Fundamentals of writing April 10, 2015

Today Paper 1 – Peer feedback - friends helping friends -

First: Note about THESIS STATEMENTS Thesis statement: Should clearly state the position of your paper. E.g. Cigarettes should be banned because they negatively affect the health of others, they promote dangerous behaviors in youths, and they damage the environment.

First: Note about THESIS STATEMENTS Cigarettes should be banned because they negatively affect the health of others, they promote dangerous behaviors in youths, and they damage the environment. Topic – Cigarettes Position – should be banned Reasons: negatively affect health of others, promote dangerous behaviors in youths, damage the environment.

First: Note about THESIS STATEMENTS What NOT to write: I think cigarettes should be banned because - In my opinion, cigarettes… - I will now tell you why cigarettes should be banned - In my paper, I will explain reasons for cigarettes being banned. - Here are my reasons for banning cigarettes…

Argumentative Writing - Example Body paragraph 1: Cake increases study performance. Elementary school students have increasing pressures to do well in school as expectations of what they should learn and how much they should learn change. As a result, elementary school students now study more difficult subjects, such as math, for longer periods of time. By increasing study performance, cake can help students cope with these new demands. First, cake has been proven to increase concentration. A study found that children who eat just one piece of cake per day have 30% better concentration than children who have no cake (Wonka, 2011). An increase in concentration can allow students to cope with increased class demands, especially in more difficult classes, such as math, which require concentration to solve complex problems. Cake also has a positive effect on reaction time. The chemicals in cake improve the function of the reticular formation, allowing cake eaters to more quickly process visual and auditory information (Jones, 2009). Increased reaction times allow students to answer questions faster and to more readily understand explanations and examples. By providing a much needed increase in study performance, cake should clearly be included on the daily menu of elementary school cafeterias.

Peer feedback Friends helping friends Photo credit: azialurvue.blogspot.com

Peer feedback A few tips: 1. Understand that your feedback has real value. 2. Do not focus only on the negative. - If you like something, communicate this to your partner.

Peer feedback A few tips: 3. Do not only say, “I don’t like this.” or, “This is a problem.” explain your feedback. 4. Do not use overly critical language (i.e., “This sucks”). - Instead, ask “Why did you explain this concept like this?” or, “I can’t quite understand this section. Could you explain it to me?”

Peer feedback A few tips: 5. Close the feedback with a positive comment.

Informal language: - a little bit. - like Informal language: - a little bit - like - I, me, my, you, we - thing, stuff - bad - don’t, can’t - good - a lot - hard - hate - totally - just - weak - lots of - but - so

Paper 1 – 2nd draft Format: Include: APA style title page (see website) 12-point Times New Roman font Double-spaced References section

Paper 1 – 2nd draft The paper must be complete: - Cover page (APA format) - Introduction, 3 body paragraphs, concluding paragraph - Citations + References section  Use APA guide on the course website

Running head: LEFT-aligned CAPITAL LETTERS Page numbers: RIGHT-aligned Top- right corner

Paper 1 second draft Deadline: Monday 5:00 pm. Send to: kachomework@gmail.com Subject: FOW paper 1 draft File name: YOUR NAME_FOW PAPER 1 e.g. jinsukim_FOW paper 1