdownonpaper,extendingsomeideas,limitingothersthataren'tpanningout.Manywriterssaythattheydidn'tknowwhattheythoughtuntiltheysawwhattheythought.Youmightdiscoverwhatyouthinkasyouwriteonatopicandyourfocusandargumentmightchangeandevolveasyouwrite.Revising:Onceyouhaveadraftofapaper,thewritingprocessisn'tover.Themostimportantstepisnext:revising.Askanyprofessionalwriterands/hewilltellyouthat"thebestwritingisrewriting"(E.BWhite).Inrevising,yougettoreworktheideasintoalogical,clear,andcreativepaper.Revisinginvolvesglobalchangeslikemovingparagraphs,deletingwholesectionsoftextthataren’tworking,
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andrewritingideastoclarifythem.Editing:Thisisthefinalstep.Unfortunately,manystudentshavethefalseimpressionthatthisisthefirstandmostimportantstep.Editingiscorrectingsentence‐levelerrorslikespelling,punctuationandgrammar.Ifyoumakethemistakeandstartoutediting,you'llover‐correctwritingthatmayormaynotmakeitintothefinaldraft.Getyourpaperintotheshapeyouwantitandeditasalaststepbeforeyouturnitin.PLANNING:Agoodearlystepinthewritingprocessisplanning.Accessyourwritingsituationbyaskingquestions:Subject: Isyoursubjectworthwritingabout?Howbroadlycanyoucoverthesubject?Doyou
needtonarrowittoamorespecifictopic?Howdetailedshouldyoube?
Sources:Wherewillyourinformationcomefrom:Personalexperience?Directobservation? Interviews?Questionnaires?Research?Coursereadings?Purpose: Whyareyouwriting:Toinformreaders?Topersuadethem?Toentertainthem?To
callthemtoaction?Somecombinationofthese?
Audience: Howwellinformedareyourreadersaboutthesubject?Whatdoyouwantthemtolearnaboutthesubject?Howinterestedandattentivearetheylikelytobe?Willtheyresistanyofyourideas?Howsophisticatedareyourreaders?
Length: Areyouworkingwithanylengthspecifications?Ifnot,whatlengthseemsappropriategivenyoursubject,yourpurpose,andyouraudience?
Deadline: Whatisyourdeadline?Howmuchtimewillyouneedtoallowforthevariousstagesofwriting,includingtypingandproofreadingthefinaldraft?FREEWRITINGAgreatplacetobeginafteraccessingthewritingsituationisFreewriting.Freewritingiswritingcontinuouslylettingthoughtsunselfconsciouslyflow(oftenforabout10to20mins)withoutregardtospelling,grammar,styleetc.,andnocorrectionsaremade.Thisisanexcellenttechniquetopushthroughwriter’sblockandtoexploreagiventopic.Sincewriter’sblockmeansthatyouaren’twriting,oneofthequickestwaystogetarounditistowriteanythingatall.Youcanwritewhateveryouarethinking,feeling,wonderingabout,ortryingtogetoutofyourmind—juststartwriting.Theonlyrulehereisthatyoumustnotstoptocorrectspelling,grammar,orpunctuation,orotherpartsofyourwriting.Setatimelimitforyourselfandjust
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keepwriting.Let’ssayyouweregiventhefollowingwritingassignmentontheGaryLarsoncartoonbelow:ExplaintheintendedhumorofthisGaryLarsoncartoon.Whyisitfunny?FREEWRITINGEXAMPLETohelpyougetstarted,youmighttryfreewritingfirst.Hereishowsomefreewritingmightlook:Okay—timetostartwriting—butwhattowrite??Thecartoonissortoffunny,butsowhat?WhatcouldIpossiblywriteaboutthis?Ireallydon’tknow.HowamIgoingtowriteawholepaperonthis!Ithoughtitwasfunny,butIdon’treallyknowwhy.AndI’llbetsomepeoplethinkit’sstupid.WhatcouldIwrite?MaybeIcould—no.WhydoIthinkit’sfunny?Well,partlybecauseI’vebeenstuckjustliketheguyinthepicture.IguessIkindofrelatetohim.Butit’salsofunnybecauseofthecow.Imean,anyoneknowswhatacow’sheadlookslike,sowhyisthisguyconfused?Maybethat’swhyit’sfunny.Hereallyshouldn’tbeconfused.Hehasn’teventhoughtofacow’sheadyet.IknowsomeartistsaretormentedgeniuseslikeVanGoghbutobviouslynotthisguy.Also,Ithinktheguy’sappearancelooksprettystrange.ForartistsInormallythinkofMichelangeloorPicasso,notthisguy.He’sreallyfreakingout—bug‐eyes—andhe’sjustanoverallstrangelookingguy.Also,he’smakingabigdealoutofsomethingsosimpleandobvious.Iguesswealldothatatonetimeoranother.Whataboutthecaption?Howdoesthataddtothehumorofit?Inormallythinkofartassomethingmorecomplicatedthancows.Artisusuallysortofloftyandgrandandthiscartoonseemstobemakingfunofthat.
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FREEWRITINGPRACTICEUsingthemostrecentlyassignedreadinginthiscourse,freewriteonitfor10‐15minutes.Donotstoptocorrectgrammarorspelling;justwriteyourreactiontoandthoughtsonwhatyouhaveread:
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BRAINSTORMINGBrainstorming:Brainstormingislikefreewritinginthatyouwritedownwhatevercomestomindwithoutstopping,butitisdifferentbecauseitlooksmorelikealistofwordsandphrasesthanastringofsentences.Here’sanexampleusing“TheArtist’sBlock”GaryLarsoncartoon:BRAINSTORMINGEXAMPLEExplaintheintendedhumorofthisGaryLarsoncartoon.Whyisitfunny?‐‐cowwithnohead‐‐manstuck—can’tthinkofacow’shead‐‐bug‐eyes‐‐lookofpanic‐‐frustration—handsbyhead‐‐fatstomach—scragglybeard‐‐artistsastormentedgeniuses,likeVanGogh‐‐artistsoftenfacepersonalstruggles‐‐otheranimalheads‐‐obviouslynottheanswer‐‐worryingoversomethingsimple—funny‐‐“artist’sblock”—usually“art”ishigher‐minded‐‐makingfunofloftyandgrandideasofwhatartisBRAINSTORMINGPRACTICEFocusingontheassignedreadingyoujustdida10‐15minutefreewriteon,brainstormyourreactiontoit:
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JOURNALISTS’QUESTIONSAsking questions: Another method used to gather ideas on a topic is to ask the “Journalists’Questions”(who,what,when,where,whyandhow)whichcauseyouto lookatallaspectsofyoursubject.Throughanswering thesequestions,youcandiscover interesting information thatyoucanuse forwriting. One student, whose subjectwas the negative reaction in 1915 to D.W. Griffith’ssilentfilmTheBirthofaNation,beganexploringhertopicwiththissetofquestions:
Whoobjectedtothefilm? Wherewereprotestsmoststronglyexpressed?Whatweretheobjections? Whydidprotestersobjecttothefilm?Whenwereprotestsfirstvoiced? Howdidprotestersmaketheirviewsknown?
JOURNALISTS’QUESTIONSPRACTICE:Examineyourparticularwritingtopicandcreatequestionsusingthefollowingquestionwords.Onceyoubeginansweringyourquestions,youwillhaveevenmorematerialyoucanusetomakeyourargument.WhoWhatWhenWhereWhyHow
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CLUSTERINGAfteryougenerate ideasonyour topic (usingmethods like freewritingandbrainstorming)youwillwant toselectcertain ideasand thencategorizeandorganizeyour information. One technique tohelpyougroupyour ideas iscalledclustering. Itdiffers frombrainstormingandfreewriting inthatwhatyoucreateisaninformalmap.Tocreateacluster,firstwritedownyourwritingpromptoryouranswertotheprompt(yourroughthesis)anddrawacirclearound it. Thenwritedownideasthatrespond to thewriting prompt and draw a circle around each new idea and connect them to thecenter. Clustering provides amental picture organizing the ideas you generate and showing howthey connect to one another. Here’s an example using the material generated on Larson:
Why did I laugh?
Because Larson is making fun of art as being pretentious
Cow as “art” purposefully silly
Mockery of the tormented artist
Appearance of artist not typical
fat
Bug eyes
Holding head
Over silly thing
Look of panic
Pokes fun at artist struggles
Cow with no head
Can’t think of correct head
Van Gogh
Cows are dumb animals
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CLUSTERINGPRACTICE:Examinethe ideasyouhavegeneratedontheassignedreading. Now, lookforwaystogroupyourinformationintosharedcategoriestocreateacluster:
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LISTING:
Anothermethodusedtoorganizeyourideasiscalledlisting.Thisisthemostinformalkindofoutlineinwhichyoujotdownyourmainpointsandpossiblesupportingexamplesanddetails. Thiskindofoutlineisforyouonly,andyoudon’tneedtoworryaboutmakingitmorecomprehensiveifitdoesthejobforyou.Manystudentsfindthiskindofoutlinehelpfulintakingtimedessayexamsbecauseitisbriefenoughtooccupyaverysmallspace,anditdoesn’ttakemuchtimetoproduce.Ifwelistour ideas in regards to the Larson cartoon instead of clustering them, here is how it might look:WhydidIlaugh??BecauseLarsonismakingfunofartasbeingpretentious1.Cowas“art”purposefullysilly ‐‐Cowwithnohead ‐‐Can’tthinkofcorrecthead
‐‐Cowsaredumbanimalstobeginwith2.Appearanceofartistnottypical ‐‐frustration ‐‐bug‐eyes ‐‐lookofpanic ‐‐holdinghead ‐‐fat3.Mockeryofthetormentedartist ‐‐Oversillything ‐‐Pokesfunatartiststruggles ‐‐VanGogh
LISTINGPRACTICE:Lookatyourfreewritingandbrainstormandgroupyourmainideasintosharedcategoriestocreatealistbelow:
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OUTLINING:Whyoutline?Onceyouhavesettledonathesisstatementandyourmainsupportingideas,youcanwriteaformaloutline,creatingthe“skeleton”ofyouressay.Lookingatyourideasthiswaycanhelpensure:• Yourmainpointsareon‐topicanddirectlysupportyourthesis• Youorderyourmainpointslogically• Youemphasizemoreimportantideasandsubordinatelessimportantideas• YouhavesufficientevidenceforeachofyourmainpointsHowtowriteaformaloutline:Beforeyoubegin:• Double‐checkthatyourthesisstatementmakesaclearandspecificclaimaboutyourtopic,a
claimyouwillthenneedtosubstantiateinthebodyofyouressay.Formoreinformationonhowtowriteastrongthesisstatement,seethe“ThesisStatements”section.
• Writeouteachofyoursupportingpointsincompletesentencesorclear,unambiguousphrases.Onceyouhaveeverythingready,youcanstarttoarrangeyourideasintoaformaloutline.1) Writeyourthesisstatementatthetopofthepage.2) Grouprelatedideasandcategorizethemaccordingtotheirlevelofgenerality—howgeneralor
specifictheyare.Inaformaloutline,thismeans:
• UseRomannumerals(I,II,III,IVetc.)foryourmajorpoints• Usecapitalletters(A,B,C)forsub‐points• Useregularnumbers(1,2,3,4)formorespecificsupportingideas• Uselower‐caseletters(a,b,c)foryourmostspecificsupportingdetails
Eachtimeyoumovetoamorespecificlevel,indent.
3)Arrangeyourmainpointsinalogicalorder.4)Re‐readandrevise.Justlikewriting,constructinganoutlineisaprocess,andyourfirst“draft”mightneedsomeadjustmentstoyourideasandorganization.
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SampleoutlineThesis:Thedystopiapresentedin1984representsnotonlyadanger,butthepossibleoutcomeofthefateofmankind,asOrwellsawit,withtheriseofpower‐hungrysupernationsmarchingtowardstherealmoftotalitarianrule;apremonitionofthefuturewhichmustbeheededlestaworkoffictionbecomereality.
I. Introductiona. Definetheidealofutopianisminthepre‐WWIIerab. DemonstratehowWWIIshatteredtheutopianmindsetc. Definetotalitarianism/dystopiad. OutlinethepossibledangersenvisionedbyOrwellandstatethesis
II. Socialism,CapitalismandthepotentialforTotalitarianisma. Orwellasasocialist
1) Whywriteabookthatseemstodamnsocialism(Ingsoc)?2) FearofthecrueltieshewitnessedinSpainandtheUSSR
b. Applicabilityoftotalitarianismtoanyformofgovernment1) Hownotjustsocialismcanfallintototalitarianism2) Thedriveforpowerandcontrolispresentinanyseatofauthority
III. TheworldofWorldWarIIa. ThemajorpowersofWWIIandtheirrepresentationin1984
1) AmericaandUK‐Oceania2) Russia‐Eurasia3) ChinaandJapan–Eastasia
b. Thedangersoftotalitarianism1) FascisminGermany,Italy/SpainandtheUSSR2) Crueltiesemployedtomaintainpower
c.TheextenttowhichthesetotalitariangovernmentswenttomaintainpowerIV. Whatisatriskifweheaddownthispath? a.Agovernmentshouldbeforthepeople,bythepeopleWemustn’tbedupedbyfears/liesintosurrenderingtoourgovernments b.IfwelosesightofthatwebecomeslavesWegiveupourrights(privacy,press,eventhought)
c. Peoplemustbetheirownadvocates1) Demandtheirrightsandmaintainasystemofchecksandbalances2) Thegovernorsshouldfearthegoverned
‐ConclusionOrwell’swarning–makethewestwearyoftheriseofcommunismAdapthismessagetomodernday–howitisstillapplicablenow
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Organizingyouroutline:Whendecidinghowtoorderyourpoints,yourfirstconsiderationshouldbelogic:howdoesonepointleaduptoorbuilduponanother.Additionally,youmightalsoconsider:
• Climax:Presentyourideassotheybuildtoaclimax,endingwithyourmostdramaticexamples.• Complexity:Startwithsimplerideasandbuildtomorecomplexones.• Familiarity:Startwithmorefamiliaridesandmovetowardsnewerones.• Audienceappeal:Startwith“safe”ideasandmovetomorechallengingones.Comparison/ContrastoutlinesOrganizationally,essaysthataskyoutocompareand/orcontrasttwoitemscanbechallenging.Thefollowingtwoformatscanhelpyouorganizeyourideas:Blockstyle:lookfirstatoneitemandthenthenext,usingthesamecriteriaeachtime.Forexample:I.Mitchell’sIceCreamA.ValueB.QualityofingredientsC.Taste
II.CiaoBellaIceCreamA.ValueB.QualityofingredientsC.Taste
Point‐by‐point:Lookatthetwoitemssimultaneously,comparingthemonthesamecriteria.Forexample:I.ValueA.Mitchell’sIceCreamB.CiaoBellaIceCream
II.QualityofingredientsA.Mitchell’sIceCreamB.CiaoBellaIceCream
III.TasteA.Mitchell’sIceCreamB.CiaoBellaIceCream
Someotherhintsforusingoutlineseffectively:• Outliningisbetterfororganizingideasthangeneratingthem.Itwillbeeasierforyoutoconstruct
aformaloutlineifyou’vefirstthoroughlyexploredyourideasthroughfreewriting,brainstorming,clustering,etc.
• Printoutyouroutlineandhaveitnexttoyouasyourwritesothatyoucanreferenceiteasily.• Useyouroutlineasaguide,butdon’tbeafraidtodeviatefromitifyoufindyourideasare
changingasyouwrite.
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OutliningChecklist:“Bywritinganoutlineyoureallyarewritinginaway,becauseyou’recreatingthestructureofwhatyou’regoingtodo.OnceIreallyknowwhatI’mgoingtowrite,Idon’tfindtheactualwritingtakesallthatlong.”‐‐TomWolfe
Pleasewritefeedbackonyourclassmates’outlinesfocusingonthefollowingareas:(1) Thesis:Doesthethesismakeastatementthatcanbeargued?Askyourself,canIdisagree?If
youcannotdisagree(ifthethesisjuststatesafact),advisetheauthorhowtoaddopinion.Also,isthereaclear“sowhat?”Sowhatisimportantaboutthis?Sowhatisthesignificance?
(2) Organization:Doestheoutlinelistthesupportingpointsinaclearorder?Whatorganizational
patternisbeingused?Howcantheorderbeclearerorimproved?(3) Supportingpoints:Doeseachsupportingpointdirectlyprovethethesis?
Isthereaclearexampleillustratingeachofthesupportingpoints?Istheauthorusingexamplesfromthereading?Ifnot,suggestideastheauthorcouldusetobetterprovehis/herpoints.Couldtheauthorimproveorreplaceanyofthesupportingpointsortextualexamples?
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DRAFTING:(fromPurdueUniversity)
TheFirstDraft
Theprosetransformationascompositionfinallybegins
Beforeyoubeginwriting,youshouldhaveathesisorquestionthatyou'recomfortablewithandanoutlinethatgivesyoustructureonwhatyouneedtosayandwhere.Nowjusttakepentopaperorfingerstokeyboardandwrite."Sure,easiersaidthandone,"youmightbethinking.Fairenough,butyoudon’thave tocomeupwithpolishedprose. It canbeas roughasyouwant it tobe.Andwithpractice,itdoesgeteasierandfaster.
Believe it or not, drafting should be the least time‐consuming step in the research paper process.Inventionshouldtakelonger.Researchshouldtakelonger.Andrevisingshoulddefinitelytakelonger.If it's taking you a month of Sundays just to eke out a thousand words, two things could behappening:
1. youdon'thaveanycluewhatyoushouldbesaying(inwhichcasemeetwithatutororyourinstructor)or...
2. you'rerevisingwhileyoudraftsothatyouendupwithonesentenceanhour.
Ifit'sthelatter(asitoftenis),separateyourdutiesout.Withineverywriter,thereisaCreatorandaCritic.TellyourCritictogotosleepforthisstepandwakeupforthenextone.LetyourCreatorshinefornow.
Ifyouarestillhavingdifficultiesstartingthedraft,checkoutsomemorepointersbelow:SymptomsandCuresforWriter'sBlockBecausewritershavevariouswaysofwriting,avarietyofthingscancauseawritertoexperienceanxiety,andsometimesthisanxietyleadstowriter'sblock.Oftenasolutioncanbefoundbyspeakingwithyourinstructor.Therearesomecommoncausesofwriter'sblock,however,andwhenyouareblocked,considerthesecausesandtrythestrategiesthatsoundmostpromising:
SymptomYouhaveattemptedtobeginapaperwithoutdoinganypreliminaryworksuchasbrainstormingoroutlining...
PossibleCures
• Useinventionstrategieslikefreewriting,brainstorming,writingresponsestotheJournalists’questions
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• Writedownalltheprimaryideasyou'dliketoexpressandthenfillineachwiththesmallerideasthatmakeupeachprimaryidea.Thiscaneasilybeconvertedintoanoutline.
SymptomYouhavechosenorbeenassignedatopicwhichboresyou....
PossibleCures
• Chooseaparticularaspectofthetopicyouareinterestedin• Figureouthowyoucanpersonalizeatopictomakeitmoreinteresting
SymptomYoudon'twanttospendtimewritingordon'tunderstandtheassignment...
PossibleCures
• Resignyourselftothefactthatyouhavetowrite• Findoutwhatisexpectedofyou(consultateacher,textbook,student,tutor)• Lookatsomeofthestrategiesforwritinganxietylistedbelow
SymptomYouareanxiousaboutwritingthepaper...
PossibleCures
• Focusyourenergybyrehearsingthetaskinyourhead.• Consciouslystopthenon‐productivecommentsrunningthroughyourheadbyreplacingthem
withproductiveones.• Ifyouhavesome"rituals"forwritingsuccess(chewinggum,listeningtojazzetc.),usethem.
SymptomYouaresostressedoutyoucan'tseemtoputawordonthepage...
PossibleCures
• Stretch!Ifyoucan'tstandup,stretchasmanymusclegroupsaspossiblewhilestayingseated.
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• Trytensingandreleasingvariousmusclegroups.Startingfromyourtoes,tenseupforperhapsfivetotensecondsandthenletgo.Relaxandthengoontoanothermusclegroup.
• Breathedeeply.Closeyoureyes;then,fillyourchestcavityslowlybytakingfouroffiveshortdeepbreaths.Holdeachbreathuntilithurts,andthenletitoutslowly.
• Useacalmingwordormentalimagetofocusonwhilerelaxing.Ifyouchooseaword,becarefulnottouseanimperative.Don'tcommandyourselfto"Calmdown!"or"Relax!"
SymptomYou'reself‐consciousaboutyourwriting,youmayhavetroublegettingstarted.So,ifyou'repreoccupiedwiththeideathatyouhavetowriteaboutasubjectandfeelyouprobablywon'texpressyourselfwell...
PossibleCures
• Talkoverthesubjectwithafriendortutor.• Assureyourselfthatthefirstdraftdoesn'thavetobeaworkofgenius;itissomethingtowork
with.• Forceyourselftowritedownsomething,howeverpoorlyworded,thatapproximatesyour
thought(youcanrevisethislater)andgoonwiththenextidea.• Breakthetaskupintosteps.Meetthegeneralpurposefirst,andthenfleshoutthemore
specificaspectslater.
REVISING:“Thereisnosuchthingasgoodwriting,onlygoodrewriting”‐‐LouisBrandels
“Whenstudentscompletetheirfirstdraft,theyconsiderthejobofwritingdone.Whenprofessionalwriterscompleteafirstdraft,theyusuallyfeelthattheyareatthestartofthewritingprocess.Whenadraftiscompleted,thejobofwritingcanbegin.”‐‐DonaldMurray
Revising:Forexperiencedwriters,revisinginrarelyaone‐stepprocess.Whenyoureviseapaper,thelargerelementsofwritinggenerallyreceiveattentionfirst—thefocus,organization,paragraphing,content,andoverallstrategy.Improvementsinsentencestructure,wordchoice,grammar,punctuation,andmechanicscomelaterwhenyoueditthepaper.MakeGlobalRevisions:Globalrevisionsaddressthelargerelementsofwriting.Usuallytheyaffectchunksoftextlongerthanasentence,andfrequentlytheycanbequitedramatic.Wholeparagraphsmightbedropped,others
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added.Materialoncestretchedovertwoorthreeparagraphsmightbecondensedintoone.Entiresectionsmightberearranged.Eventhecontentmightchangedramatically,fortheprocessofrevisingstimulatesthought.
IMPORTANTREVISIONQUESTIONSTOASKYOURSELF...
• Doesyourtitlegivereadersagoodideaofwhat'stocome?(Haveyoucomeupwithoneyet?Remember,"Assignment#3"isnotatitle!)
• Isyourthesisstatementorresearchquestionclearlystated?• Isthereenoughlead‐inintheintroductiontoestablishtheimportanceofandcontextforthe
statement/question?Istheretoomuch?Toolittle?Bytheendoftheintroduction,isitcleartotheaudiencewhatkindofmaterialwillfollow?Ifso,aretheseexpectationsfulfilled,thatis,doyoufollowthrough?
• Isitclearwhereyourintroductionendsandbodybeginsandwherethebodyendsandtheconclusionbegins?Inotherwords,areyourparagraphindentsmeaningful?
• Atthesametime,aretheretransitionsbetweenallsectionsandparagraphstocreateflowandunity?
• Doeseachbodyparagraphhaveatopicsentence?Ifyoutookyourthesis/questionandallyourtopicsentences,wouldthatcorrespondtowhatyouwanttosayinyourpaper?Ifnot,doyouneedtoreviseyourthesis/questionorre‐examineyoursubpoints?
• Dothetopicsentences(1)makeaconnectionbackwiththethesis/question,(2)establishalinkwiththepreviousparagraph'scontent(perhapsthechronologicalrelationship,anycomparisons/contrasts?)and(3)giveenoughinformationthattheaudiencecouldguesswhereaparticularparagraph'sdevelopmentwouldlead?
• Withorwithoutaformalconcludingsentence,doyousomewhereneartheendofeachparagraphremindreaderswhyyouaresayingwhatyouaresayingbymovingbackuptoabstract,generalterms?
• Doestheorderofparagraphsmakesense?(e.g.,maybethetransitionsseemforcedbecausetheyaren'tintherightorder)
• Areyourparagraphstooshortortoolong?Istheresomecombiningorseparatingofissuesthatneedstotakeplace?Ordoyousimplyneedtogeneratemorecontentordeleteirrelevantmaterial?
• Areyourexamplesreliable,representative,andconvincing?Arethereenoughofthem(ortoomany)todevelopthemainideaoftheparagraphinthewordcountyouhaveavailable?
• Areyoursourcesconvincing?Isthereenoughbalancebetweenyourowninsightsandexpertopinions?
• Areallsourcesanddirectquotationsexplainedorhaveyouleftthemstandingontheirown?• Hasanythingthatgoesofftopicorisnotessentialbeencut?• Doestheconclusionsaysomethingdifferentfromyourintroduction?Doesitleaveagood
lastingimpression?Doesitendthepaperonastrongandinterestingnote?
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EDITING/PROOFREADING:(fromPurdueUniversity)
Thefinaltouches
Believeitornot,nowthatyou'vehopefullyfinishedmajorrevisions,thehardestpartisreallyover!Yourgoalatthispointisnotsomuchtofocusoncontentbutonsentencelevelissuesandcarelessmistakesthatdistractyourreadersfromyourmainideas.
Here'sachecklistforsomefinishingtouches:
• Checkoutyourverbtenses.Don'tfeelyouhavetocompletelyavoidthe"passive"tense(e.g.,"theballwascaught")butdefinitelytrytohaveMOREsubject‐verb"active"sentences;theyaddpowerandagencytoyourwriting(e.g.,"Billycaughttheball").
• Alsomakesureyourverbsareintherighttense.Ifyou'retalkingaboutliterature,keepthetenseinwhatiscalled"theliterarypresent."Soasentenceinyouressaytosetupanexamplewouldread"WhenHanatellsCaravaggioabouttheEnglishpatient..."Ifyou'rewritingahistoricalpaperthough,pasttenseismoresuitable.
• Readyouressayoutloudtolistenforeitherawkwardorlongsentencesthatcouldbeclarifiedorbrokenuptoreadbetter.
• Checkyourpunctuation.Fixanyerrorswithquotationmarks,commas,semicolons,colons,dashes,etc.
• Lookforgrammaticalflaws.Beespeciallyonthealertformistakesyoumakeoften.
• Checkyourdiction(wordchoice).Ifyou'relookingforabetterword,lookupsomepossibilitiesinathesaurusorifyou'rehavingusageproblems(affectvs.effectforexample),thencheckoutawriter’shandbook(therearemanyaccessibleonline).
• Nowyoucancheckyourspellingbothwithacomputerspell‐checkerandwithyourowneyestocatchthosewordsthatarespelledrightbutusedinthewrongcontext(liketherevs.theirvs.they're).Someoneelse'seyesaregreatatthispointbecauseyou'reprobablytooclosetoyourownwriting.Youcanalsocheckwordsouttheold‐fashionedway‐‐withadictionary.
• Workonthepresentationofyourpaper:usealaser‐printerifyoucan(orelseyourbestink‐jet)on8.5x11inchpaper,doublespaceyourlines,maintain1inchmargins,andprepareatitlepagewithanoriginaltitleandyourvitalstudentinfo.Alsomakesureyourfontisveryreadable(TimesNewRomanisthemostcommon)andin12point.
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EssayChecklist:Forastrong,unifiedessaythatalsofitsalltherequirementsforthecourse,checkoffallofthefollowing:
StudentName(s):
PAPERTOPIC:
____Theessayisfocusedonandanalyzesthereading____Theessayisanargumentnotasummary
PAPERFORMATTING:____Theessayisdoublespacedwith1inchmarginsatthetop,sidesandbottomofeachpage____Thereisnoextraspacingbetweenparagraphs;just10‐15spaceindentsatstartofeachparagraph____Theessaymeetstheminimumpagerequirements
MLAFORMAT:____ThereisaMLAformattedtitlepage____ThereisMLAstylenumberingoneachpageinthetoprightwithyourlastnameandpagenumber____Thenamesofthetextsareproperlyformatted(namesoflongerworkslikesbooksandplaysareitalicizedorunderlined,andtitlesofshorterworkslikechaptertitlesandshortstoriesareinquotes)
PAPERTITLES:____Thepapertitleisappropriate,creativeanddrawsinreaderinterest
PLAGIARISM:____Ihavenotplagiarizedinthispaper____Ihavecitedallborrowedideasandputallborrowedlanguageinquotes____IknowtherepercussionsifIhaveplagiarized
QUOTINGandPARAPHRASING:____Ihaveincludedquotesandparaphrasesfromthereading____Allquotesareconnectedtophrasesthatintroducethem—thereareno“dropped”quotes____Ihavefollowedallquoteswithpagenumbersinparenthesis(and/orauthordependingoncitation)____Allquotesfitinlogicallyandareaccompaniedwithanalysisthatexpressesthequote’ssignificance
RESEARCH,IN‐TEXTCITATIONS,ANDWORKSCITED:____IincludedaWorkCitedpage____Iusedcrediblesourcesinthepaper____Iincludedtherequiredminimumofsources____Iusedresearchtosupportmyargumentsnottotakeoverthepaper
INTRODUCTION:____Myintroductionnamesthetext(s)Iamanalyzing(title&author)____Myintroductioncontainsaclear,original,effectivethesisstatementfocusedonthereading____Myintroductionisengaging,drawsmyreaderin,andprovidesnecessarycontext
BODYPARAGRAPHS:____Eachparagraphhasacleartopicsentencestatingaclaimthatdirectlysupportsthethesis____Eachparagraphfocusesonprovingoneclearpoint____Eachparagraphcontainssupportinginformation(evidence)andexplanation(Sowhat?”)
CONCLUSION:____Theconclusionisengaginganddoesnotsimplysummarizethepointsalreadymadeinthepaper
GRAMMAR‐PUNCTUATION‐SPELLING:____Thepaperiscarefullyproofreadandthesentence‐levelerrorshavebeencorrected
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