The 10 Commandments of Writing on Demand What you need to know Mr. Fazzini

What do I mean… … by “writing on demand?”

The First Commandment Thou shalt read the directions with care –Determine the exact task –What does the prompt ask of you?

The Second Commandment Thou shalt determine thine purpose –Are you asked to persuade, tell a story, analyze? –What do you want your essay to DO or ACCOMPLISH? Remember, essays DO things. They persuade, narrate, explain, discuss, etc.

The Third Commandment Thou shalt consider the reader –Address your piece as if you are writing to a respected and intelligent adult. –NOTE: There are horrifying punishments for b/c’s, LOL’s, LMAO’s and ROFL’s in my class. If you get “there” and “their” wrong (and I don’t see how you can…one is a preposition and one is a pronoun), I will scream.

The Fourth Commandment Thou shalt plan thine essay –Jot down initial thoughts –Annotate the prompt (and text accompanying the prompt) –Brainstorm –NOTE: The length of your planned essay will dictate your prewriting/brainstorming time. –NOTE 2: FULL LENGTH PAPERS will ALWAYS REQUIRE A SUBMITTED, PEER-EDITED and MANY TIMES PROOFREAD INITIAL DRAFT!

The Fifth Commandment Thou shalt consider thine strategy –Are you asked for a specific kind of writing? For example, are you asked to take a position and defend it (persuasive writing)? Are you asked to describe and narrate?

The Sixth Commandment Thou shalt begin to write –RESPOND TO THE PROMPT AND ANSWER THE QUESTION! So how long will I have? –Examples of common time allowances

The Seventh Commandment Thou shalt stay on task AND thou shalt not summarize the plot. –Some notes about this…

The Eighth Commandment Thou shalt write enough. –Develop and describe your reasons –Provide examples and illustrations –Follow up direct quotes with your analysis!

The Ninth Commandment Thou shalt write legibly. –If I can’t read it, it doesn’t exist.

The Tenth Commandment Thou shalt edit. –This can be a challenge. Here are some questions to ask yourself Does your piece pertain to the task? Does your piece say something? Does it have a point? Are there unnecessary details that take away from your focus? Do you correctly use the English language? Does your piece end?