Composition Workshop

COMPOSITION WORKSHOPCOMPOSITION WORKSHOPCOMPOSITION WORKSHOPCOMPOSITION WORKSHOPUniversity of the Sacred HeartUniversity of the Sacred Heart

Department of HumanitiesDepartment of Humanities

Center for Language Development Center for Language Development Across the DisciplinesAcross the Disciplines

LADLAD

Objective

To help the student write effective and organized essays and papers

Choose a Topic

• Select a topic that you like or that is familiar to you

• See if there is enough information on your chosen topic

Brainstorming

• Select a topic• Write down what comes to your

mind• Group the ideas that are related• Choose the group of ideas that

interests you and are related to the topic

• Organize your notes into an outline

Do Some Research…

…on the topic by asking the –wh questions:

who, what, when, why and how

…use the library, Internet, TV broadcasts, newspapers, magazines, etc…

Prepare an Outline

• Introduction• Thesis statement (topic sentence)

• Body• Main idea

• Supporting ideas (details)

• Main idea• Supporting ideas (transition to next

paragraph)

• Conclusion

Starting Your First Starting Your First DraftDraft

Starting Your First Starting Your First DraftDraft

Paper Format

centralize

the title

1” margins

double-spaced

textindent each

paragraph

1” margins

Recommended font: Courier or Times New Roman

justifiedmargins

Essay Content

• Make sure to include the thesis statement in your introduction

• Develop your ideas according to the outline

• Close your argument with a conclusion

»Summarize information from the previous paragraphs

»Do introduce new information in the conclusion

Writing TechniquesWriting TechniquesWriting TechniquesWriting Techniques

• In structure (use of compound and complex sentences)

Example: I went to Baskin Robbins, and

I ate a sundae. (compound sentence)

Sentence Variety

• By using expansions (adjectives, adverbs, verbal and prepositional phrases and appositives)

Example: Mary has a long, red skirt.

Sentence Variety

• In structure – complex sentenceExample: I saw the woman, who

was killing the cockroach, scream crazily.

• In sentence arrangementExample: In the middle of the

desert, Will Smith punched the alien.

Other Techniques

• Achieve unity

• Use correct word order for emphasis

• Use occasional questions, exclamations, or commands

• Use connectives (and, but, therefore…)

Also Remember• Writing purpose

– Narrate– Describe– Compare / Contrast– Persuade

• The tone (sad, humorous, serious, concerned…)

• Your audience (formal / informal)

Avoid the Following

• Breaking one idea into short, monotonous sentences

• Including sentences with unrelated or illogical details

• Using too many details even though related

Avoid the Following

• Redundancy

• Unnecessary changes in point of view

• Run-ons (A run-on sentence has at least two sentences. Each one should be written separately.)

Incorrect: Do you see the man in the car he is my father.

Correct: Do you see the man in the car? He is my father.

Citation

• Short quotations (three lines or less) should be enclosed in quotation marks

Example: “Don’t ask what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your

country.” – John F. Kennedy

Citation• On a new line, indent longer quotations (four or more

lines), and set off in single space without quotation marks. Return to the original margin when you finish the quote.

Always identify the source using APA or MLA style

My country, ‘tis of thee,Sweet land of liberty,Of thee I sing:Land where my fathers died,Land of the pilgrims’ pride,From every mountainsideLet freedom ring.

-America, by Samuel Francis Smith

Plagiarism

• When you use someone’s ideas without citing, you receive credit for someone else’s intellectual effort

• To avoid plagiarism, make sure to identify and document all your quotes, cites, and reference sources

Save Your Work

• If you use a computer or word processor, make sure you save your work

• Make more than one copy !

Go to the LAD Center!

•Proofread•Check grammar•Check work format•Check essay outline•Check quotations and

citations

Prepare Your Second Draft…

…and go back to the LAD Center for a

second opinion             

Preparing Your Final Paper

Make sure to include the following:

• Cover page with your name, student number, the title of your work, course and section, professor’s last name, and date

• Reference list at the end of your work

• Revise quotations and citations

References Capital Community College Library.

Available at http://webster.commnet.edu Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

Available at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

The Research Paper. Available at http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/general_handouts/research_guide.html

Questions?Questions?

Prepared by: Thalia N. Nazario-SantiagoPrepared by: Thalia N. Nazario-Santiago Coordinator for the Center for Languages and Culture Coordinator for the Center for Languages and Culture

Center for Language Development Across the Disciplines (LAD)Center for Language Development Across the Disciplines (LAD) February 2003February 2003 Revised by: Patricia Kidd Revised by: Patricia Kidd August 2004August 2004 Revised by: Prof. Delia SerranoRevised by: Prof. Delia Serrano January 2005January 2005