Ideas and Content

1. Ideas and Content My paper is clear, focused and specific

2. Topic is narrow “All about my trip to Disneyland” is too big Narrow it down “Ainsley’s near death experience at Disneyland” Allows you to go into greater detail about one topic

3. Quality details matter more than quantity Every ride we went on, every snack we ate, every character we saw, every line we waited in, etc. Vs. Interesting tidbits (Ainsley falling into the mote, Ring around the rosies with Sleeping Beauty, etc.)

4. Don’t assume the reader knows about your topic Write as if the reader knows nothing about your topic. Fill in the gaps Don’t assume anything Convince them that you are the expert

5. Show don’t tell Tell Show Ainsley fell off the fence. As her doting mother smothered Ainsley with the camera, she bumbled backwards losing her footing. Her arms swinging wildly, she teetered between safety and disaster. Before she knew it, she had fallen off a four foot fence and was lying on her back in a pile of dirt and twigs in the happiest place on earth!

7. Can you say “yes” to the following statements? I know a lot about this topic, and when someone else reads it, they’ll find out something new I made sure to show what was happening rather than telling what happened I filled my paper with interesting tidbits that made reading it fun I made sure my topic was small enough to handle I could easily answer the question, “What is the point of this paper?”