©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills, 5E and College Writing Skills with Readings, 5E John Langan An Introduction to Writing Chapter One An Introduction to Writing

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 The Process: 4 Steps in a Nutshell clearly stated point or thesis 1.Discover a clearly stated point or thesis. logical, detailed support 2.Provide logical, detailed support for your thesis. 3.Organize and connect 3.Organize and connect your supporting material. 4.Revise and edit 4.Revise and edit so that your sentences are effective and error-free.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Point and Support specific reasons details. Any idea that you advance MUST be supported with specific reasons or details. (What kind? How many? What did it look/feel/smell/taste/sound like?)

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Point and Support in a Point and Support in a Paragraph paragraph topic sentence… A paragraph usually consists of a topic sentence… Although I love the movies, I’ve found that there are drawbacks to moviegoing. Ex: Although I love the movies, I’ve found that there are drawbacks to moviegoing.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Point and Support in a Paragraph Point and Support in a Paragraph supporting sentences. …followed by supporting sentences. On a recent visit, teenagers were throwing popcorn and ice cubes to the left of me. The seats were torn and missing springs, and the floors sticky with spilled soda. [...] Ex.: On a recent visit, teenagers were throwing popcorn and ice cubes to the left of me. The seats were torn and missing springs, and the floors sticky with spilled soda. [...]

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Point and Support in an Essay Point and Support in an Essay essay thesis introductory paragraph support paragraphs that follow. In an essay, the thesis appears in the introductory paragraph, and the support appears in the paragraphs that follow.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Structure of the Traditional Essay Parts of an essay: IntroductoryIntroductory paragraph Body (supporting)Body (supporting) paragraphs ConcludingConcluding paragraph

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Introductory Paragraphs should attract interest;attract the reader’s interest; advanceadvance the thesis; and previewpreview the major points that will support the thesis.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Body/ Supporting Paragraphs Body/ Supporting Paragraphs should begintopic sentence begin with a topic sentence that states the point to be detailed in that paragraph.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Concluding Paragraphs briefly restate thesis supporting points,briefly restate the thesis and the main supporting points, and present concluding thought subject of the paper.present a concluding thought about the subject of the paper. The End

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Benefits of the traditional essay Mastering the traditional essay Mastering the traditional essay will better writer,help make you a better writer, stronger thinker,make you a stronger thinker, and strengthen reader and listener.strengthen your skills as a reader and listener.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Writing is a Skill! talent skill practice hard work Writing is not a talent. It is a skill that can be mastered through practice and hard work.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Writing a Journal practice writing journal. The more you practice writing, the better you will write. Keep a writing journal.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 Some Tips on Writing with a Computer SaveSave your work frequently. Keep backup disk.Keep a backup disk. PrintPrint out your work at the end of every session. CopyCopy your file before making major changes – you might want to go back to the original!

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 The Writing Process: Prewriting Delete addDelete ideas you don’t want in your paper and add new ideas that occur to you. ShuffleShuffle supporting ideas around to find the best order. Get down as many ideas and details as possibleGet down as many ideas and details as possible about your subject.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 The Writing Process: Writing Your First Draft The Writing Process: Writing Your First Draft by hand revision.You can write out your first draft by hand and then type it into the computer for revision. cut, paste copy.If you compose directly onto the screen, however, you can benefit from the computer’s special features: cut, paste and copy.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 The Writing Process: Revising Substituting, adding, deleting, and rearranging can be done easily on the computer.Substituting, adding, deleting, and rearranging can be done easily on the computer. If you prefer, print out a hard copy of your file and revise first in longhand.If you prefer, print out a hard copy of your file and revise first in longhand.

©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E Chapter 1 The Writing Process: Editing and Proofreading carefully grammar punctuation spelling Take sufficient time to carefully review your grammar, punctuation, and spelling.