Week 2 Mini Lessons Titles Strong Introductions SED 695C Week 2 Mini Lessons Titles Strong Introductions

Titles A Mini Lesson

WHAT DOES A TITLE DO? WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TITLES?

Rate These Titles No title Informal Reflection #1 Self-Reflective Essay Reflection Paper Informal, Self-Reflective Paper Response to the Course (So Far) The Class So Far What I’ve Learned Thus Far

Rate These Titles Let’s Reflect Thoughts after the Second Week The Beginning Thus Far Some Methods and Thoughts about Teaching Becoming a Good Teacher So Much Information! What Makes a Great Class?

Rate These Titles The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same Getting Up To Speed and Taking It All In A Day at the Spa Teacher as Salad Chef

A Reminder: Conventional Usage Do NOT punctuate your OWN titles with quotation marks, italics, or underlining!

Donald Murray Finding a title is part of the invention process. He often writes 20-30 titles before beginning a piece, “making the censor stand over in the corner while I am silly, stupid, dumb, clumsy, awkward…” Write to Learn 94).

Titles: More Advice from Don Murray Some titles are just labels to get a writer started. To find a good title, writers often have to write a LOT of bad ones. PLAY with titles.

Titles: Don Murray “I know that the time spent fishing for titles will make it possible for me to write a draft that works in a much shorter time than if I didn’t mess around with titles first” (Write to Learn, 94).

Titles: Don Murray “When the title does, magically (and usually after hard work), seem just right, notice how much it helps you control and direct a piece of writing. The title leads to the opening and becomes the focus ofor the piece of writing. It reveals its tone, limits, direction (95).

BUT… Many writers develop a title AFTER a piece is almost finished (or completely finished). The key is a title that is interesting, intriguing, and provides an honest overview of what is to come.

Strong Beginnings A Mini Lesson

Strategies for Writing Strong Beginnings

Strategies for Teaching Students HOW to Write Strong Beginnings Collect a number of models from real authors that show different ways in… Talk about “What works?” and why it works When students are working on a draft, ask them to write at least 3 openings, using different strategies

Strategies for Teaching Students HOW to Write Strong Beginnings When students have a draft, ask them to trade papers. They read their partner’s draft and write a new opening. The writer can: Ignore the partner opening Combine the partner opening with the original Use the partner opening “as is”

Strategies for Teaching Students HOW to Write Strong Beginnings When students come to class with a draft, tell them, “The dog just ate your homework! Your entire draft!” Ask them (without looking at their draft) to write a new opening to their piece. Compare and discuss. Which version is stronger? Why? Again, they can if=gnore, or incorporate.

Don Murray again… “Effective writing opens with a promise to the reader” (87). “Writers have seconds—no more—in which to catch and hold the reader’s attention” (87).

Joan Didion What’s so hard about the first sentence is that you’re stuck with it. Everything else if going to flow out of that sentence. And by the time you’ve laid down the first two sentences, your options are all gone” (87 in Murray).

Murray again ALWAYS writes his lead first. Plays with potential openings all during his research and planning

Murray’s Checklist Is your opening: Quick? Accurate? Any mistake and the reader won’t trust you! Honest? Simple? Packed with information? Heard? (Strongly voiced)