Eng 1060 week 1

ENG 1060English Composition (ADN)

Session One Longman Writer Pages 14-90

Pre-Writing

Longman p 15

Getting Started Through Prewriting

• Prewriting refers to the strategies you can use to generate ideas before starting the first draft of a paper.

Longman p 15-18

Developing Ideas

• There are many ways to identify topics that you might choose to develop into an essay.

• Journaling is probably the most successful approach to this challenge.– With this technique you simply take time at the

end of your day or an activity to summarize an event or thought that you might expand at a later time.

Longman p 18

First Steps

• As with any assignment, there are some simple preliminary “points of information” that you need to know:– Identify the kind of paper the instructor has in

mind– Identify the length of the assignment - many

instructors will say “as long as it takes”, but you will probably given “minimums and maximums”

Longman p 18-22

Next Steps

• After the preliminary information has been provided, you then must determine:– Your Purpose – what do you want the essay to

accomplish?– Your Audience – who will be reading this essay?– Your Tone – what emotional state is to be conveyed?– Your Point of View - what is the role of the author in

the essay (narrator, participant, observer, expert)?

Longman p 22-23

Discover Your Essay’s Limited Subject(Narrowing the Topic)

• After you have a grasp on the assignment’s boundaries, you need to focus on identifying the topic

• The first step is to focus on a limited subject

• This diagram illustrates this concept (the larger rings representing the broader topics diminish in size until they reach the red circle which represents the final topic)

Longman p 27

Mapping Limited Subjects• If you start with a very general topic, suddenly your mind will

go off in many directions with ideas – your job as the writer is to “map” these idea until you find the one fitting your needs.

Social Media (S/M)

Problems w S/M Benefits w S/M

Types of S/M History of S/M

S/M PredatorsS/M & Identity TheftS/M & Character Damage

FacebookLinkedinChristian Mingle

Keep in Contact w/ FamilyAffordable FunNetworking Tool

History of FacebookHistory of Online DatingHistory of Online Networking

Longman p 28-33

Preliminary Research

• After you have an idea of your topic, you then need to gather facts to determine whether or not you should proceed with your writing

• This step can be done by:– Brainstorming – jotting down all ideas that you or

your friends can provide– Media searches – simply “Google” the possible

topic

Identifying a Thesis

Longman p 34

What is a Thesis?

• A thesis presents your position on the subject you have chosen.

• The thesis identifies the controlling purpose of the essay.

Longman p 35

Writing an Effective Thesis

• The effective thesis has two parts:– One part presents your paper’s limited subject– The second part presents your point of view or

attitude about the subject

Longman 35-36

Effective Thesis Examples

• Let’s look at an effective thesis:

“Monitoring children’s use of electronic devices have had a positive impact on student outcomes.”

• Limited subject: “Monitoring children’s use of electronic devices …”

• Point of view: “… have had a positive impact on student outcomes.”

Longman 35-36

Effective Thesis Examples

• Let’s look at an another effective thesis:

“The treatment of Bell’s Palsy can be augmented with the use of acupuncture.”

• Limited subject: “The treatment of Bell’s Palsy…”• Point of view: “… can be augmented with the use

of acupuncture .”

Longman p 36-40

Keys to a Strong Thesis Statement

1. Don’t write a highly opinionated statement (expressions of greater emotion should be left for the body of the essay)

2. Don’t make an announcement (avoid using the first person “I” or “my” in the thesis statement)

3. Don’t make a factual statement (wait until the body of the essay so you can prove your point with evidence)

4. Don’t make a broad statement (focus on the “actual” not the “general”)

Supporting the Thesis with Evidence

Longman p 41

What is Evidence?• Evidence refers to the information you present to validate your

thesis

• When writing evidence can be many things:– Reasons– Examples – Facts (Statistics)– Details– Personal observation or experiences– Anecdotes– Expert opinions– Quotations

Longman p 42

How Do You Find Evidence?

• Use the same tools you used to identify your thesis – but go deeper– Media searches– Interviewing with documentation– Observing with documentation

Characteristics of Evidence

• Make sure that your evidence is:– Relevant and unified– Specific in detail– Sufficient (adequate) in quantity– Dramatic rather than blasé – Accurate (this is crucial!)– Representative

Longman p 46

The “Golden Rule” of Evidence

ANY information you present must be verifiable with documentation!

You must be able to prove your sources of information that you present in your writings.

Organizing the Evidence

Longman p 48-49

Select an Organizational Approach

• How are you going to present your material?– Chronological Approach – time sequence of

events • Pros: Very orderly• Cons: Doesn’t work with everything

– Spatial Approach – taking things how they appear in real life (the big picture approach)

• Pros: Very useful in descriptive or narrative writing• Cons: Can become boring if it seems to be step-by-step

Longman 49-50

Select an Organizational Approach (cont.)

• How are you going to present your material?– Emphatic Approach – builds to a crescendo, saving the

most compelling for last• Pros: Works great for argumentative or persuasion• Cons: Ineffective for most descriptive essays

– Simple-to-Complex Approach – proceeds from step one to step to and so on

• Pros: Great for instructional essays and works for some narrative writings

• Cons: Like the chronological and spatial, can tend to be boring without sufficient evidence

Longman p 51-55

Using the Outline

• Once you have determined your organizational approach, a proven way to plan your essay is to use an outline

• An outline is simply a step-by-step map for you to follow when composing your work

I. Thesis StatementII. Point of information

a. Documented validationIII. Point of information

a. Documented validationIV. Point of information

a. Documented validationV. Summary/Conclusion

Writing the Paragraph in the First Draft

Longman p 56

Going From “Outline” to “Draft”

• Here is a key suggestion for taking your outline and converting it to your rough draft:– Make the outline’s “main topics” (I, II, III, etc.) the

topic sentences of the essay’s supporting paragraphs.

General Suggestions

• Work quickly and get your thoughts on paper – you can revise for content and correct errors later

• Don’t worry if you get bogged down – if one section becomes a block, move on and come back later

Longman p 57-74

Things to Remember

• Make your “topic sentences” for each paragraph strong statements of fact

• Give ample support and be sure it is specific

• Use strong verbs – don’t be afraid to show some emotion and flair

• Make your paragraphs coherent – use your chosen sequence pattern and stick to it

• Make your last sentence of each paragraph your strongest

• When in doubt – DOCUMENT YOUR SOURCE

Writing the “Perfect 5 Sentence Paragraph”(this is not referenced in your textbook)

Paragraph Basics

• Conveys a single, consistent thought

• Has a specific flow• Brings thought to a

conclusion• Traditionally is no longer than

5 sentences

The 5 Sentence Paragraph

• The first sentence of the paragraph usually is the topic sentence

• This sentence sets the tone of the paragraph

Topic Sentence


• Sentences 2, 3 & 4 provide the context of the paragraph

• These statements support the Topic Sentence

Sentence 4

Sentence 3

Sentence 2

Topic Sentence


• Sentence 5 is the concluding sentence

• It offers closure for the topic and often restates the Topic Sentence in an alternative manner

Conclusion

Sentence 4

Sentence 3

Sentence 2

Topic Sentence

The 5 Sentence Paragraph – Let’s Try It

“The treatment of cancer in children can include chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.”

Topic Sentence

We start with our topic sentence.


“The treatment of cancer in children can include chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Chemotherapy is medication which is used as a tool to eliminate cancer cells in the body. Radiation is the use of radiant energy to kill cancer cells. Surgery is when cancerous cells or tumors are extracted from the body.

Sentence 4

Sentence 3

Sentence 2

Topic Sentence

We add our supportive sentences.


“The treatment of cancer in children can include chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Chemotherapy is medication which is used as a tool to eliminate cancer cells in the body. Radiation is the use of radiant energy to kill cancer cells). Surgery is when cancerous cells or tumors are extracted from the body. The type of treatment needed depends on the type and severity of cancer and the child's age.”

Conclusion

Sentence 4

Sentence 3

Sentence 2

Topic Sentence

We finish with our concluding sentence.

The 5 Sentence Paragraph – Let’s Try It Again

• For this sentence let’s imagine that our topic was professional baseball.

• We first need to narrow it:– Baseball– Baseball pitchers– Left handed pitchers– Dodger left handed pitchers– Sandy Koufax


“Sandy Koufax, who pitched for the Dodgers between the years 1955-1966, had a career that will probably never be duplicated.”

Topic Sentence


“Sandy Koufax, who pitched for the Dodgers between the years 1955-1966, had a career that will probably never be duplicated. During his illustrious career Koufax threw four no hitters including a perfect game. He was also a three time Cy Young award winner. In 1972 Sandy Koufax became the youngest player ever to be elected to the Hall of Fame.”

Sentence 4

Sentence 3

Sentence 2

Topic Sentence


“Sandy Koufax, who pitched for the Dodgers between the years 1955-1966, had a career that will probably never be duplicated. During his illustrious career Koufax threw four no hitters including a perfect game. He was also a three time Cy Young and one time MVP award winner. To top his career, in 1972 Sandy Koufax became the youngest player ever to be elected to the Hall of Fame. With these credentials, it is doubtful that any pitcher will be able to match Koufax.”

Conclusion

Sentence 4

Sentence 3

Sentence 2

Topic Sentence

Eng 1060 week 1

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