Prewriting, Audience, Purpose, Introduction, Thesis, Support, Conclusion.

ESSAY BASICSPrewriting, Audience, Purpose, Introduction, Thesis, Support,

Conclusion

Prewriting

Select a topic Narrow the scope

Free writing Web/cluster Brainstorming 5W’s and H: who, what, where, when, why,

and how

Take Five

Practice these prewriting techniques using the following topic:

“School Lunch"

Audience

Questions to consider Who will see the writing? How much background

information? Types of details? Terms need definition? Tone? Reader’s opinion on the

topic?

Audience

Who are you writing for? Influences:

Sentence and paragraph structure Simple, compound, complex,

compound-complex sentences Brief, concise paragraphs vs

complex, detailed paragraphs Word choice

Reading level Jargon

Purpose

Why are you writing? To entertain To inform To persuade Satire

Each choice determines Tone

Serious – Sarcastic - Humorous

Structure Research Format

Purpose

Polanski Article1. What is Benson’s

purpose in this article?2. What is his thesis?3. List two arguments

Benson refutes4. List two ways Benson

tailors his argument for a 13-year-old.

5. List two persuasive reasons Benson uses to support his thesis.

6. How effective is his essay?

Practice Part I

Subject: The different tools a cell phone has that helps people communicate

Purpose: To explain Audience: Young

Children

Use at least one of the four prewriting skills to come up with ideas and highlight things you will need to adjust in order to better communicate with your audience.

Practice Part II

Topic: Same Purpose: Same Audience: see below How would you

outline change if the audience changed? List 5 words that you would use for each of the following audiences: Your parents A church group Your friends The world (internet

posting)

Introduction Elements

Opens the essay First impression is vital

Avoid cliché Avoid errors Be creative

Requires Hook Thesis

Introduction Elements:Thesis Statement

The heart of any paper A one-sentence summary

answer to the problem/question a paper addresses

The paper is written to provide support/evidence/proof of the thesis

The author should plan on the audience being skeptical of the thesis, thus putting forward the need to prove his/her idea.

Introduction Elements:Goal of a Thesis: Part I

Your thesis should do at least one of the following: Be the discovery of a

question where there seemed not to be one

Start with an observation that is puzzling – something you want to figure out, not something you already understand

Explain something that needs to be explained

Give new information - Provide a new solution for a problem

Introduction Elements:Goal of a Thesis: Part II

Your thesis should do at least one of the following: Account for some dissonance –

explain why some things don’t seem to fit together

Show that a commonly accepted answer to a question isn’t always correct

Explore the logical consequence of a given position

Show underlying differences in similar concepts

Connect elements of a subject and explain the significance of the connection

Introduction Elements:Strong vs. Weak Thesis

A weak thesis statement makes no claim For Example: I’m going to write

about Darwin’s concerns with evolution in The Origin of the Species.

How to Fix: You need to raise specific issues to explore

A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand For Example: Darwin’s concern with

the survival of the fittest in The Origin of Species leads him to neglect a potentially conflicting aspect of his theory of evolution – survival as a matter of interdependence.


A weak thesis statement states an obvious truth or fact

For Example: The jean industry targets its advertisements to appeal to young adults. How to Fix: Find an area of question that

can be raised by some of the facts. Make an assertion that some could disagree with.

A strong thesis statement justifies discussion For Example: By inventing new terms,

such as ‘loose fit’ and ‘relaxed fit,’ the jean industry has attempted to normalize, even glorify, its product for an older, fatter generation.


A weak thesis statement restates conventional wisdom (offers nothing new) For Example: An important part of one’s

college education is learning to better understand others’ points of view.

How to Fix: Look for more than one point of view that could open the window to new ideas to explore.

A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea For Example: Although an important part of

one’s college education is learning to better understand others’ points of view, a persistent danger is that the students will be required to simply substitute the professor’s answers for the ones they grew up uncritically believing.


A weak thesis statement offers personal conviction as the basis for the claim For Example: The environment should be

protected because it is the right thing to do, not because someone is forcing you to do it.

How to Fix: Treat your ideas as hypothesis rather that fact

A strong thesis statement is one that can be supported through research For Example: Although I agree with the

argument that the environmentalists and business should work together to ensure the ecological future of the world, Kirkpatrick’s argument undervalues the necessity of pressuring business to attend to the environmental concerns than may not benefit them in the short run.


A weak thesis statement is overly broad (too vague) For Example: Violent revolutions have

both positive and negative results. How to Fix: Find ways to look at the

complexity of your issue – look for specific areas to cover – narrow the topic - -pick a side

A strong thesis statement is specific For Example: Although violent

revolutions begin to redress long-standing social inequities, they often do so at the cost of long-term economic dysfunction and the suffering that attends it.

Introduction Elements:How to Create a

Thesis Statement Part I

Imagine the reader’s view of the subject

Thesis should provide NEW ideas to add to the reader’s store of knowledge

Thesis should CLARIFY knowledge Add Tension

Attempt to stretch reader’s sensations from a familiar idea to a NEW, SUPRISING ONE

Give the reader something NEW to consider

Use words like WHERAS and ALTHOUGH

Introduction Elements:How to Create a

Thesis Statement Part II

Ask a question and answer it Q: What are the

benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade classroom?

A: Using computers in a fourth-grade classroom promises to improve…(your answer to the question is your thesis)

Introduction Elements:Create Your Own Thesis!

Time to practice! Free write for 10 minutes on the following topics:

Competitive sports High Speed Rail between Milwaukee and Madison Homelessness Celebrities PoliticsYou must choose three of the above and create

the following: Topic Question Possible thesis

Body: Prewriting Connection

Each supporting paragraph does just that – supports or proves your thesis

Prewriting should provide focus for areas of focus/research

Go over your prewriting ideas and evaluate them, keeping in mind your purpose and audience. Are there things that need to be

explained? Words that need to be changed? Can some ideas be grouped together?

Body: Organization

Need to organize your supporting points in a logical, appropriate order Chronological Topical Cause/Effect Spatial

Body: Research

Use research to Clearly explain status quo (the details of the

current situation) Illustrate potential problems Provide examples of how others are dealing

with the issue Personalize the issue with personal stories

You need to explain how the cited support connects to/proves/supports your thesis.

Body: Sources

Check sources for Is the information current? Is the source reliable? Biased? How will specific details support your thesis? Be sure to maintain an MLA Works Cited page as

you research your topic As you surf, have a Word document opened Copy and paste URL and write a sentence

summarizing source Copy and paste usable segments; don’t print out

entire articles! Use www.easybib.com to properly format your

citation.

http://www.easybib.com/

Body: Sources Practice

Complete the Internet Source Evaluation Sheet for your practice essay.

Introduction Elements:Hook

Relates the topic to the audience States the importance of your

topic Clearly defines where the essay

is going Need to show how the hook

relates to the thesis Write the hook LAST – after you

know your position and how you are going to write about it.

Introduction Elements:Hook Strategies –

Persuasive and Informative

1. Startle the reader with interesting facts/statistics Provides proof of serious

approach Shows specific impact of

issue “101 Dalmatians , Peter

Pan, and Hercules are the only three Disney cartoon movies with both parents that are present throughout the movie.”



2. Rhetorical questions Quickly brings audience

to your side (flatters) “Who can be optimistic

when the economy is in such a deplorable condition?”



3. Quotations Provides proof of

serious approach Puts experts in your

support “Government

isn’t the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Ronald Reagan



4. Tell a story/anecdote Everyone loves a story Relates the issue on a personal level

“Scott’s dad one day decided to have a rummage sale. He dug through a plethora of boxes, deciding what to keep and what could be sold. Old toys, records, clothes that would only be good for a 70’s retro party, and books that were never cracked open went into the pile. Everything went, including some old comic books he had forgotten about, for bargain prices. Unfortunately for Scott’s dad, he never checked to see how much those comics were really worth.”



5. Give historical information Provides proof of serious approach Connects the past to the present – learn or

repeat “Here's where things stood in 1980,

Carter's last year in office, and in subsequent periods: Carter: Interest rate, 21%. Inflation,

13.5%. Unemployment, 7%. The so-called "Misery Index," which Carter used to great effect in his 1976 campaign to win election, 20.5%.

Reagan's last year: Interest rate, 9%. Inflation, 4.1%. Unemployment, 5.5%. Misery Index, 9.6%.

Bush today: Interest rate, 8%. Inflation, 2.6%. Unemployment, 4.5%. Misery Index, 7.1%.

(From 'Malaise' MaestroBy INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY |Posted Tuesday, May 22, 2007 4:20 PM PT http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=264727202278115)


Narrative6. Dialogue

Good for personal narrative Puts reader immediately into the story

“Congratulations, you have a new baby boy!” my child development teacher said as she handed over the 10-pound bundle.” (from “It’s a Boy!”)

7. Question Gets the reader thinking about the topic

“What possessed me me to try to catch a skunk? I will never know.”

8. Command Good for the moral of the story Forceful start Provides a hint to the conflict of the

story Arouses curiosity

Never try to outsmart a skunk


Narrative

9. Action Lively entrance into a personal

narrative I have never run so fast in

my life. Unfortunately, it was not fast enough.

10. Sound Effect Strong sensory introduction

puts reader into the action “PSFST!” I smelled the

skunk’s spray almost as soon as I heard it.


Narrative

11. Inner Thought Puts reader into the narrator’s head

I thought I was the luckiest kid in the world until I saw him, John McKay.

12. Description Don’t overdo the description

Purpose could get lost in flowery language

Quick description clearly illustrates character/setting The day started out like every other

day. It was sunny out and the birds were chirping. No one could have guessed that the biggest storm of the year would be coming our way in a few short hours.

Introduction Elements:Great Opening Narrative Lines

“A screaming comes across the sky” (Thomas Pychon, Gravity’s

Rainbow, 1973) “It was a bright cold day in

April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” (George Orwell, 1984, 1949)

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, 1937)

“It was the day my grandmother exploded.” (Iain Banks, The Crow Road, 1992)

Hook Practice

Complete class handout

Parenthetic Citation:Print

Immediately following a quotation from a source or a paraphrase of a source's ideas, you place the author's name followed by a space and the relevant page number(s) and end with a period. Paraphrase: Human beings have been

described as "symbol-using animals" (Burke 3). Quote: “In a hole in the ground there lived a

hobbit” (Tolkien 1). Internet sources use the same format but

do not refer to any given page.

Parenthetic Citation:No Known Author

No known author? Use a shortened title of the work instead of an

author name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short

work, Place the title in italics or underline it if it's a

longer work. Applies to print and internet sources

Parenthetic Citation: Multiple Sources

To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon: ...as has been discussed elsewhere (Burke 3;

Dewey 21). Again, internet sources do not refer to

any given page.

Parenthetic Citation: Internet Sources

For an individual page on a Web site: list the author or alias if

known If unknown, follow

unknown author rules For other internet

sources go to www.137icomp.blogspot.com, go to the MLA F.Y.I. page, and follow the links

http://www.137icomp.blogspot.com/

http://www.137icomp.blogspot.com/

Parenthetic Citation: To Cite or Not to Cite

Common sense and ethics determines documenting sources. No citation needed for the following:

familiar proverbs well-known quotations common knowledge.

To cite or not is based on audience. Audience determines common knowledge.

MLA Format

Typed on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper,

Double-space Times Roman. The font size should be 12

pt. Leave only one space after periods or

other punctuation marks (unless otherwise instructed by your instructor).

Set the margins to 1 inch on all sides.

MLA Format

Indent the first line of a paragraph one half-inch (five spaces or press tab once) from the left margin.

Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow your instructor's guidelines.)

Use either italics or underlining throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis.

MLA Format:The First Page of Your Paper

No title page unless specifically requested. In the upper left-hand corner of the first page , double-spaced list:

your name your instructor's name the course the date

Double space again and center the title. No underline or quotation marks write the title in Title Case, not in all capital letters.

Use quotation marks and underlining or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text, e.g., Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as Morality Play Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking“

MLA Format:The First Page of Your Paper

Double space between the title and the first line of the text.

Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes: your last name, followed by a space with a page

number number all pages consecutively with Arabic

numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) one-half inch from the top and flush with the right

margin. (Note: Your instructor or other readers may ask that you omit last name/page number header on your first page. Always follow their guidelines.)

MLA Format:The First Page Example

MLA Works Cited

Works Cited on a separate page at the end. Use the same one-inch margins and last name,

page number header as the rest of your paper. Label the page Works Cited

Do not underline the words Works Cited or put them in quotation marks)

Center the words Works Cited at the top of the page. Double space all citations, but do not skip

spaces between entries. Indent the second and subsequent lines of

citations five spaces so that you create a hanging indent.

MLA Works Cited

List page numbers efficiently, when needed. 225 through 250 should be listed as 225-50. Capitalize each word in the titles of articles,

books… Do not capitalize articles, short prepositions, or

conjunctions unless one is the first word of the title or subtitle: Gone with the Wind, The Art of War, There Is Nothing Left

to Lose Use italics or underlining for titles of larger works

(books, magazines) Use quotation marks for titles of shorter works

(poems, articles)

MLA Works Cited:Listing Author Names

Entries are listed by author name (or, for entire edited collections, editor names). Author names are written last name first; middle names or middle initials follow the first name: Burke, Kenneth

Levy, David M.Wallace, David Foster

Do not list titles (Dr., Sir, Saint, etc.) or degrees (PhD, MA, DDS, etc.) with names.

Do, however, include suffixes like "Jr." or "II." Putting it all together, a work by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be cited as "King, Martin Luther, Jr.," with the suffix following the first or middle name and a comma.

MLA Works Cited:Multiple Works/Authors

One author, multiple works cited: order the entries alphabetically by title, use three hyphens in place of the author's name for

every entry after the first: Burke, Kenneth. A Grammar of Motives. ---. A Rhetoric of Motives.

When an author or collection editor appears both as the sole author of a text and as the first author of a group, list solo-author entries first: Heller, Steven, ed. The Education of an E-Designer. Heller, Steven and Karen Pomeroy. Design Literacy:

Understanding Graphic Design.

MLA Works Cited:Work with No Known Author

Alphabetize works with no known author by their title

Use a shortened version of the title in the parenthetical citations in your paper. In this case, Boring Postcards USA has no known author: Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulations… Boring Postcards USA… Burke, Kenneth. A Rhetoric of Motives…

Work Cited Example

Transitions

Between each supporting idea, transitions need to bridge the gap/show the connection between each main idea. “Cost is not the only stumbling block to light

rail, ridership is also a main concern.”

Conclusion

Summarizes the essay Final chance for a strong, closing

statement Can ‘bookend’ the paper by referring

to/having a parallel construction to the hook.

First Draft

Start after Prewriting Thesis Research Organization of main points and support

Do not worry about grammar, spelling, usage.

Focus on the communication of your ideas. Summarize your main idea (Thesis) in a

sentence or two Restate your audience and purpose

Revision

Revision is NOT editing Focus is on three things:

Addition Deletion Revision of order

All drafts should be read aloud All comments should be honest,

constructive, and tactful.

Revision: First Draft Questions

What words or sentences make a strong impression?

What words or sentences seem weak? Is everything clear? If not, what would you like

to understand better? Is the main idea clear? Summarize it. Are the ideas presented in a logical order? What is the writer’s purpose? Does the writing seem right for the audience? Does the writing have a strong beginning? Does the writing have a strong ending?

Revision: Second and Third Drafts

Second draft is the same as the first draft AFTER some time away.

Third Draft: The edit looks for errors in Capitalization Punctuation Spelling Usage

Prewriting, Audience, Purpose, Introduction, Thesis, Support, Conclusion.

Documents

Transcript of Prewriting, Audience, Purpose, Introduction, Thesis, Support, Conclusion.