SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING IN CLASS WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

TIMED WRITING

GENERAL TIPS

• Read the prompt carefully and circle key terms.

• Understand what it is asking.

• Identify what questions you are being asked.

• Stay focused on a consistent thesis/central idea

throughout.

KEY TERMS

• Analyze- to separate something into parts and then discuss those parts and their • meanings. • Classify- to arrange into groups on the basis of shared characteristics. • Compare and contrast- to show similarities and their differences. • Criticize- to judge and discuss the merits and faults of your subject. • Define- to explain or identify the nature or essential qualities of your subject. • Discuss- to consider or examine by argument, comment or debate, or to explore • solutions. • Evaluate- to appraise the worth of an idea, comment, etc. and justify your • conclusion. • Explain- to make clear or intelligible something that needs to be understood or • interpreted. • Illustrate- to use specific examples or analogies to clarify or explain something. • Interpret- to define information through an explanation based on personal • opinion. • Justify- showing or proving that something is valid or correct. • Prove- to present evidence that cannot be refuted logically or with other evidence. • Relate- to show the connections between two or more things. • Review- to reexamine, summarize, or reprise something. • Summarize- to briefly repeat the major points of something. • Support- to argue in favor of something.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

• The ability to write quickly and put thoughts into words is called fluency.

• Fluency can be developed with practice.• Keep a journal• Write daily• Understand the subject thoroughly• Reread your notes• You must know – own – the material

BRAINSTORM

• Divide your time between brainstorming, writing, and proofreading• Example:

• 5-7 minutes to free write• 35-40 minutes to write• 5 minutes to read through

• Free association vs. structured outlines• Webbing, listing, free writing, outlining

THESIS

• Answer the prompt directly.• Quick thesis format guide:

• Topic + limited topic + significance = Thesis• Writing + college writing + similar to business writing

• College writing is similar to writing in the business world.• College writing is similar to writing in the business world in three

important ways: Both types of writing must be logical, well developed, and clear.

THESIS

• Use the essay question to help formulate your thesis:

• How did the Crusades affect the economy in Europe?

• The Crusades affected the European economy in four essential ways. • OR• Europe's economy was influenced significantly by the Crusades.

STRUCTURE

• What type of structure is the essay asking for?• Prompts that ask you to compare/contrast:

• Balance the comparison• Compare/contrast on specific points

• Prompts that ask for causes and effects:• Causes – why something happened• Effects – Results

• Prompts that ask how:• Explain how Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power in France.• Make use of descriptive and narrative strategies

STRUCTURE

• Introduction:• Introduce the topic and put the thesis at the end of the intro• An introduction should have any background information necessary for

the reader to understand the topic

• Body• Make sure that each body paragraph relates back to the thesis and has a

strong topic sentence

• Conclusion• Summarize• Reiterate the most important point• Propose a solution• Predict the future

• Do you prove the argument laid out in your thesis?

• What errors are you most likely to make?• Proofread for only

one kind of error at a time.

• Read the paper backwards.

• Read slow, and read every word.

SAVE TIME FOR PROOFREADING