Writing To Be Awesome

First things first… Our focus: expository. What is expository writing? Expository writing is the key to all other types of writing. When you write an expository piece, you are: explaining, informing, describing. You are the teacher. Written in third person, formal, literary present tense.

Parts of an expository essay Subject → Topic Thesis (Topic + Debateable opinion) Evidence (examples) Conclusion *Notice I didn’t say “intro, body, conclusion”

Planning What do you already know about the subject? Why is planning important? What are some ways you can work through a writing prompt? 1. Free Write: write quickly (without stopping, editing, revising) about what you already know, think, and feel.

Free write practice Sometimes changing your behavior is the only way to make up for a past mistake. Think carefully about this statement. Write an essay explaining how actions can be more powerful than words. Next...subject tree

Planning: what you already know 2. Subject Tree: ACTIONS subconscious decisionsconscious decisions Shows true self without thought Harder to do something you don’t believe uses logic

planning: what you already know 3. Outline: Introduction: Thesis: depression is a complex condition as evident in its causes, symptoms, and treatments. Body: (at least 2 examples/thoughts) Causes of depression, symptoms of depression, treatment of depression Conclusion: Why is studying depression important? Reiterate causes, symptoms, treatments. Consequences of depression.

independent Practice planning: Your prompt Here is a prompt: Think about the following question: can failure make you stronger? Write an essay explaining whether failure can strengthen a person.

thesis Thesis (Topic + Debateable opinion) Failure can strengthen a person because they will learn from their mistakes and improve.

Drafting Guidelines to follow: Drafting is all about ideas and content. Don’t let grammar get in the way of getting your ideas down. Your paper might sound wrong and look bad; none of that matters in the drafting process. If your ideas are sound, you have a awesome draft.

Drafting Finally, step away from the “5 paragraph” format. We are working on getting your writing to the point where you don't need a physical space to separate your ideas/thoughts because you have transition words and clear, concise diction and syntax. Intro → Thesis Body 1 → example/idea 1 Body 2 → example/idea 2 Conclusion → Talk about thesis/main ideas and add a closing thought

Revising: some rules Use a different color pen for revising and editing. Thou art forbidden: From using “I” From using “you” From using “the reader” From using a pronoun without an antecedent.

Revising: thesis/Topic Sentence Topic Sentence: Is the thesis set up in the correct formula: Topic + debatable opinion Does each topic sentence clearly help support the argument in the thesis? Does the topic sentence contain more than one specific idea? Is it too broad?

Revising: Coherence Is there a clear transition immediately after the topic sentence? Is it clear how the writer is going to organize the information in the paragraph. Are the quotes embedded properly in MLA format? Do all the sentences make sense?

Revising: Elaboration Is it clear how the textual evidence support the topic sentence? Does the writer directly and clearly explain how the reader should understand the textual evidence? Is the writer merely summarizing details from the story without explaining why they prove the topic sentence?

Revising: Elaboration Is it clear how each sentence helps support the topic sentence? Has the writer provided enough evidence to support the topic sentence? Are there quotations needing elaboration through commentary and analysis?

Revising: sentence variety Do some sentences need to be combined? Do some sentences need a phrase or clause? Do some sentences need to be combined in different ways?

Revising: diction Is the diction precise and concrete? Does the piece contain vague and abstract ideas that may be confusing to a reader? Do wordy sentences need revising?

Editing Is there a comma needed when a dependent clause comes before an independent clause? Are proper nouns capitalized? Are there contractions that need to be fixed? Are apostrophes placed correctly? Are homophones spelled correctly? (bear, bare) Are homophones used in proper form? (there, they’re, their)

Peer Editing/revising Use the peer side of the same checklists with a different color pen. Try to have more than one person edit/revise. Try to have someone you do not know edit and revise. They won’t know your voice and inherently know what you are talking about. Make sure everything is formal. BE NICE! BE POLITE! BE PRODUCTIVE!

Final draft 1. Set up the paper with MLA format (see handout). 2. Using all the editing and revising, write your final draft. 3. Read your paper one final time for transposition errors. 4. Have a peer read your paper one final time and fix final errors.

publishing Go on your google site and embed the document! Show your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, and friends because… you now know how to be awesome with writing!