Writing an “A” Paper

Stage 1: PRE-WRITING Make sure you are in a quiet study area Three pre-writing styles: Brainstorming Free Writing Mind Mapping After trying all three techniques, decide which works best for you. Sometimes a combo works best, or using different techniques for different kinds of papers.

Brainstorming Read over prompt Sit in silence for 5 -15 min making a list of whatever words/phrases come into your mind Once you are finished… Are there words/ideas that would work as a proper topic for this prompt? Is there a main idea within this sequence of ideas? What words/ideas would be interesting to write about?

Free Writing Sit in silence for 5-15 min writing a few paragraphs about a possible topic Write whatever comes to mind DO NOT stop writing DO NOT review until your time is up Once you are finished… Are there words/ideas that I can build on? What are the main ideas in my free writing? Where does my focus lie?

Mind Mapping Draw a circle in the middle of a piece of paper and write down your topic idea inside Enter key words/ideas that are related to your topic in surrounding circles Enter supporting ideas in circles connecting to the key words Keep developing this mind map until you have all the info you need Once you are finished… How do the outside items relate to my center item? What can I change to make my map more fluent and relevant?

Stage 2: OUTLINING A more structured and sequential overview to organize the ideas and topics you created from pre-writing Things to keep in mind: Enter phrases without punctuation Keep a consistent grammatical tense (present, past, future) List ideas in order of importance

The Most Common Form of Outlining TOPIC KEY IDEA 1: SUPPORTING IDEA A: EXAMPLES i: SUPPORTING IDEA B: KEY IDEA 2: KEY IDEA 3

Stage 3: RESEARCH If your paper requires research and sources, START LOOKING ASAP!! Bring your prompt to a librarian or search online Look in text books, reference works, web sites, journals, diaries, and professional reports “There’s too much! How am I supposed to keep all of this information straight!?” NOTE CARDS!

Stage 4: DRAFTING It’s finally time to write your paper! Gather your pre-writing exercises, outline, and note cards and go to a QUIET study area Remember: NEVER use first person when writing a paper (unless instructed to do so) Set up your paper with… Introduction Body Paragraphs Conclusion

Introduction Catch the readers’ attention with a unique opening statement Introduce your topic and give a brief overview of what the organization of your paper will be THESIS One to two sentence statement of your argument and the analysis that is to follow A strong thesis statement… Takes some sort of stand Justifies discussion Expresses ONE main idea Is specific

Body Paragraphs Topic sentence establishes main idea of the paragraph KEEP FOCUSED! Make sure you are consistently proving your point and relating back to the topic sentence Try to use active (not passive) voice Properly introduce, explain, and cite each quote Use transition sentences to connect ideas between one paragraph and the next

Conclusion Briefly summarize your main points (body paragraphs) Re-state your main idea (thesis) and show how it was proven in your paper End with a personal insight or broader thought on how this relates to the world

Stage 5: REVISING/EDITING Now that you have written the rough draft of your paper, it’s time to revise and edit so your paper can be PERFECT! Strategies: Re-read your paper in silence to refresh your memory Read the paper aloud to yourself and see how it sounds Have a teacher, parent, and friend read your paper and give you constructive criticism

Revising Ask yourself… Is your introduction interesting and does it clearly introduce your topic? Is your paper FOCUSED and does it clearly argue your topic? Is your paper logical and organized? What can be eliminated? What is not relevant to making your point? Does the conclusion resolve the thesis statement and leave readers thinking?

YOU IS GOING TOTHE STORE.? Editing Make sure your sentences are clear, logical, and to the point Make sure all words are spelled correctly and all punctuation and grammar is correct Check to see that all of your vocabulary makes sense and that your nouns, adjectives, and verbs are used in the same tense YOU IS GOING TOTHE STORE.?

YOU’RE FINISHED!! All that’s left to do is PROOFREAD and then TURN YOUR PAPER IN Proofread your own paper and give at least one other person your paper to proofread as well Make sure all of your revising and editing makes sense and flows If everything looks good, then TURN THAT BABY IN AND BREATHE!

TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR THIS WORKSHOP, PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING WORKSHEET AND TURN IT INTO YOUR COORDINATOR

Student Name: WRITING AN “A” PAPER 1 Student Name: WRITING AN “A” PAPER 1. Pretend that you receive the following prompt in your English class: “Write a 2-3 page paper on one of the following: students should be given more homework, students should never be given homework, or students should be given some homework but not much. Make sure you support your argument.” Use the brainstorming technique to come up with a list of words/phrases relating to your topic. 2. Using your brainstorming notes, think of a reasonable argument in response to the above prompt. Now, create a short outline for what you would write your paper on. 3. After looking through your outline, create a thesis statement for your paper.