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Writing Work Shop #1. Writing is a recursive process, meaning that writers may repeat the steps of drafting , revising , and polishing many times before they are satisfied with their product .
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Writing Work Shop #1 Writing is a recursive process, meaning that writers may repeat the steps of drafting, revising, and polishing many times before they are satisfied with their product. Successful writers are flexible in how they approach a writing situation. They use a variety of strategies to carry out and manage the task of composing. This workshop is designed to help you understand the stages of the writing process and the strategies that will help you develop your own writing process.
Goals: Use elements of the writing process to compose a text in which you: 1. Plan a first draft by selecting an appropriate genre, target audience, topic, and controlling idea/thesis. 2 . Develop a draft by choosing an appropriate organizational strategy to create a focused, organized, coherent piece of writing. 3. Revise drafts to clarify meaning, enhance style, and refine purpose, audience, and genre. 4. Edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling. 5. Revise the final draft in response to feedback from readers and publish work for appropriate audiences.
Stages of the Writing Process Consider the traditional stages of the writing process (in random order): As a class let’s brainstorm the role of the writer within each stage of the writing process.
Read like a Writer • Write & Define the following words, then add them to the word wall: Purpose Audience Genre Organizational Structure Position Thesis Style
Read like a Writer Now read: “Breaking the Ice” by Dave Barry p. 510 Answer the following questions with a partner: Purpose: What was the writer’s purpose for composing this text? Was it to inform, to entertain, to persuade, to reflect, to share an experience? Explain. Audience: Who is the intended audience for this piece? Provide support from the text for your response. Position/Thesis: What central idea and/or message did the writer want to convey? Genre: Identify the writing mode and the essential features of this genre. Discuss how the genre is used to support the purpose of the writing, and describe the position of the writer.
Day 2 Working through the writing process Read the information in the box: Think about the people you care about. WRITE about one person that has been important to you. Explain what makes that person special. List of people important to me: There are people in our lives who are special to us. Sometimes this person is a teacher or coach, brother or sister, or even a friend. List of People Important to Me: Mom Dad Sister Coach Bailey Coach Dunn Mrs. Penny Coach Lee Mrs. Scott Coach Calabria
Wild WebDirections: Place 25 traits, characteristics, or qualities about your important person in the bubbles. You must be able to give examples for the qualities. For example: caring is a trait—you will give 5 examples of how your friend is caring on the Planned Web. Important People
Planned WebPlanned Web—you will choose 5 from your Wild Web (the ones you have the BEST examples for) and put them in the 5 bubbles. Then on each spoke, going out from the bubble, you will place your examples. For example: the trait “caring” could have examples like stayed with me while I was in the hospital, stood up for me when other people talked about me , gave me lunch money when I forgot mine These examples would be written on the spokes going out from the bubble that has “caring” in it. Insert Name of your important person Here
How to write a first draft How to Write an Introduction: Introduction Song Introduction, Introduction, Tell us what it’s all about, Introduction, Introduction, Does it have a thesis now? Introduction, Grabs the readers attention in a big, big way Where does the thesis go? Last!
INTRODUCTION & Thesis • INTRODUCTION: • Grabs the readers attention • tells the reader what is coming next • organizes the five paragraph essay • has a thesis • THESIS STATEMENT: • Tells the main idea of the whole paper • indicates the order of the body paragraph • is supported by every paragraph in the paper • is the last sentence of the introduction • For Example: Pollution affects the wildlife in our skies and forests, as well as our oceans.
TYPES OF INTRODUCTIONS There are five types of introductions. • Restatement Introduction —merely repeats information from the prompt or writing assignment. It is the minimal level an introduction should take. • Exclamatory Introduction— (middle of an action) attempts to grab the readers attention so they will want to read on. • Descriptive Introduction— describes the scene and helps create the mood of an essay. • Quotation Introduction —begins the paper with a quotation that connects to the essence of your subject. • Exclamatory/Descriptive Introduction—Does It All! It can be used in every formof writing.
Types of Introductions • Which one would you rather read: Prompt: What is kindness? • Option1: • My name is Maddy and I am going to tell you about kindness. • Option 2: • “Hey! I like your shirt!” You see what I did there? That’s called kindness.
Restatement Intro One way is to restate the prompt or assignment (if you are given a specific one) in your own words and then go on with the essay. This is not the best way to write an introduction, but it will work. Prompt: Friends are important in people’s lives. Select a close friend whom you know well. Tell what qualities you admire about your friend and give examples to support your choice. Example: David is an important part of my life, and we have shared many memorable experiences together.
Exclamatory Intro You need to GRAB the readers attention so he or she will read the rest of your paper. This kind will GRAB the reader by the arm and say, “Wow! You can’t miss this!” You need to set the tone of your paper so that the reader will want to read and enjoy what you write. Example: My friend David actually fell for it! He took a dare from the guys in his theatre arts class to stand on a bench at lunch and sing the school fight song. Second example: “Fight! Fight! Fight! You mighty Cougars!” An off-key croaking rendition of our school fight song interrupted my conversation with a friend during lunch in the cafeteria. Laughter rang out through the cafeteria, first as smothered snickers and giggles as students stretched and strained to see where the song was coming from, and then like a wave, engulfing my friend Dave’s attempt to sing our school fight song.
Descriptive Intro Starts the picture going and helps create the mood. It describes what is going on, how things look, and may even provide some auditory experiences (cracked like lightning, boomed like thunder). Descriptive introductions include sensory details and figurative language. Example: The small streak of yellow raced up the sidewalk and immediately began to lick my face. He leaped into my sister’s arms, and his curly tail whirled like a propeller.
Quotation Intro Begin this introduction with a quotation. Quotations that relate to your subject can be found in song lyrics, poetry, Bartlett’s Famous Quotations, and the Internet. Example: “There’ve been times I’m so confused. All my roads lead to you,” (Sister Hazel). It seems that in the last three years all my roads have led to David. When my parents separated, he was the one person who could make me smile.
Exclamatory/Descriptive Intro This introduction GRABS the reader’s attention AND sets the mood. It makes it impossible for the reader to stop reading and draws him or her in by setting the mood. This is the best type of introduction you can write in an essay. It can also be the most challenging to write. Example: A noticeable hush came over the cafeteria. The rattling of paper and the hustle-bustle of the lunch lines stopped as David brazenly began to belt out “Go Cougars down the field!”
For Future Reference: (Body Paragraphs) TOPIC SENTENCE: • is the first sentence of each body paragraph, • expresses the main idea or purpose of the paragraph • all other sentences in the paragraph support that idea Some tips for making the topic sentence more interesting: 1. Use vivid detail. ex. The earth cracked like a shattered plate when the earthquake hit. 2. Ask a question. ex. What is wrong with being called a couch potato? 3. Talk to your readers. ex. Imagine your worst nightmare. 4. Include an interesting fact or statistic. ex. The jungle in Cancun, Mexico is so dense that you could be standing next to the ancient pyramid and not see it. 5. Set the scene. ex. It’s 130 degrees Fahrenheit, and all you can see are red, rolling sand dunes. Welcome to Australia’s Great Sandy Desert.
Writing a Conclusion A strong concluding paragraph • Emphasizes the main idea (thesis statement) without restating it exactly • May refer to ideas in the introduction to round out the composition • Does not introduce a completely new idea • Does not contain empty expressions like “I have just told you…” or “Now you know…” • Sum it up • Often ends with a clincher—a memorable phrase or statement.
A student example: Introduction: It Takes Two (1.) Brooke and I were walking through the woods on the zig-zag path that led to the old abandoned church camp. Alone, with huge trees swaying in the wind, dark clouds over our head, we were staring at an old scary building. We stepped up to the ancient door and opened it. Inside we heard boards creaking, water dripping, and it was very cold. We looked at each other with a scared look and ran home as if we were animals running from a predator. Being scared by that building is not the only frightening experience we’ve had together. 2. We have so much in common, we are very energetic, and she is very helpful. Descriptive attention-getter Thesis Statement (main idea of the entire paper)
A Student Example Conclusion: (1.) The both of us could be sisters. We always say we must be related some how. (2.) There is so much that we have in common, we are so energetic we’re like batteries, and she has been helpful to me in many ways. Don’t worry. The two of us aren’t always (3.) lurking around scary buildings or scaring ourselves. Brook and I are very energetic; we do lots of other things. (4.) We will continue to be perpetual motion machines, each other’s twin, and will help each other out. Interesting moments from the body/introduction Restated thesis statement Tie to introduction Sum it up/clincher (memorable statement)
Revision • Revision in class (Peer) or (color coded) • Editing look for cap, punctuation, grammar and usage, verb tense Finish Final Draft for homework - due on Friday (tomorrow)
