Written by Sue Butler - faithwriters.com

Written by Sue Butler

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WRITING BASICS SERIES LESSON ONE

Welcome To

An innovative writing program designed to teach you the basics of writing well

FEATURING:

A discussion of the PREWRITING stage

Journaling Timelines Purpose

PLUS:

A unique BIBLICAL INTEGRATION section

Contact info: FaithWriters.com

http://www.faithwriters.com/ "The HOME for Christian writers!"

Copyright 2004, Sue Butler

EXPRESSING FAITH THROUGH WRITING

By Sue Butler

This is not a free e-book and does NOT come with resell rights! As an e-book, you are allowed to view this e-book on your computer screen, and you can print out ONE copy of the e-book on your printer. That’s it! Copyright 2004 Sue Butler ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means (mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Published by: Write 4 Christ.com 14390 Summer Glen Grove Colorado Springs, CO 80921 Tel: (719) 488-0399 Fax: (775) 854-1918 http://www.write4christ.com

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If you like this e-book, you will also enjoy the entire

BASIC WRITING COURSE found at

FaithWriters.com http://www.faithwriters.com/

"The HOME for Christian writers!"

Other lessons in the WRITING BASICS Series include—

LESSON TWO

PREWRITING-PART 2

LESSON THREE DRAFTING

LESSON FOUR

REVISION, EDITING, AND PUBLISHING

LESSON FIVE TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS-PART 1

LESSON SIX

TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS-PART 2

For more information, see

FaithWriters.com http://www.faithwriters.com/

"The HOME for Christian writers!"

E-BOOK CONTENTS PREWRITING

WHAT DECISIONS DO I MAKE? Journals

Record entry #1 Record entry #2 Timeline A Timeline B Building Personal Subject Files Personal preferences Getting to know you

WHAT IS MY PURPOSE FOR WRITING?

Chart of specific types of writing Biblical integration

APPENDIX Answer Key QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

COMMONLY MISSPELLED WORDS EDITING SYMBOLS

DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES: While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, neither the Author nor the Publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional.

The Writing Process

Good writers develop their skills over a period of time. Most serious writers will admit that their later works show considerable improvement from the earlier ones. This improvement happens for several reasons. Through experience, writers develop an intuitive sense of what works for them. They use methods, techniques, and procedures acquired through trial-and-error, modeling, and formal training. In addition, maturity comes most often with age; writers look at life differently. Their experiences either increase or diminish their zest for life. Their insights either illumine or fog the glasses through which writers view life.

The writing process contains a variety of these methods, techniques, and procedures. Inexperienced writers can use this writing process in a controlled setting to develop confidence in their works. A quality writing program will provide opportunities for the writer to develop creative and critical thinking skills through this process. PREWRITING

The initial stage of the writing process gives the writer time to gather information. This information can come from reading, discussing, or simply thinking about a subject. Before beginning the next stage, students will choose a subject, a purpose, an audience, and a focus. Initially, the inexperienced writer needs specific directions for procedures and assignments. As writers mature, they can choose their own purpose and audience. A quality writing program such as EXPRESSING FAITH THROUGH WRITING assists the inexperienced writer in FREE WRITING, journal entries, and GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS at this stage.

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PREWRITING: What Decisions Do I Make?

JOURNALS The Prewriting Stage gives you an opportunity to make choices about your

Subject, Purpose, Audience, and Focus. A good mnemonic (memory)

device to help you remember these is SPAF. The initial lessons will

guide you with these choices. As the lessons progress, you will make

your own choices. Writing involves choices. The exercises in this lesson

will help you find subjects to write about. One exercise involves journal

writing. A journal is an important tool in which to record ideas for writing.

People have been keeping journals for centuries. You might have already

read some famous works (e.g., Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank).

Here are some specific requirements for journal writing.

• Standard-size one-subject notebook • Entries are numbered consecutively and dated for easy reference • Specified length, usually ¾ page • Most entries are five- to six-minute free writings

If you follow the guidelines and are diligent in your journal entries, you will accumulate a wealth of ideas for future essays.

ASSIGNMENT--JOURNAL WRITING Choose one prompt from each of the following situations and write journal entries. Remember to place a number, a title, and a date on each journal page for future reference. • 1a. Describe a special place in your life in the early years before you

entered school or before reaching teenage years. • 1b. Explain why the place was so special. Underline feeling words. • 2a. Tell a funny story (about yourself and/or a friend) in elementary

school days. • 2b. Using the above story, change the point of view from first to third

person or vice versa. Explain how the story has changed.

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Record your two entries in the space below.

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“The journal is a record of experience and growth, not a preserve of things well done or said.”

Henry David Thoreau

Personal timelines help the writer to gather information for various types of

writing. In Exercise A you can choose to draw a circle in which you place

your name. Then, you can add circles that represent important life-changing

experiences. By connecting these circles, you will see the relationships

among these events. Or, you might draw a straight line that represents your

life from birth to present day (Exercise B). Along the line, you can add

boxes, triangles, or different shapes to signify special events that have

happened in your life so far. Throughout this course you will add events to

keep the timeline current. These events will provide ideas for narratives,

autobiographies, and reflective writings.

TIMELINES Exercise A Add more circles as needed.

NAME

_____________

Event #2

Event #3

Event #1

Exercise B Birth date _______________________

_______________________ _______________________ Today _______________________ Place past events of significance along the timeline. Throughout this course, continue to add happenings.

BUILDING PERSONAL SUBJECT FILES

Keep these ideas handy for future reference. List of peers, family members, friends, relatives, neighbors, etc. whom you might interview. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Favorite Bible verses or passages 1. 5. 2. 6. 3. 7. 4. List of topics that interest you.[hobbies, goals, favorite pastimes, sports, skills, etc.]

1. 2. 2. 4. 6. 6. 7. 8.

Check (√√√√) the activities that you might consider using as part of the Prewriting Stage. __________ Draw a sketch or picture of a subject. __________ Compose music to a Psalm or a "rap" to your favorite poem. __________ Listen to sounds at a particular moment. Record them. Try to remember the sounds at the beach, at a basketball game, before going to sleep, in the early morning compared to late evening, or in summer versus winter. __________Choose a passage or story from Scripture. Become a participant and listen to the sounds (e.g., Jesus’ crucifixion, Lazarus’ resurrection, or Paul's imprisonment in Rome) __________Create dance movements to a familiar scene in the Bible. For example,

1) Jacob meeting Rachel for the first time at the well 2) David hiding in a cave when fearing Saul for his life 3) Adam and Eve when they heard God call, "Where are you?" 4) Peter and other fishermen who obeyed Christ's call to cast out nets again after a night of futile fishing attempts

__________Write a dialogue reflecting a variety of emotions and/or attitudes: fear, anger, gentleness, excitement, and loneliness.

Now that you have gathered suggestions for subjects to write about, take time to practice. Remember to refer to these ideas often for writing ideas. When the well runs dry, think of more ways to gather ideas.

“I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Each topic represents a chapter in the book of YOUR LIFE. Use 2-3 pages to record stories that refer to your experiences.

CHAPTER ONE: “This experience has made me wiser . . .” CHAPTER TWO: “These adults have left a lasting impression . . .” CHAPTER THREE: “These lessons I have learned . . .” CHAPTER FOUR: “These are some regrets I have . . .” CHAPTER FIVE: “This challenge has given me a closer understanding of God, people, society, and myself.”

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PURPOSE All writing has a purpose. Some of the common purposes include: to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to effect an action, or to develop an opinion. We also label writing with certain categories. The following chart will help you to identify specific types of writing

GENERAL TYPE

PURPOSE SPECIFIC WRITING

EXPOSITORY To inform, to express, to persuade, to interpret

Informative, expressive, persuasive, interpretive

NARRATIVE To record life events, to witness about one’s faith

Autobiographical/biographical, eyewitness

CREATIVE To entertain, to create, to encourage

Stories (fiction, historical fiction), poetry, drama

The Bible contains numerous types of writing. Examine the books of the Bible that are listed below. Can you label the specific type of writing: informative, persuasive, eyewitness, and so forth? In the appropriate sections, write your reasons and give examples to support the type you choose. SEE ANSWER KEY FOR SUGGESTED RESPONSES.

1. Matthew’s Gospel: Eyewitness/narrative Reasons—Matthew was one of the twelve disciples, a Jew who knew the Old Testament scriptures; book written from Matthew’s point of view. Examples—shows authority of eyewitness when Jesus gives instructions to his disciples (8:1-11:1); final journey of Jesus to Jerusalem (19:1-25:46); over 60 references to Old Testament passages. 2. Chronicles ____________________________ Reasons_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Examples______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Paul's epistles(letters to churches) ____________________________

Reasons________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Examples______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Acts ____________________________ Reasons________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Examples______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Song of Solomon ____________________________ Reasons_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Examples______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Proverbs ____________________________ Reasons________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Examples______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“ I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful

deeds.” Psalm 9:1

•••• ANSWER KEY • QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE • COMMONLY MISSPELLED WORDS • EDITING SYMBOLS

ANSWER KEY

TYPES OF WRITING FOUND IN THE BIBLE

1. John’s and Matthew’s Gospels/ eyewitness

REASONS: Matthew was one of the twelve disciples, a Jew who knew the

Old Testament scriptures; book written from Matthew’s point of view.

EXAMPLES: shows authority of eyewitness when Jesus gives instructions

to his disciples (8:1-11:1); final journey of Jesus to Jerusalem (19:25-46);

over 60 references to Old Testament passages

___________________

2. Samuel, Kings, Chronicles/ biographical

REASONS: Chronicles the lives of King David, King Solomon, and others;

records the history of God’s people, especially the kingdom of Judah.

EXAMPLES: record of genealogies I Chron.1-9; outlines reign of King

David I Chr.10-29; records the reign of King Solomon II Chron.1-9; traces

the reigns of twenty rulers of Judah II Chron.10-36.

___________________

3. Paul's epistles, prophets/ persuasive

REASONS: makes an appeal for unity; salvation by grace through faith.

EXAMPLES: Philippians/ unity; Galatians/ salvation by grace.

___________________

4. Acts, prophets, Peter’s epistles, Hebrews narrative / informative

REASONS: sequel to the life of Christ; records the spread of Christianity

from Jerusalem to Rome.

EXAMPLES: story of lame man healed Acts 3:1-10; story of Ananias and

Sapphira Acts 5:1-11.

___________________

5. Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes expressive/ creative

REASONS: title, form, poetry

EXAMPLES: Song 1:2-3 “We will be glad and rejoice in you./ We will

remember your love more than wine.” You might be familiar with a

scriptural song, “I will rejoice in you and be glad/ I will extol your love

more than wine/ Draw me unto you and let us run together/ I will rejoice in

you and be glad.”

___________________

6. Proverbs, Revelation, Ezekiel/ interpretive

REASONS: requires higher level thinking; finding meaning and making

personal application.

EXAMPLES: Prov.1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of

knowledge.” What does fear mean? What is knowledge according to the

writer? Basic theme of book.

HINT: Remember that this is simply an exercise in recognizing types of

writing. The purpose is to acquaint writers with a variety of types found in

the Bible.

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QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE *

TO COMMON GRAMMATICAL AND USAGE ERRORS

*This guide assumes prior instruction about these grammatical

concepts. Use in EDITING STAGE.

USAGE AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

•••• For subject/verb agreement:

1. Locate the main verb in each sentence.

2. Match the verb with the subject.

3. Look for errors in agreement. Singular subjects take singular verbs;

plural subjects take plural verbs.

•••• For parallel structure:

1. Read paper looking for key words that signal parallel structure (e.g.,

either… or, neither…nor, both…and, not only…but also, and, or.

2. Any items connected by these words must have the same grammatical

form—i.e., adjectives, nouns, phrases, and verbals.

•••• For pronoun reference/agreement:

1. While reading, look for pronouns, especially it, this, they, their, and

them.

2. Search for the noun that the word refers to. If you find one, make sure

that the pronoun agrees in person (first, second, third) and number

(singular or plural). If no noun is found, insert one before the pronoun

or change the pronoun to a noun.

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SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION

•••• For spelling:

1. Examine each word individually. Move from the end of the line to the

beginning. Using the point of a pencil helps focus on each word.

2. When in doubt, refer to the List of COMMONLY MISSPELLED

WORDS or a dictionary.

•••• For punctuation/comma errors:

1. Look for compound sentences using and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet.

Each side of the conjunction must have a complete sentence. Then,

you can place a comma before the conjunction.

2. Look for introductory words, phrases, or clauses. Listen for a

breakpoint before the main clause begins. Insert a comma at this

point

•••• Miscellaneous:

1. Listen for sentences that do not contain complete thoughts. If you

find a sentence that is missing a subject or a predicate, rewrite the

sentence to insert the necessary part. (Sentence fragment)

2. Look for long sentences that do not have punctuation breaks. You

might have two complete sentences that are either missing a period or

a semicolon. (Run-on sentence)

3. Look for words that show possession (Betsy’s book, the classes’

efforts, the boy’s pencil) or show a contraction (it’s <it’s snowing>,

can’t, haven’t). Make sure the apostrophe is in the correct place.

(Apostrophe)

a lot absence

committee comparative

favorite February

mysterious naïve

accept conceive first necessary accidentally condemn fourth negotiate accommodate conscience fulfillment neither ache conscientious gauge niece achieve cough glamour noticeable acknowledgment council grammar occasion adolescent counsel guidance occurrence aisle counseled handkerchief opportunity allotted country heard opposite already county height parallel amateur criticize immediately particular analogous definitely impartial patient analyze descendant incorruptible personal anoint describe incredible personnel anticipate desert insufficient popular anxiety design interpretation possession apparent desperate interrupt prerogative argument dessert irrelevant prescription athlete develop jealousy prevalent autumn different judgment principal awhile diligence knew principle believe discipline know privilege beneficial doughnut laid proceed bizarre dynamic language proficient bought embarrass latter prominent breathe enough license publicly budget envelope lieutenant pursue business environment loose receipt caffeine especially magnificent receive calendar exaggerate maneuver recommend canceled excellent marriage renaissance cemetery except maybe repentance choose exceptional medieval repetition colonel exist miniature restaurant column existence miscellaneous rhyme comfortable facilitate mischief rhythm familiar muscle rough

COMMONLY MISSPELLED WORDS

Saturday yacht schedule yield seize you’re sincerely your skeptic skiing sophomore stationary stationery straight studying subtle surely surprise technique teenager their there they’re thorough though thought through tired tomorrow transferred transparent truly unnecessary vacuum valuable vegetable vengeance villain were where whether

Add more words as you need.

� Good Opening Frag fragment Agr agreement problem � Good Closing Inc incomplete construction // parallel lines � Good word choice ¶ Begin new paragraph Trans weak transition � Good details W wordy Shift shift in tense/person Sp spelling error

’ insert apostrophe ‚ insert comma

Awk awkward sentence structure T wrong verb tense Ts topic sentence Ro run-on ? unclear sentence a unclear antecedent C omit capital letter

Record additional symbols here: 1 2 3 4 5

EDITING SYMBOLS