Preparing for the District Essay By Mrs. Houghland POWER WRITING.

Preparing for the District Essay

By Mrs. Houghland

POWER WRITING

WHAT IS “POWER WRITING”?According to J.E. Sparks, “Writer’s must have the ability to convey their ideas to a specific audience in a clear and concise way. Whether they are persuading, informing, educating, or entertaining writers need three Powers to enable them to handle most of their school, college, and adult writing assignments.”

WHAT ARE “POWERS”?By using three numbers, you will find your writing to be more powerful. Power Writing does this when it assigns a value to each sentence:

1st Power – main idea(s), the topic sentence.

2nd Power – major details that explain main idea.

3rd Power – minor details that elaborate upon or clarify major details.

I’M CONFUSED, WHY IS THIS NECESSARY?

Writing for Power will enhance Unity, Clarity, and Coherence (the 6+1 Traits of Writing). Power will keep you on target. You will not ramble because each sentence must explain some preceding power until only 1st Power makes complete sense alone.

LET ME SHOW YOU AN EXAMPLE:Ponyboy had a difficult life.(1) First, he did not have any

parents to take care of him even though he was just a teenager.(2) To explain, Ponyboy’s parents had been killed in a car accident, so his brother Darrel gave up his dream of going to college to take care of Ponyboy.(3) Second, Ponyboy is a Greaser, so people look down upon him and call him a “hood.”(2) For example, Ponyboy says, “Greasers are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while.(3) I don’t mean I do things like that.” (3) (The Outsiders, p. 3) Even though Ponyboy doesn’t do those things, he is still looked down upon for being a Greaser. (3)

STAGE 1: WORD POWER!Words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs all have power as they relate to other words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. A 1st Power word serves as the most general, the “umbrella” word under which the 2nd Power words belong.

Study the examples and note that one of the words has a number (1) for 1st Power and the other has a (2) for 2nd Power.

STAGE 1 EXAMPLESExample A Example B

1 bears 1 food

2 grizzly 2 taco

3 polar 2 burrito

Think you understand? OK, it’s your turn!

STAGE 2: POWER PHRASES!A dictionary defines a phrase as a sequence of two or more words conveying a single thought or forming a distinct part of a sentence but not containing a subject and predicate. In the following examples note how words from the preceding stage 1 have now become power phrases.

STAGE 2 EXAMPLESExample A Example B

1 large, furry bears 1 mexican foods

2 brown grizzly bear 2 overfilled tacos

3 polar bear, in the Arctic 2 beefy burritos

How is this different? Think you understand? OK, it’s your turn!

STAGE 3: POWER SENTENCES!Most English grammar books define a sentence as a group of words that contain a subject, a predicate (the action), and expresses a complete thought. Just as words and phrases had power, so do sentences in their relationships with each other. On the next slide, note how phrases in the preceding Stage 2 have now become sentences.

STAGE 3 EXAMPLES(1) There are two large, furry bears I visited at the zoo.

(2) One is a brown grizzly bear from the Pacific Northwest.

(2) The other is a white polar bear from the Arctic.

(1) If one goes to a Mexican restaurant they should order these two items.

(2) One is the over-stuffed taco.

(2) The other is a beefy burrito.

How is this different? Think you understand? OK, it’s your turn!

STAGE 4: POWERGRAPHS 1 2 2By the end of Stage 4, you will have created your own three-sentence powergraphs with a 1st Power sentence supported by two 2nd Power sentences. This should look familiar to you because it is also known as a RAPP!

The 1st Power sentence must serve as the umbrella, the general statement for which the other two sentences provide specifics. For right now, always include the word two in the 1st Power sentence so you keep on target and force yourself to write only two details, thus avoiding rambling.

STOP!Before we begin, there is one more detail I forgot to mention – 2nd Power Signals!

To make writing more clear for a reader, a writer often begins 2nd Power sentences with certain signals, or transitions, or bridges that make the flow of thought easier to follow.

2nd Power Transitions…one first moreover

another second furthermorealso third above all

finally besides in addition toto begin with

STAGE 4 EXAMPLESBy the stream stood two large furry bears. One

was the brown grizzly bear from the Pacific Northwest. Another is a white polar bear from the Arctic.

There are two items that I would order if I were in a Mexican restaurant. One is an over-stuffed taco. The other is a beefy burrito.

How is this different? Think you understand?

MORE STAGE 4 EXAMPLESThere are two cities one should visit in

China. One is Beijing, the capital. Another is Shanghai, the largest.

If I became chef for a day, I would make two changes in the school cafeteria. First, I would offer a burrito from Q’Doba. Second, I would prepare hamburger casserole.

How is this different? Think you understand?

A FEW MORE STAGE 4 EXAMPLESI stumbled over my two favorite flowers while

walking through the woods yesterday. The first one was the rose which has thorns on the stem. The other is the yellow seed-producing sunflower.

After school I like to do two things. To begin with, I like to take a walk with my dog. Another, I like to talk on the phone with my friends.

How is this different? Think you understand? OK, it’s your turn!

STAGE 5: POWERGRAPHS 1 2 3 2 3

Now that you have control over the three-sentence powergraphs (1 2 2), you should find it easy to expand your thoughts by the use of 3rd Power sentences.

Third-power sentences, known as minor details, elaborate, expand, and develop 2nd Power sentences. This stage will help you add details to your writing so that it becomes more interesting and vivid for your audience.

STOP!Before we begin, there is one more detail I forgot to mention – 3rd Power Signals, or transitions!

To make writing more clear for your audience, 3rd Power sentences sometimes open with or contain a 3rd Power Signal to help bridge from the 2nd Power sentences.

3rd Power Transitions…

specifically for example in other wordsrestated to explain for instanceto describe translated to particularizeto exemplify to narrate to supportto compare to contrast to expandto define to qualify to concedeto refute to evaluate to identify

STAGE 5 EXAMPLESRain causes two problems. For one, it causes

floods. Floods can be very dangerous. For another, it causes mudslides. Mudslides can destroy wildlife.

In a Mexican restaurant I would order two foods. One is an over-stuffed taco. In the taco you can get cold lettuce, fresh tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. Another is a beefy burrito. On the burrito you can get melted cheese and beans.

Yesterday, I encountered my two favorite large, furry bears at the zoo in St. Louis. The first is the brown grizzly bear from the Pacific Northwest. The bear’s name is Betsy. To expand, she weighs over and stands feet high. Another, is the white polar bear from the Arctic. This bear is named Elvis. To describe, he is fierce with long white finger nails and long, piercing teeth. To expand, he weighs over and stands feet high.

The St. Louis Zoo, an animal lovers paradise, just received two big cats. The first is the biggest cat in the world, the tiger. The tiger has orange and black stripes. The second is the make-believe king of the jungle, the lion. The lion really lives in the African savannah and not in the jungle.

ONE MORE THING ABOUT STAGE 5!Eliminate the word there from the start of a sentence.

At one time, in Latin grammar, there probably served a purpose. In the contemporary English sentence is has no function at all. Every great writer throughout history has used the word there at the beginning of a sentence, and every contemporary writer uses it frequently; however, the use of it becomes an easy way to construct a sentence without much thought. Because there functions as a completely empty word, avoid from now on in your writing. Watch your sentences take on more sparkle and more precision as you revise them to eliminate the word.

LET’S PRACTICE ELIMINATING THERE!

1. There are two cities one should visit in China.

The tourist to China will want to see the country’s two largest cities.

2. There are two royal families still enduring in Europe.

Two prominent royal families still endure in Europe.

3. There are two people I consider my personal heroes.

Two people, I consider to be personal heroes, influence my life.

STAGE 6: POWERGRAPHS 1 2 3 2 3

Get rid of the verb to be:

is was be

am were been

are being

STAGE 6 EXAMPLE:With to be…

There are two reasons for going to Pasadena on January 1. One is the Rose Parade. This is a festival of color. A second reason is the Rose Bowl. That is a famous football clash.

Without to be…

On January 1 people go to Pasadena for two reasons. For one, thousands gather to view the festival of color in the Rose Parade. Vivid floats meander down Colorado Boulevard. For a second reason, people attend the famous football clash at the Rose Bowl. This game pits two teams against each other, one from the Pacific Athletic Conference and the other from the Big 10.

YOUR TURN! The topic of your powergraph 1 2 3 2 3 is HEROES.

Begin with Stage 1 and work all the way through to Stage 6. I must see the process for credit.

RUBRICPossible points Your Points

Stage 1: Power Words (1 2 2) 4 sets 12 points _______

Stage 2: Power Phrases (1 2 2) 4 sets 12 points _______

Stage 3: Power Sentences (1 2 2) 4 sets 12 points _______

Stage 4: Powergraphs (1 2 2) 2 sets 12 points _______

Stage 5: Powergraphs (1 2 3 2 3) 2 sets 16 points _______

Stage 6: Powergraphs (1 2 3 2 3) “Be” 2 sets 20 points _______

Stage 7: Powergraphs (1 2 3 2 3) “There” 2 sets 20 points _______

Stage 8: Powergraphs (1 2 3 2 3) Sent. Pattern 2 sets 20 points _______

Total points: 124 Your total: _______