d3jc3ahdjad7x7.cloudfront.net€¦  · Web viewthat your essay will address. For prompts, identify every subject or point for which you need to demonstrate your understanding, and

The Writing Process

PLAN an Approach - Depending on the time allotted to write your essay, you might consider the following elements in order to establish an approach and frame of mind for writing.

SubjectMake sure you understand the prompt and/or task that your essay will address. For prompts, identify every subject or point for which you need to demonstrate your understanding, and identify everything you need to DO (explain, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, etc.). Try turning the prompt into questions that you will address in your essay.

OccasionConsider the broader context within which you are writing.

How might the subject relate to a broader real-world issue?

How does your knowledge of the larger occasion and the immediate occasion affect what you are writing about?

AudienceWho is your audience? What do they already know?

What are their biases, expectations, and assumptions?

What might be their counterarguments or misunderstandings, and how might you address these?

PurposeWhat is the purpose of your essay? (persuade, argue, critique, entertain, define, compare & contrast, describe, explain: give new or not well known information on a topic, debunk common views, etc.)

Thinking of your audience, how would you like them to respond?

SpeakerWhat are your biases regarding the subject?

What ideas do you want to emphasize?

What impression do you want to make on your audience?

What can you highlight to enhance your credibility? In other words, what can you tell people to gain their trust?

ToneBased on your speaker/audience relationship and purpose, what attitude[s] do you want to convey about the subject?

How do you want your audience to feel about the subject?

How formal or informal will you be?

Consider words and/or phrases that will reflect your attitude and the way you want your audience to respond.

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The Writing Process

PLAN by Brainstorming Ideas - Writers use a variety of techniques to begin thinking about your subject.

Freewrite: Write without stopping for about ten to fifteen minutes. Push yourself to keep writing, following ideas wherever they lead, paying no attention to completeness or correctness or even making sense. Afterwards you may underline or highlight ideas you want to explore in more depth in your essay.

List: List ideas without stopping for about ten to fifteen minutes. Don't stop to reread, rethink, or make any changes until after your time is up. Then you may look over your list to find the promising ideas and discard the rest. You may continue this process until you think that your list is complete.

You may also organize your list into categories as in the first example below. Or you may organize your list later by color-coding categories as in the second example below.

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The Writing Process

PLAN by Writing a Thesis - The Tenets of Basic Thesis Statements

--A thesis should be a single sentence;

--A thesis should be written in the third person (Do not use I, me, my, we, us, our, etc.);

--A thesis contains two elements: a subject and an opinion;

--A thesis is an opinion and is, therefore, arguable;

--A thesis is not a statement of fact;

--A thesis is not a question;

--A thesis is specific; it is expressed in language that focuses on one or more particular aspects of the work rather than a generality;

--A good thesis avoids asserting a common or widely held belief, since such opinions do not invite argument and make for unengaging rhetorical essays;

--A good thesis avoids asserting a position that can easily be verified through the simple examination of existing research or statistical data;

--A good thesis controls everything that goes into your paper (the assertion is also known as the "controlling idea").

*Remember, your thesis statement is an opinion that you assert regarding the topic you intend to explore in your essay.

Examples

(Not a thesis):  The New York Yankees have won more World Championships than any other MLB team.

* Notice that this first statement is simply an easily verifiable statement of fact. It does not invite ongoing argument because its facts can be checked and proven either correct or incorrect. Once verified, the argument becomes moot and pointless.

(Thesis):  The New York Yankees stand the best chance to win this year's World Series.

The second statement asserts an opinion and invites ongoing argument and debate. In fact, this thesis will remain valid until the World Series.

The valid thesis, above, is an example of a simple thesis, as it contains only the basic elements of subject (“The New York Yankees”) and opinion (“stand the best chance to win this year’s World Series.”)

The thesis of an essay is expressed in a declarative sentence.

NOT: Who is the protagonist in The Crucible?

BUT: The real protagonist of Arthur Miller's The Crucible is not an individual but the town of Salem.

The thesis of a literary essay makes an assertion (an opinion-based interpretive statement) about the topic of the essay.

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The Writing Process

Basic vs. Complex Thesis Statements

Two styles of thesis statements are the basic thesis and the complex thesis. The example above is a basic thesis, as it is written in simple subject + opinion form.

The complex thesis is still an expression of subject + opinion; however, it begins by introducing and discounting a possible opposition argument or noting common misunderstanding and perspectives. Consider the following two examples:

(Complex Thesis): Despite the strength of this year’s contending National League teams, the New York Yankees stand the best chance to win this year’s World Series.

(Complex Thesis—Variation): While some may argue that the Yankees’ pitching staff has been plagued with inconsistency, the New York Yankees stand the best chance to win this year’s World Series.

Notice that in these examples, the author has anticipated possible opposition arguments, using words like “despite” and “while” to indicate that the asserted thesis is valid even though those who may be opposed to the thesis will voice arguments.

Examples

(Basic Thesis): The Los Angeles Lakers are destined to win this year’s NBA Championship.

(Complex Thesis): Despite an aging roster, the Los Angeles Lakers are destined to win this year’s NBA Championship.

To write a thesis that is a qualification, you must weigh both sides of an issue. When you agree with different sides of an argument, you need to consider which side you prefer. The first part of your thesis (before the comma) is included in your argument, but it carries less weight than the second part of your thesis. The second part of the thesis (after the comma) carries more weight; it is your main argument.

To write a qualifying thesis that mostly sides with the cons:

Example: Although it is true that increased funding may help schools do a better job, corporate sponsorships create a consumer atmosphere that is not appropriate to an educational environment.

To write a qualifying thesis that mostly sides with the pros:

Example: While corporate sponsorships may tend to emphasize spending over learning, their contributions to educational and sports programs are invaluable to the school.

One strategy to use in drafting a thesis statement is the Thesis Generator (on the next page).

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The Writing Process

Thesis Generator - Template

1. Identify the subject or prompt of your paper. Try to write the prompt in your own words to make sure you understand the task.

2. Turn your subject or prompt into 1-2 guiding questions.

3. Answer your question with a statement. This is your basic thesis (argument, position, finding, or claim). It should include a subject and your opinion.

If you are writing a basic thesis, you may skip steps #4 & 5 and go directly to step #6. Often, a basic thesis may be most appropriate for writing an explanatory or narrative essay.

4a. Persuasive/Expository: Write a counterargument - how someone might argue against you. This is your oppositional argument.

4b. Lit Analysis: Consider a misunderstanding or differing interpretations that other readers may have. This is your oppositional argument.

5. In writing a complex thesis, combine the oppositional argument with your basic thesis.

(Although / Even though / While / Despite) + oppositional argument (#4)......................, your argument (#3)...................................

6. Refine your statement into a working thesis. Make sure it meets all of the tenets of a thesis statement (see previous pages).

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The Writing Process

Thesis Generator - Examples

Example for a literary essay:

1. Identify the subject of your paper (or essay prompt).

Write an essay that analyzes how Langston Hughes uses figurative language to express a theme in his poem, "Harlem."

2. Turn your subject (or prompt) into a guiding question.

What is a theme in the poem?How does Hughes use figurative language to express that theme?

3. Answer your question with a statement. This is your basic thesis (argument, position, finding, or claim).

Langston Hughes uses personification, simile, and imagery to express the pain and potentially explosive consequences of discrimination.

4. Consider a misunderstanding that other readers may have. This is your oppositional argument.

Some readers may assume that Hughes is simply voicing despair.

5. Combine the oppositional argument with your basic thesis.

Refine this statement into a working thesis.

While some may assume that Hughes is simply voicing despair, "Harlem" also evokes the potentially explosive consequences of discrimination through the use of personification, simile, and imagery.

Example for a persuasive or expository essay:

1. Identify the subject of your paper (or essay prompt).

Write a persuasive essay in which you advocate for or against a human rights issue, taking into consideration alternative perspectives.

2. Turn your subject (or prompt) into a guiding question.

Is the death penalty just?

What are the different perspectives on the death penalty?

3. Answer your question with a statement. This is your basic thesis (argument, position, finding, or claim).

The death penalty is unjust because it merely reinforces a cycle of vengeance through violence.

4. Now write a counterargument - how someone might argue against you. This is your oppositional argument.

Proponents of the death penalty may argue that the death penalty makes the world safer by eliminating murderers.

5. Combine the oppositional argument and your claim. If necessary, refine this statement into a working thesis.

Although the death penalty may appear to protect the world from violent criminals, it is an unjust ritual that merely reinforces a cycle of vengeance through violence.

Adapted from: Burke, Jim. The English Teacher’s Companion, 4th Edition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 2013.

Try this online thesis generator! https://awc.ashford.edu/writing-tools-thesis-generator.html

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The Writing Process

PLAN by Organizing Ideas - The following techniques may be used to organize the ideas in your freewrite or list.

Bubble Map: Begin by circling your central idea, thesis, or subject. Connect that circle to the sub-topics or sub-points you wish to explore. Then connect those to more specific details.

Outline: Begin with your thesis, as this will be the focus of your essay. Then list, in the most logical order, the claims you wish to make regarding your thesis. (These claims are also called your topic sentences or points). Under each claim, list as many specific evidences, examples, or details you will need to support each point. The number of claims and body paragraphs you include will depend on your subject, audience, and purpose. It may also depend on the amount of time you are allotted.

1. Thesis

2. Topic Sentence/Claim #1

a. Evidence, Example(s), Detail(s)

3. Topic Sentence/Claim #2

a. Evidence, Example(s), Detail(s)

4. Topic Sentence/Claim #3

a. Evidence, Example(s), Detail(s)

5. Counterargument (for persuasive essays)

a. Topic Sentence/Claim #4 (Rebuttal)

b. Evidence, Example(s), Detail(s)

6. Conclusion

DRAFT - Drafting is a chance for you to give expression to your ideas, filling them out, finding relationships, and drawing conclusions.

Try to follow your bubble map or outline to stay organized, though you may decide to change your organization as you write.

At this stage, concentrate on WHAT you are trying to express, not HOW you are expressing it.

Don't worry about making mistakes or repeating yourself at this point. You will return later to revise.

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The Writing Process

REVISE - Revising provides the opportunity to see your essay the way another reader might see it. It involves seeing your draft as a whole, focusing on your purpose and thesis, the support for your thesis, and the movement and direction of ideas. You want to determine what will work and what won't work for readers - where the draft strays from your purpose, leaves a hole in the development of your thesis, does not flow logically or smoothly, digresses, or needs additional details. You may need to cut whole paragraphs, combine paragraphs, rearrange sections, and/or add analysis or evidence.

Checklist for Revision

What is your purpose in writing? Will it be clear to readers?

What is your thesis? Where is it made clear to readers?

How unified is your essay?

o Is there a topic sentence or claim that defines the purpose of each body paragraph?

o How does each topic sentence or claim in your body paragraphs support your thesis?

o How does each sentence in the body paragraph support the topic sentence of the paragraph?

Did you include enough evidence or details?

Does your analysis of evidence adequately explain its significance?

Does your analysis link evidence or examples to your thesis?

How coherent is your essay?

o Where might you eliminate repetition or redundancy?

o Where might you eliminate digression, extraneous detail or explanation?

o What transitions might help a reader to follow the flow of ideas?

o In each paragraph, do you precede a pronoun preceded with the noun it refers to, so that the reader understands who or what you are talking about? In other words, is it clear who he, she or they are? Is it clear what it is? (example: Ice cream is delicious. It is my favorite food.)

How well developed is your essay?

o Where might readers need more evidence, details, and/or analysis to understand your ideas and find them convincing?

What is the tone of your essay?

o How appropriate is it for your purpose and your audience?

o What word choices might better reflect your intended tone?

How does your introduction work to draw readers in and orient them to your purpose and thesis?

o Do you provide enough or too much context (depending on your audience)?

o Is your purpose or thesis clear?

How does your conclusion work to pull the essay together and give the readers a sense of completion?

Adapted from Jane E. Aaron's The Compact Reader: Short Essays by Method and Theme, 7th edition, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003.

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The Writing Process

EDIT - Editing focuses on word choice and the mechanics of writing (spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting). When editing, we also try to find ways to eliminate repeating ideas and improve conciseness, vary sentence structures and lengths to make our writing more interesting, and eliminating clichés. In order to edit, one must try to see the essay objectively. Following are some common grammatical issues and techniques to try:

Print your essay and use a colored pen to mark it up.

Read your essay aloud to spot errors.

Read your essay backwards to catch spelling mistakes.

Keep a checklist of common errors you have made on past essays.

Checklist for Revision

Did you use spell check to find words that might be spelled incorrectly.

Is there a way to clarify your idea, eliminate repetition, and be more concise?

If the structure of each sentence follows a common pattern (subject + verb) and length, over and over again, how might you change some of the sentence structures and lengths to add more variety? Consider ways to combine sentences by adding a comma followed by one of the FANBOYS (for and nor but or yet so).

o Original: I ran to the store. I opened the door. I bumped into a man. He spilled his coffee.

o Edit for Variety: When I ran to the store and opened the door, I bumped into a man. As a result, he spilled his coffee.

Which words are repeated often throughout your essay? Circle each one and use a thesaurus to find appropriate synonyms. Make sure each synonym has the appropriate denotation (dictionary definition) and connotation (implied meaning).

Where should you make your meaning more specific in order to avoid being vague?

Is each sentence in the active voice? Try to eliminate sentences written in the passive voice.

o Passive: His homework was eaten by the dog.

o Active: The dog at his homework.

CAPITALIZATION Always capitalize the first word of a sentence. Capitalize proper names or official titles.

WORD CHOICE - Words to AVOID!!! Use a thesaurus to find more precise and descriptive words!!!

good thing come give makebadniceokay

stuffkindasorta

godoget

haveputlike

takeis, are, was, were

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The Writing Process

SPELLING - Top 10 Words you had better spell correctly!a lot definitely necessary no one recommendschedulenowadays

separate tomorrow until weird

SPELLING - Homophones & Easily Confused Words

Homophones are words that sound alike but are different in spelling, meaning or origin.

1. its/it’s

its (possessive adjective) - belonging to people, animals, or things (Its wings are gold.) it’s = the contracted form of “it is” (It's going to fly away.)

2. then/than

then (adverb) - after something has happened; next (Eat first, then work.) than (conjunction/preposition) - used when comparing (She is taller than him.)

3. there/their/they’re

There - it has no meaning but is used to start sentence:

Example: There are many areas in which a manager needs to be competent; these areas include writing, speaking, critical thinking, and active listening.

there (adverb) - it is used to describe a location (The book is over there.)

their (possessive adjective) - belonging to people, animals, or things (This is their house.)

they’re = the contracted form of “they are” (They're going to watch a movie.)

GRAMMAR and USAGE

Subject- Verb Agreement: The subject and verb must agree in number: both must be singular, or both must be plural. Notice the difference between singular and plural forms in the following examples of Singular and Plural subject-verb agreement:

Singular Plural

The student sings. (He or she sings.) Your children sing. (They sing.)

The bird does migrate. (It does.) Those birds do migrate. (The do.)

Run-on-Sentences: Two sentences “run together” without punctuation. Example: I am hungry I want to eat.

Comma Splice: Two sentences have a comma between them instead of a period or semicolon. Example: I want a hot dog, I think they have them at the concession stand.

Fragment: This is not a complete sentence. It is missing either a subject or a verb. Example: Two children, blue and green. Or, it is not a complete thought. Example: In her first book.

Parallelism: When listing two or more ideas in one sentence, or among several sentences, check that the ideas parallel.

Nonparallel: I like playing basketball, running, and swim.

Parallel: I like playing basketball, running, and swimming.

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The Writing Process

PUNCTUATION

Always put a punctuation mark at the end of every Sentence. Read your essay aloud and when you hear your voice drop, you probably need a period.

Do not double the period at the end of a sentence. Example: I forgot to bring my I.D.. Rule: One period at a time, please!

Punctuation marks belong right next to the final letter in the sentence and not hanging out on its own a few spaces away.

Commas: With long complex and compound sentences, figure out which section is your independent clause or main sentence. All other parts of the sentence are added to provide more description. In general, use commas to separate the independent clause from transition phrases and dependent (or subordinate) clauses.

QUOTATIONS – Integration & Punctuation

Quotation marks (" ") have two general purposes: (1) to identify what someone says in a dialogue or speech, and (2) to identify words or passages that you are copying.

General Guidelines

If the sentence continues after the quotation, you’ll usually need a comma AFTER your quotation but BEFORE your final quotation mark: “I wish this workshop were over,” John said. “Not me,” Mary replied, “I’ve got to go to the dentist this afternoon.”

If the quotation ends in an exclamation point or question mark, omit the comma: “I hate going to the dentist!” John bellowed. “Why are you talking so loudly?” asked Mary.

If the sentence ends with the quotation (and if there is no parenthetical citation), put your final mark of punctuation INSIDE the quotation marks: “That dog is bigger than a Denali!” “I don’t think so; Denalis are quite large.”

When using quotation marks to copy a passage:

Introduce a quotation with a Speaker ID and a comma: According to John, “Blah blah… .”

You can also introduce a quotation by fitting it grammatically into the sentence (in which case you omit the comma): We know from John 11:35 that “Jesus wept.”

If you are copying a passage that already uses quotation marks, use double quotation marks (" ") to indicate what you are copying. Use single quotation marks (' ') to indicate where double quotation marks were used in the original text.

o Original text: John whispered to Mary, "I wish we could escape from here!" and then he passed out.

o Integrating the original text into an essay: At the end of the story, "John whispered to Mary, 'I wish we could escape from here!' and then he passed out."

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