Today’s goals Continue discussion of informative writing skills Consider how to increase audience interest in informative writing Practice informative writing organizational strategies

Class discussion- wti essays How long should our informative essays be? Are our informative essays open or closed form prose? What are the 5 informative writing skills we have discussed in class? What are the main organizational strategies for news writing? What is the difference between a hard and soft lead?

Informative writing skills Verify your facts and data Use specific facts, details, and examples Make the information interesting Organize information appropriately Be concise; do not include unnecessary information

Class discussion- engagement and reader knowledge When you read news or web articles, what do you consider to be interesting or engaging? How will you make your informative essays interesting to your audience? What are some of the obvious differences between bats and birds that you already know? If you were writing to inform your audience about bats and/or birds, what kinds of details would you look for to make a comparison more interesting and engaging?

Group activity- engagement and reader knowledge

Informative writing – engagement strategies Consider your audience’s knowledge and attitudes before reading Focus on information that is new or surprising Make analogies and comparisons to things your readers are familiar with Support your claims with powerful evidence

Informative writing skills- organization Main strategies – Old to new (aka chronological) General to specific (Often used in informative essays but more rare in news writing) Inverted pyramid (Most common news writing strategy)

Group Activity- organize informative essays In your unit 2 groups Do exercise 8.3 on pages 226-227 For each of the two examples, develop a theoretical outline that organizes the information presented according to the strategies in the reading

Group activity- organize informative essays In your unit 2 groups Organize the following points following general to specific and chronological order formats Seasonal Allergies essay Worst time of year for allergies Different kinds of allergies in my family How drowsy allergy medications make me Other allergies that could make studying difficult What might be making pollen counts rise Allergy symptoms Dangers-overmedication and trigger asthma Treatments – medication and non-medication What causes these allergies How I did poorly on final exams because my allergies were so bad

Group activity- organize informative essays In your unit 2 groups Organize the following points following general to specific and chronological order formats Comic collecting essay Buying and selling comics Protecting Why collect comics How I got started collecting Famous comic book artists Which comics are the most desirable Comic book collecting association (CBCA) The history of comic books Grading scale for comic book condition My favorite series Where to find comics Stereotypes of comic book collectors Conventions examples of valuable comics

Note: Activities adapted from Ideas & Aims p. 226 and 234

WTR Outline Introduction: Supporting evidence Conclusion Sources Hook: Thesis: Lead strategy: (soft, hard, or buried lead) Supporting evidence Organization strategy: (chronological or inverted pyramid) 3+ quotes 2+ data or statistics (if available) Conclusion Clincher Sources List the article names and websites of the 2 sources you will be using

homework WTR Outline: Due Monday 10-30 typed and brought to class Should include key informative writing elements (see previous slide)