The Writing Process

1. The Writing Process According to Miss Leslie

2. Recall • Recall what you know about the writing process. • What are its steps? • How do you use it in your writings?

3. 3 main parts • No matter how you have learned the writing process in the past, there is one thing to remember, there are three basic parts. If you look at the writing process this way, it can help you to create anything, not just papers for class. • Invent- brainstorming and thinking about what you are going to be creating • Draft- the actual creating process • Revise- editing, adding, and subtracting information to make your work better

4. My impression of what students writing processes look like Draft

5. The Writing Process If you spend equal time on each part, you will find that when you need to create papers or other work, the creation process will be much easier Time that should be spent on each activity Invent

6. More important things to know about writing

7. Thesis vs. Topic Sentence Topic sentence • States what you are writing about • Is not necessarily arguable • Usually the first sentence of a paragraph • There is one in every paragraph. Thesis • Tells what your paper will be about. • It is arguable • States not only what you will be talking about, but how you feel about it. • Usually located at the end of your introductory paragraph

8. Writing a good thesis • What a thesis is • Makes a strong clear assertion that clearly conveys your attitude about the subject • It is focused • It is not too narrow • What a thesis isn’t • Not an announcement of the subject matter • Not a question or list of questions • Not simply a statement of fact

9. Examples Clear assertion with opinion • Bad: Dr. Strangelove is about the cold war. • Ok: Dr. Strangelove is an interesting film about the absurdity of the cold war. • Great: Dr. Strangelove is a scathing indictment of American nuclear strategy and cold war politics. Not Too Broad • Bad: Animals have developed many strategies for survival. • OK: Animals have developed many strategies to protect themselves. • Great: Many animals have developed physical properties that serve to protect them from predators

10. NEVER DO THIS: Examples of Non-Thesis Statements • “This paper will discuss the dropping of the atomic bomb.” Correction: “The U.S. was wrong to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.” • “There are many similarities between the Perrault and Grimm versions of ‘Little Red Riding Hood.’” Correction: “Both the Perrault and Grimm versions of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ reveal the authors’ negative attitudes towards women.

11. Remember • A thesis must be your argument for the entire paper in a nutshell • A thesis comes at the end of the introduction A helpful model for a thesis is as see below • ____________ because __________, _________, _________ • Writing your thesis in this construction helps outline the rest of your paper because your reasons help create your topic sentences for the body paragraphs Your Basic Thought Reason 1 Reason 2 Reason 3

12. Practice Identify why the following are bad thesis statements and then revise them to make them strong theses. • In this essay, I will explain why I want to attend Briarwood College. • The death penalty is a controversial issue. • This novel had an important impact on my life. • What would consequences of censorship on the Internet be?

13. 5 Paragraph Essay Format Introduction thesis Topic 1 Topic 2 Topic 3 Conclusion

14. Introductions • What an introduction should do: • Grab a reader’s interest • Set the tone of the essay • Clearly state the main point of the essay • Provide the context necessary to understand your thesis. • Contain your thesis • Ways to grab interest: • A quote • A question • A surprising fact or statement • An imaginary situation or scenario • An anecdote • Interesting background information • A new twist on a familiar phrase

15. Body of Your Essay Provide Support • Specific Examples • Facts • Reasons (an explanation of why you think a certain way) • Descriptions or anecdotes • Expert opinion and analysis • Quotes from the text Be Convincing • Be specific • Don’t include ideas you can’t support • Establish credibility • Acknowledge counter arguments • Make concessions • Avoid absolutes • Don’t offend

16. Conclusion • A conclusion should create a sense of satisfaction by doing the following: • Restating the thesis • Offering a new understanding • Providing a sense of closure • Arousing the readers interest • Strategies: • Quote • Question • Anecdote • Prediction • Solution or recommendation • Call to action

17. Structure • The bottom line is that all essays have a basic structure: • How you decide to organize your assertions and support is up to you. Support Assertion

18. Organizational Strategies • Chronological or Sequential- used when you are asked to describe an experience or a procedure. • Cause and Effect-Can be used for the whole essay or just its parts. You can move from cause to effect or effect to cause • Comparison and Contrast- used to show similarities and differences • Block- organize by item and then discuss all of the aspects related to the item • Point by point- Takes each aspect item by item. Useful in demonstrating how the items measure up against each other.

19. More Strategies • Spatial-used when describing an item or place. The key to this is to move around the object logically • Analysis/ Classification- Group similar things together so that you can talk about all their characteristics at once. • Order of Importance- order things from least important to most important. Important being defined as for what you have the most support • Problem->Solution- not a very flexible type of organization. The problem must come first so people know what the solution is fixing

20. Words and Phrases never to use in a formal essay • I, or other 1st person pronouns • You, or other 2nd person pronouns • “I feel,” “I think,” or “I believe,” unless it is a personal essay • “In conclusion” • Stuff • Things • Good • Great • Firstly • Get • Always • Never • Show