WPJ Workshop for Students with Disabilities Part I Diane DeSmet English Writing Instructor SSWD sswd@csus.edu

Part I Making the GWAR Choice: Will it be option 1, English 109W/109M or option 2, the Writing Placement for Juniors(WPJ)? Self Assessment

Part II Part two will be scheduled with the writing instructor or tutor on a different day. Write your practice WPJ essays. Meet with your Tutor/Instructor for feedback.

Resources for Students Writing Across the Curriculum website Go to: www.csus.edu; click , Faculty and Staff; click, Writing Across the Curriculum; click, Resources for students; click ,Help with the writing process; at Resources for the Writing Process, click, Purdue Online Writing Lab. Go where you need to go for help.

Coping with Writing Anxiety Focus your energy by rehearsing the task in your head. Spend a few minutes doing some relaxation exercises. Use a calming word or mental image to focus on while relaxing.

Time Management Essay #1 (60 minutes for native English speakers/90 minutes for Mli) Budget time for reading the texts Budget time for writing the two essays. Budget time for editing and proofreading the two essays.

Reading the five texts Highlight or underline important ideas or facts. Annotate the text. Write down opinions, questions, and ideas that arise from the texts. Look up words that are unknown to gain a better understanding of the reading.

Brainstorming and Pre-Writing Strategies Listing Pros and Cons Clustering (or mapping) Ask yourself questions Free writing

Organization From your pre-writing, develop a plan of action for writing the essay. Diagramming Develop a working outline

Writing a Thesis Statement An argumentative thesis statement will tell your audience: Your claim or assertion The reasons/evidence that support this claim The order you will be presenting your reasons Example: High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness.

Writing essay #1 Write unified, developed paragraphs with main ideas that support your thesis. Reference the reading. Use ideas from your own experiences, personal observations, or readings . Address arguments of the other side. Make your argument first and opposing ideas come right before the conclusion.

Details and explanations that give support to your essay Anecdotal experiences or observations External facts Facts from the reading

Transitional words and phrases Some Argumentative Transitions: CON--- opponents argue that, proponents claim that, apparently, it would seem that, one must admit PRO---but, however, on the contrary, surely, nevertheless, yet CONCLUSION– therefore, so, thus, and, therefore, consequently

Structure Determine a structure appropriate for your discussion. Example below Introduction Support Point #1 Support Point #2 Support Point #3 Opposition/Refutation Section Conclusion

Use strong transitions. Writing Strategies State thesis in first or second paragraph State your reasons with evidence Use strong transitions. Use your own language Know your audience Reference the text Acknowledge, and/or refute opposing view Edit and proof read

Editing Strategies SEE IT---HEAR IT---TOUCH IT Read the document and use all three senses. Look at the text, say it out loud, and touch each word at the same time. Integrating all 3 senses at the same time makes you much more likely to find more mistakes.

Accommodations Check with SSWD counselor if you need a test accommodation letter. Accommodations might include… Testing time Quiet room/small group appropriate for testing Reader/Scribe Adaptive Computer Software/Hardware

Part 2: Practice Practice writing essay #1 & #2 Set up a block of time Begin your “mock” WPJ and complete your essay Attend your scheduled time with the writing tutor Participate in the review of your essays.

GOOD LUCK

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