Writing Process

Basic MLA

Paragraph Writing

Submit Writing Samples

CONGRATULATIONS!!!YOU JUST COMPLETED

BOTH SECTIONS OF YOUR

FINAL!!!

Writing ProcessPrewrite

What is your purpose for writing?

How are you going to achieve this purpose?

Who is your reader?

Use journalistic questions

Freewriting

Cubing

Webbing/clustering

Listing

More prewriting questions -http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/673/03/

Writing ProcessPrewrite, Plan

Why create an outline?

Helps to keep track of large amounts of info

Helps organize ideas

Presents material in logical form

Shows relationships among ideas

Defines boundaries and groups

Writing ProcessPrewrite, Plan

2 types of outlines

Topic

Sentence

Outlines should be balanced

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20081113013048_544.pdf

Writing Process Prewrite

Plan

Drafting

Rough draft, early version of final copy

Writing Process Prewrite

Plan

Drafting

Proofread

Peer review grammar and process

Writing Process Prewrite

Plan

Drafting

Proofread

Publish

All done! Final copy

Basic MLA format Must be typed, double-spaced, one sided,

paperclipped

I want typed, double-spaced, double sided, stapled

Only one space after punctuation

1 inch margins, Times New Roman, 12 point font

Include heading

Your name

Instructor name

Class

Due Date

Last name and page number in upper right hand corner

Title centered

Sample page 1http://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20090701095636_747.pdf

Parts of a ParagraphA paragraph has three necessary parts:

Topic sentence

1 sentence

Body

Minimum 5 – 8 sentences

Concluding sentence

1 sentence

Parts of a ParagraphThe topic sentence –

States the main point

Is (often) the first sentence of the paragraph

Parts of a ParagraphThe body -

Supports (shows, explains, or proves) the main point with supporting sentences that contain facts and details.

Supporting Your PointTwo types of support –

Primary support

Major ideas to back up main point

Secondary support

Gives details to back up primary support

BEWARE!!!– Don’t confuse repetition with support

The amount shown on my bill is incorrect. You overcharged me. It didn’t cost that much. The total is wrong.

The amount shown on my bill is incorrect. I ordered the bacon-cheeseburger plate, which is $6.99 on the menu. On the bill, the order is correct, but the amount is $16.99.

Basics of good supportRelates to main point

Creates support that shows readers what main point means

Is detailed and specific

View handout paragraph with primary and paragraph with primary & secondary support

Selecting Primary SupportCarefully read ideas generated

through prewriting technique

Select 3 – 5 primary support points Should be clearest and most convincing,

providing best examples, facts, and observations

Cross out ideas not closely related to main point

If not enough support remains, prewritemore

Adding Secondary SupportFlesh out best primary support points

Specific examples

Facts

observations

Parts of a ParagraphThe concluding sentence -

Reminds readers of the main point (topic sentence)

often makes an observation

OutliningI. Topic Sentence

Training for success in a marathon demands several important steps.

II. Body

A. Runners should first get a schedule developed by a professional running organization.

1. These schedules are available in bookstores or on the Web.

2. A good one is available at www.runnersworld.com.

3. All of the training schedules suggest starting training three to six months before the marathon.

OutliningII. Body

B. Runners should commit to carefully following the schedule.

1. If they cannot stick to it exactly, they need to come as close as they possibly can.

2. The schedules include a mixture of long and short runs at specified intervals.

3. Carefully following the training schedule builds up endurance a little at a time so that by the time of the race, runners are less likely to hurt themselves.

4. The training continues right up until the start of the marathon.

OutliningII. Body

C. On the night before and the morning of the big day, runners should take special steps to make sure they are prepared for the race.

1. The night before the race, they should eat carbohydrates, drink plenty of water, and get a good night’s sleep.

2. On the day of the marathon, runners should eat a light breakfast, dress for the weather, and consider doing a brief warm-up before the race’s start.

3. Before and during the race, they should drink plenty of water.

OutliningIII. Concluding Sentence

Running a marathon without completing the essential steps will not bring success; instead it may bring pain and injury.

Eng 100

Presentation Rubric

Writing NarrationWhat is narration and its elements?

Telling of a story

Essential elements –

Series of events arranged in an order

Plot

Told by a narrator

POV – 1st, 3rd

Specific purpose

Controls narrative and detail selection

“I am telling this story because...”

Writing NarrationWhat are common forms?

(Third common)

Fictionalized narrative

Author invents characters and plot

Purpose to scare, puzzle, think about a situation, ponder course of action

Writing NarrationWhat are common forms?

(Second common)

Here-is-what-happened narrative

Typical in newspapers and histories

Require research

Omniscient narrator not part of the story

Purpose to inform reader or provide information

Writing NarrationWhat are common forms?

(Most common)

Personal experience narratives

Writer is narrator

Tells personal true event

Purpose is to share an insight with reader – a realization, a sudden understanding, an awareness

Writing NarrationWhat do you include?

Do not include every single detail

Choose details that correlate with purpose

Cut out unnecessary, uninteresting, and redundant details

WritingHow is a narrative structured?

Chronological order

Flashback

Do not switch time too frequently

Make sure switches are clear

In media res

Change or modify

Heighten tension

Make purpose clearer

WritingHow does one end a narrative?

Reflect reason or purpose for telling story

Joke ends with punch line to make audience laugh

Significant event leads to moment of insight

Historical event ends with summary statement relating its significance

WritingHow does one tell a narrative?

Choose point of view

Personal experience narratives – 1st person, narrator is in story

Limited – only narrator’s thoughts

Omniscient – all-knowing, everyone’s thoughts

Historical narratives & illustrative narratives – 3rd

person, speaker stands outside the narrative and provides objective view

WritingHow does one tell a narrative?

Show vs. tell

Showing

dramatizing scene and creating dialogue

makes more vivid, allows reader to experience scene directly

Telling

summarizing what happened

permits greater number of events and details

Okay to use a mix

WritingHow does one write dialogue?

Creates an illusion of speech

Real conversation is longer, slower, more boring

Must recognize when it can play an important role in story

Use sparingly

Too much can slow down action of story

Purpose is to reveal character or generate tension

WritingHow does one revise a narrative?

Prune unnecessary detail

Write purpose

Test every included detail

Make structure clear

Ask readers to create a chronological timeline

Differentiate between showing and telling

Look for moments in which dramatization (showing) might be particularly effective

Conclusion

Is it flat or does it lead up to a climactic moment?

Score this presentation

Monday... Have a great weekend

We will work on prewriting and planning our narratives in class

WEDNESDAY –

Read description chapter

Quiz on parts of speech, active/passive verbs, ending in prepositions, shifts, pronoun & antecedent agreement, pronoun reference, pronoun case