Organization LESSON #11

Writing Tip of the Day – Exclamation Points  Only use for dramatic effect, dialogue, or extreme situations  Ex: But the evidence clearly shows that the sales for Hoverboards have gone up 300 percent!  Usually considered too casual for academic papers  Even with more casual writing, use very sparingly “Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald

Reading Discussion  What is the main message of Marjane Satrapi’s “The Veil”?  What are some of her artistic choices?  How do these choices help her argument?

Outlining  Helpful prewriting exercise to establish the organization of your entire paper  Involves mapping out your main points and centering them around your thesis  Formal outlines may be required for future papers in future classes (sentence outline)

 Comes in the form of:  Clustering  Diagraming  Sentence Outline  Summary Statement  It is possible, and often recommended, to go through multiple outlines (diagraming and then sentence outline), especially for bigger projects.

 In general, start with the nucleus of your argument  Turn it into a workable thesis  Try to use full sentences rather than brief words or phrases  Build on the nucleus of your argument by including two or three main claims or ideas  Include evidences or other key points for each of those claims

Freewriting Activity  Create a working outline of your genre analysis  Use any of the methods we’ve just covered  If you don’t have a genre in mind yet, do another prewriting activity to get you thinking

Introductions  From what you gathered from last night’s reading, what does an effective introduction do?  What makes an introduction ineffective?

 Official beginning of your paper  Can either be one paragraph or multiple (the longer the paper, the longer the introduction)  Contains:  The hook  Background information  A counterclaim  Thesis or main claim  Roadmap

For all introductions 1. Engage readers and set the tone (know thy audience) 2. Establish the context of your work (understand the conversation you are entering) 3. Lead up to the thesis or main idea (start somewhat broadly and narrow it down to a specific perspective)

Sample Introduction Since the beginning of time, man has wondered about the nature of good and evil, but no one has been more evil than Vlad the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia (now known as Romania) from 1456 and He is infamous for his excessive cruelty, namely impaling his victims alive. He is even based on the fictional vampire, Count Dracula. But what else do we know about this devilish man? This essay will cover more details about his life, from his birth to his death.

Other Tips  DON’T make your hook or opening too broad  Only include background information relevant to your thesis or that your audience may not be familiar with  Use quotes or evidence if necessary, either to emphasize the importance of this issue or to draw your reader in  Define any terms essential to your argument that your audience doesn’t know  Describe what the stakes of this argument or issue are

Body Paragraphs  Topic sentences outline the main point or idea of the paragraph  Makes an argument or claim (possibly listed in the thesis)  Provides evidence to support the claim  Gives commentary or an analysis of that evidence  Include a concluding sentence that summarizes the paragraphs main point and provides a transition to the next paragraph

Conclusions  From what you learned from the reading or your own experiences, what are some effective strategies for ending a paper?  What are some ineffective strategies?

 Formal ending to your paper (either the last paragraph or final section)  Reemphasizes the main points of your paper  Explains why your argument matters to your audience  Possibly gives them a solution or a call to action

 In general, conclusions must: 1. Remind readers of your main points(reiterate your main idea) 2. Explain the implications of your argument (answer the “So what?” question) 3. Provide a sense of closure (think of good book or movie endings)

Other Tips  Try not to end your paper abruptly  Provide a fluid and logical transition from the body of your work to the end  Reference something from your introduction to bring your paper back full circle  Maintain your readers’ interest by ending with the same tone and energy you began with

Group Activity  In six groups, analyze the organization of each sample essay (pg. 429 and pg. 434)  Group 1: Introduction to Essay 1  Group 2: Body paragraphs of Essay 1  Group 3: Conclusion to Essay 1  Group 4: Introduction to Essay 2  Group 5: Body paragraphs of Essay 2  Group 6: Conclusion to Essay 2

Homework  Read pg. 252 to 271 and respond to reading response on Canvas  Start drafting your genre translation  Collect samples of genre analysis if you haven’t already