A BLUEPRINT FOR PROGRESS: PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER CM 220: COLLEGE COMPOSITION II UNIT 6 SEMINAR Professor Jennifer St. John General Education, Composition Kaplan University 1

AGENDA  Unit 6 Activities  Project Guidelines  Paragraphs  Transitions 2

LEARNING ACTIVITIES Unit 6 Seminar 3

UNIT 6 LEARNING ACTIVITIES  Reading: Introduction to unit; The Kaplan Guide to Successful Writing, ch. 6 (pp ), ch. 14 (pp )  WC handout on integrating quotations effectively  Invention Lab: Strategies for defeating writer’s block  Seminar: Draft idea development and organization  Project: First draft of big idea (3-5 pages with cohesive paragraphs, an introduction and conclusion, and at least 3 academic sources cited)  Tech lab: Prezi, Photoshop and Gimp 4

PROJECT GUIDELINES Unit 6 Seminar 5

UNIT 6 DRAFT GUIDELINES  This “blueprint for progress” is your initial attempt to put together all the pieces of your research, pre-writing, and organizational techniques.  While this draft will not be perfect, it is not “rough,” either. This is a complete paper containing the main points of your project, and it should be clear, well researched and well organized. Do edit and proofread!  Be sure to format according to APA guidelines.  Consider submitting to the Writing Center for Additional Feedback. 6

MORE DRAFT GUIDELINES  Includes introductory paragraph with thesis statement and concluding paragraph. Note: Introduction and conclusion will be revised and expanded as part of the unit 8 Invention Lab.  Supports main points effectively and clearly.  Uses research, evidence, and examples to support assertions.  Skillfully refutes counter-arguments without ignoring data that contradicts the student’s thesis.  Refers to at least 3 secondary sources in the body of the paper and on the references page. One should be from the Kaplan Library. 7

PROJECT RUBRIC  Includes an introduction with a logical persuasive thesis statement and a conclusion that wraps up the essay. The mission statement is effective and needs little revision for the final project. Shows original thought.  Supports main points effectively and clearly (no logical fallacies, outside sources used to support arguments where appropriate) and skillfully refutes counter-arguments without ignoring data that contradicts the student’s thesis.  Refers to at least 3 secondary sources in the body of the paper and on the references page.  Paragraphs are well-developed, coherent, and logically organized.  The style is appropriate to the assignment, and sentences are engaging to read as well as clear, concise, and precise.  Project is free of serious errors; grammar, punctuation, and spelling help to clarify the meaning by following accepted conventions of Standard American English.  Follows APA guidelines for the document layout and citations.  Meets 3-5 page length requirement. 8

PARAGRAPHS Unit 6 Seminar 9

STRONG PARAGRAPHS  Are limited and focused  Are unified and coherent  Are clearly relevant to the thesis  Are well developed  Include a clear topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a clear conclusion 10

HOW DO I CREATE SUCH A PARAGRAPH?  Decide on your main idea for the ¶.  Write a topic sentence expressing your argument.  Explain/develop that idea in ¶ body.  Give example(s).  Explain relevance of examples.  Complete ¶ or transition into next paragraph. (“Paragraph Development,” 2007). 11

HOW DO I DEVELOP PARAGRAPHS?  Use examples and illustrations  Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details, and others)  Testimony from experts (interviews, quotes, paraphrases)  Use an anecdote or story  Define terms in the paragraph  Compare and contrast  Evaluate causes and reasons  Examine effects and consequences  Analyze the topic  Describe the topic  Offer a chronology of an event (“On Paragraphs,” 2010). 12

IS THIS PARAGRAPH DEVELOPED? We should provide more financial support for 9/11 First Responders. Many are currently in poor health or dying from complications resulting from exposure to toxins at Ground Zero. It is unfair for them to suffer and die without adequate support from the government. What would YOU do to make this paragraph stronger? 13

MORE HELP WITH PARAGRAPHS  For a helpful Writing Center workshop on this topic, review: fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal 14

DEFEATING WRITER’S BLOCK Unit 6 Seminar 15

WHAT CAUSES WRITER’S BLOCK?  Anxiety and stress  Fear of others’ opinions  Difficulties with research  Too close to topic 16

HOW TO DEFEAT IT?  Know your topic—be prepared.  Don’t strive for perfection—this is a draft!  Don’t edit and proofread while writing.  Don’t stress over the introduction—come back to it later.  Be confident!  Just do it  Note: see the Dennis Stokes video for more details. 17

TRANSITIONS Unit 6 Seminar 18

USING TRANSITIONS  Show relationship between ideas  Demonstrate that thoughts are logical and progressive, rather than random and accidental  Provide unity and coherence  Provide smooth “flow” within and between paragraphs 19

SOME EXAMPLE TRANSITIONS To indicate time orderTo provide an exampleTo indicate results In the pastFor exampleAs a result earlierFor instanceconsequently beforeTo illustrateBecause of currentlyspecificallySince precedingIn particulartherefore presentlynamelyFor this reason 20

A MORE COMPLETE LIST LOGICAL RELATIONSHIPTRANSITIONAL EXPRESSION Similarityalso, in the same way, just as... so too, likewise, similarly Exception/contrastbut, however, in spite of, on the one hand... on the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, in contrast, on the contrary, still, yet Sequence/orderfirst, second, third,... next, then, finally Timeafter, afterward, at last, before, currently, during, earlier, immediately, later, meanwhile, now, recently, simultaneously, subsequently, then Examplefor example, for instance, namely, specifically, to illustrate Emphasiseven, indeed, in fact, of course, truly Place/Positionabove, adjacent, below, beyond, here, in front, in back, nearby, there Cause and effectaccordingly, consequently, hence, so, therefore, thus Additional Support or Evidenceadditionally, again, also, and, as well, besides, equally important, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, then Conclusion/Summaryfinally, in a word, in brief, briefly, in conclusion, in the end, in the final analysis, on the whole, thus, to conclude, to summarize, in sum, to sum up, in summary 21

OTHER APPROACHES  Repeating key words or phrases  Using parallel structure (express content in grammatically similar ways)  Summarizing/rephrasing idea in preceding sentence or paragraph to link to new idea 22

WHAT TRANSITIONS WOULD YOU USE AND WHERE?  One of Mary Washington University’s best features is its small student population. The average class size is students. Students have many opportunities to meet in one- on-one conferences with their professors. This gives each student the opportunity to discuss class assignments.  Napoleon and his navy were no match for the British. In fact, Napoleon lost almost all of his sea battles. The French army was very strong and powerful. Under Napoleon’s orders, it conquered most of continental Europe. 23

PARAGRAPH WORKSHOP Unit 6 Seminar 24

PARAGRAPH WORKSHOP Share a paragraph from your draft you are currently working on. Offer your classmates advice on strengthening their paragraphs. 25

CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES Unit 6 Seminar 26

CONCLUSION  Unit 6 Activities  Invention Lab  Project  Be sure to review Project Description and Rubric  Remember to follow APA guidelines and to proofread carefully  Strong Paragraphs  Good Transitions  Questions? 27

REFERENCES Brooke, B. (2009). Effective paragraphs. Bob Brooke’s Writer’s Corner. Retrieved from Clements, K. (2010). Essay development. In The Kaplan Guide to Successful Writing, eds. D. Martinez, S. Carlson, & K. VanDam, p New York: Kaplan Publishing. Jensen, M. (2010). The writing process. In The Kaplan Guide to Successful Writing, eds. D. Martinez, S. Carlson, & K. VanDam, p New York: Kaplan Publishing. Paragraph development. (2007). The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from Stokes, D. (2008, April 20). 6 tips to overcoming and cure for writer’s block [Video file]. Retrieved from Transitions. (2007). The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from