Although most of you have heard of the writing process, we must review it so that you are familiar with it. **Remember that the writing process is a cycle: meaning that you will revisit multiple steps of the process when you write.**  Prewriting: Brainstorming and gathering information about your topic.  Drafting: Sorting, & organizing your ideas into sentences

 Revise: Reworking and reorganizing your information. Take a closer look- how can you improve your ideas and the way you are presenting them?  Proofing & Editing: Find and correct usage errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, parallel structure, tense, etc).  Publishing: Creating your final draft that you will submit.

Ask yourself:  What am I writing?  Why am I writing?  For whom am I writing? The task will be given to you by your teacher. The purpose, which is dependent on your task may be to entertain, persuade, educate, etc. Finally, you must decide who you are trying to speak to.

 Of course, you want to choose a topic that not only allows you to complete your assigned task, but also, you want to choose a topic that interests your audience.  However, you must also consider choosing a topic that is not too broad or too specific. You must choose a topic that has enough information that you can complete your assignment thoroughly, but it also must not be too broad that you overwhelm your reader with content.  For most of your assignments in this class, choosing a topic with five to seven supporting details should be sufficient. *Remember: you must always make sure your topic is classroom appropriate!*

 This is when you should begin prewriting.  Choosing a topic & brainstorming. *remember as you brainstorm, you are narrowing down your topic to the one you will be using in your paper. › Generate a list of possible topics. › Begin to add support to the best ideas from your list. › Free-write and let your ideas begin to flow

 Persuasive Speech: Possible topics › Urging members of the student body to attend more volleyball games › Convicting girls in my class to join the swim team › Asking the community to support a fundraiser for VFC › Showing my classmates the dangers of drinking and driving › Convincing my class that boys are far more talented athletes › Arguing that Speech-Comp is the most worthless class ever and we shouldn’t have to take it › Urging faculty and administration to change the dress code restrictions at DHS. Consider your audience  Is this really appropriate? NO

Urging faculty & administration to change the dress code restrictions at DHS. Convicting girls in my class to join the swim team Freedom of expression Cost of uniforms Being comfortable Get in shape Make new friends More time with Mrs. Wilmarth

Urging faculty & administration to change the dress code restrictions at DHS is a good topic because a lot of time, the code is not enforced, so why even have it. Also, I don’t want to look like everyone else. On most days, I feel much more comfortable wearing jeans and a hoodie than wearing khakis and a button down shirt. Another thing is that sometimes I want to dress up and look nice, but I cannot because I would break dress code. I also hate spending money on clothes that I would never wear outside of school; I want to spend my money on something I like. Choosing my own clothes will make my confidence rise because I will be comfortable.

I. Introduction A. Attention Getter B. Topic Sentence C. Transition Sentence II. Body A. Subtopic I 1. Supporting detail 2. Transition B. Sub topic II 1. Supporting detail 2. Transition C. Sub topic III 1. Supporting detail 2. Transition III. Conclusion As you layout your ideas, remember: Each body paragraph should support the main idea of your paper. AND Each sentence in each body paragraph should support the main idea of that paragraph. Editing note: If you find some information does not support the main idea of the paragraph or paper, consider removing it.

Organizing your ideas clearly in a logical manner. Ways to organize your ideas:  Comparisons – Contrast  Cause – Effect  Process  Chronological Order  Increasing importance  Decreasing importance

 Once you have chosen a topic, gathered supporting material, and organized your information, you can begin drafting your paper.  Cohesion › Use transitions to make your ideas flow smoothly from one to the next › Use parallel structure › Use the same tense throughout your paper

 Word Choice › Use active voice whenever possible. › Use the best (most accurate, most precise, most descriptive) words possible. › Vary your word choice to avoid generic or over used words. › Use the most academic words possible (remove informal language)  Vary sentence structure: Not only does using a variety of sentence types improve the flow of your paper (all simple=choppy, all compound-complex= confusing,) it will also help your ideas be more cohesive.

 Did you use proper grammar (all pronouns have & match antecedents, all words are used properly, spelled correctly, etc.)?  Did you avoid informal language (2 nd person, contractions, abbreviations, colloquialisms, slang, inappropriate language of any kind)?  Are proper words capitalize?  Are sentences constructed correctly (no fragments or run-ons & punctuations (especially commas) are used properly). **Remember that you may have to revisit previous steps of the writing process- maybe you need to eliminate details that do not support your topic (irrelevant information) or you maybe need to reorganize your ideas to more logically present your ideas.**