The Set Up How did the Lottery start? Under what situations did people find the Lottery necessary? How has the Lottery evolved or stayed the same over the years?

Assignment Write a Wikipedia article about the history of “The Lottery.” This is both a creative writing assignment and an informative essay. It’s creative because you’re making up the history of the Lottery. It’s informative because you will be educating your audience on the history you’ve created.

Brainstorming Why was the Lottery created? Religious reasons First, brainstorm your Lottery history Why was the Lottery created? Religious reasons As a reaction to some disease? A form of population control? Who were the first people to practice it? Early settlers to the Americas? An ancient tribe on an isolated island? What other questions are there?

5 Ws and an H These questions can help you brainstorm… What? As in what conditions led to the Lottery? Where? As in where did the Lottery begin? Why? As in why did people start the Lottery? When? As in when did they put the Lottery into law? Who? As in who were the creators of the Lottery? How? As in how has the Lottery changed and stayed the same over the years?

Do Some Research Get on Wikipedia and read a few articles that detail the history of a person, place, or event. This will… Help you format your own Wikipedia article. Give you examples of how a informational article sounds. Show you what kind of information most historical articles include.

Disclaimer While researching articles on Wikipedia keep in mind that… Some articles on Wikipedia are real snoozers. You want your article to be interesting. Some articles on Wikipedia are unnaturally long and a tad too detailed. Your article should give a good history, but should still be interesting and concise.

See handout for an example of an outline. Outlining Next, outline the organization of your Lottery history. Decide how to order your information. By importance? By chronological order? By some other organization? See handout for an example of an outline.

Wikipedia Formatting Wikipedia usually starts off its article with an overview paragraph. It gives all the crucial info, but keeps it short and sweet.

Wikipedia Formatting Wikipedia usually has pictures and other diagrams to complement their articles.

Wikipedia Formatting A Wikipedia article has a “Contents” section. Notice how it looks eerily similar to an outline?

Wikipedia Formatting Notice the relevant links on the side? What other topics would your readers like to learn about based on the events and topics in your history?

Wikipedia Formatting And now our history begins. Notice the use of pictures, headings, and subheadings.

Your reader (i.e. The Class) will expect…. Writing to Inform Your reader (i.e. The Class) will expect…. Something interesting to read Clear organization An article they can understand

Unbiased Report Do not use “I” or “you” in your article. Do not express opinion, only facts. And by facts, we mean the facts you’ve made up. Present more than one point of view. Perhaps your history will include a view from people both for and against the Lottery. While these are opinions of “others”, you will remain unbiased. Back

Something Interesting Just as with persuasive writing, you want to catch and keep your audience’s attention. Start with a hook An interesting statement or event “It was in the heat of summer in early 1765 when the first stone was thrown. Susan Allen, an aged woman of 65, was the Lottery’s first winner.” A startling fact or statistic “A yearly ritual, the Lottery has executed an estimated 2,000 citizens since its inception.” Back

Clear Organization Stick to your outline and present the information clearly. A clear introduction of the topic is a must. Each following paragraph should focus on a specific topic, be it a person, place or event in your history. Use linking words between paragraphs (i.e next, afterwards, therefore, etc) Take advantage of anecdotes to help the reader follow your history. This will also help with keeping the article interesting to read. Anecdote: a short and interesting story taken from a person’s past experience. These would be stories you’d make up for the different people you’ve included in your history. Back

Understanding Use appropriate vocabulary. This isn’t the time to show off all the really long words you know. When appropriate, make use of bulleted lists, headings or subheadings, pictures or diagrams. Write concise sentences, varying in length. Shorter sentences are always crisper and more clear, but a variety of sentence lengths will keep the reader interested and engaged. Create good flow between paragraphs. Remember those linking words. A good transition sentence at the beginning and end of each paragraph will help your reader understand. Back

Get to Work! Good luck! This is due before school starts on Monday!!!! A template for Wikipedia formatting will be available for your use on Canvas tomorrow! You may also want to take a look at the outlining handout and the “Transitional Phrases for a Successful and Completely Awesome Essay” handout. Good luck! This is due before school starts on Monday!!!!