Prewriting For the real world (and proficiency testing)

RPDP Secondary Literacy The paper is off the topic. The paper contains obscene or objectionable material. The paper is blank. The paper contains insufficient writing for evaluation. The paper is written in a foreign language. The paper is unreadable.

Prewriting Prewriting is simply organizing your thoughts before you write an essay –Thinking –Brainstorming (ideas on paper) Bubble maps Spider Diagrams –Outlining Listing your main points in the order you want to present them and adding details

We have computers; why should we pre-write? There are still circumstances in which you will need to write something important the “old- fashioned way” (ie. paper and pencil) –The writing proficiency –Some college exams –Reports/information in the workplace –Etc. In these instances, prewriting will help you organize your thoughts in advance so that your writing is clear and contains fewer mistakes.

Essay pre-writing Before you write an essay, you need to decide what it will be about and what your main points will be. –EXAMPLE: The proficiency might ask you something like “What is your favorite food and why?” Well, what is it? (Tacos?) And why? (They’re delicious?) Why else? (Gotta have more than one support! … They’re cheap?) –You need to know what your answer will be before you write the essay so you will know how to organize it. If you picked tacos, you can write a whole paragraph about how delicious they are and a whole paragraph about why their cheapness makes them awesome.

TOTD: Prewrite for 1 prompt below. Concerns about student diets have led to the removal of junk food like candy, chips and sodas in many schools Do you agree with this policy? Defend your position. Looking back, each of us has a year that was better than the others. Think about a year that was your favorite year. Explain your choice.