Part I: Understanding the Writing Process Writer’s Inc. (p.1 – 75) Effective Writing

What do we know about the writing process? Writing is a highly individual, recursive process. Writers move through several stages in that process but not necessarily in linear order. Prewriting, drafting, SHARING, revising, editing, proofreading, publishing, ASSESSING Prewriting Drafting Sharing Revising Editing Publishing Assessing Use 6 traits Here

Common Problems Solved by Using Writing Process You don’t know how to get started. You don’t write because you are afraid of making errors. Low productivity: you don’t write very much. No effort in Revision; no ability to rethink earlier drafts. Sloppy work; no attention to detail in final drafts.

2. Ask questions to explore your rhetorical situation: What is my purpose? Who is my audience? What genre am I using? What sort of research will I need to conduct? Prewriting: all the activities you engage in before producing the draft. 1. Devise a game plan: schedule the writing process. Writer’s Inc. p 41-49

Ask critical questions Freewrite & brainstorm Map & cluster Keep a journal Record ideas without revising or proofreading Write personal explorations or reflections on ideas Flood with questions that relate to your writing mode. Invent & organize ideas visually to explore relationships & processes Prewriting Strategies: Choosing a subject

Ask Critical Questions: Definition: Dictionary definition of _____? What group of things does this _____ belong to? How is the _____ different from other things? What are some concrete examples of the _____? Compare/contrast What is _____ similar to? What is _____ different from? Is _____ most unlike (like) what?

Cause/Effect What causes _____? What are the effects of _____? What is the purpose of _____? What comes before (after) _____? Fact Is there an issue? How did it begin and what are its causes? What changed to create the issue? Who is involved?  Describe it (colors, shapes, etc.)  Compare it (what is it similar to?)  Associate it (makes you think of?)  Analyze it (how is it made?) Description

Freewrite Set a timer for five to ten minutes Look at the topic and think about it briefly Now ready? Set? Write! Don't stop! Don’t edit! Keep your fingers typing or your pen moving for your time limit Writer’s Inc. p 45

Using Graphic Organizers Rather than writing a free- flowing paragraph or list of concepts, start with a central word As related concepts pop in your head, indicate them as branches, arrows, bubbles, etc. You may have an “ah ha!” moment. Democracy Freedom of speech Individual freedom No Segregation Equality Racial Gender Compromise Politics Blacks, Jews Multiple Graphs p

Prewriting: Gathering Details Organize ideas –Main ideas (Content) –Supporting ideas Develop a rhetorical plan –Identify audience –Identify genre –Identify method of development Writer’s Inc. p

Taking Inventory of Your Thoughts Purpose: Does my subject meet the assignment? What mode am I writing? Self: How do I feel about the subject? Do I have enough time to develop this topic? Subject: How much do I know already? Can I think of an interesting way to write about it? Is additional information available? Audience: Who are my readers? How much do they know about this subject? How can I get them interested in my ideas? Form and Style: How should I present my ideas? Can I think of an interesting way to begin? Writer’s Inc p 50

Conduct research: Narrow the topic: Prewriting to Drafting Develop the thesis: Organize ideas Write the 1 st draft  Makes your writing more credible.  Provides specific details.  Supports statements you make. Choose one aspect to discuss. Narrow enough to develop and support.  Main idea.  Details depend on type of paper. Ideas relate to and support thesis. Manner of organization can vary. Ideas coherently connected with the others. Writer’s Inc p 50-52

Drafting: Connecting Your Ideas Write as quickly and easily as possible. Writer’s block strategies –Use your prewriting –Share your writing –Re-read –Request a conference –Work on something else and go back. When the words are flowing, Don’t SToP. You can edit later. Writer’s Inc. p

Escaping the “Badlands” Is your topic worn-out? Is your approach stale? Is your voice predictable or fake? Does your draft sound boring? Does your essay follow the “formula” too closely? Writer’s Inc. p 62

Sharing: Get Some Advice: most valuable and enjoyable stage Whole class / Small group / Partner sharing. Goal –Constructive criticism for revision. Use the 6 traits language Ask questions – esp. “why” and “how” questions –Know what are you going to do when you get your paper back. You learn by reading and discussing samples of writing. You learn from seeing writing modeled. You learn from revising the work of others. Writer’s Inc p

Revising: Improving Your Writing Key to revision is effective sharing. If you ignore the feedback, then you will move to editing and your writing will still be weak. Revise your paper using the 6-traits criteria. (Refer to your rubric and revise one trait at a time). Writer’s Inc p

Revising Strategies Refocus the argument: Too broad? One topic dominates? Research not sufficient? Reorder supporting ideas: One idea too weak? Get off topic? Logical sequence? Add new details: (FRIED) facts, reasons, incidents, examples, sensory details. Cut irrelevant or redundant details: ideas, sentences, and, sometimes, paragraphs. Writer’s Inc p 68

Proofreading Strategies: Checking for Style and Accuracy Usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling and grammar. Run spell & grammar check. ( Be aware that spelling and grammar checks have limitations!) Read the paper aloud & backwards Conference with your teacher, parent, friend. Focus on “common errors.” Writer’s Inc. p

Proofreading: 20 Common Errors 1.No comma after introductory element 2.Vague pronoun reference 3.No comma in compound sentence 4.Wrong word 5.No comma in nonrestrictive element 6.Wrong/missing inflected endings 7.Wrong or missing prepositions 8.Comma splice 9.Possessive apostrophe error 10.Tense shift 11. Unnecessary shift in person 12. Sentence fragments 13. Wrong tense or verb form 14. Subject-verb agreement 15. Lack of comma in a series 16. Pronoun agreement error 17. Unnecessary comma with restrictive element 18. Run-on or fused sentence 19. Dangling or misplaced modifier 20. It’s versus its error Anderson, Jeff. Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style Into Writer’s Workshop. Stenhouse Publishers. Portland, Maine

Publishing: Polish for Presentation MLA format ( ) Check that all sources are documented to avoid Plagiarism. Find a way to share your work with teachers, friends, and family members. Submit to Turnitin. Writer’s Inc p

Understanding plagiarism and avoiding it. Plagiarism: presenting someone else’s ideas as your own. Academic dishonesty. To avoid: –Credit the author by name and cite the work. –Give additional citation for additional information from the same source. –Use quotation marks around key words or phrases taken directly from the source –Cite everything you borrow unless you’re sure it is common knowledge. (Avoiding plagiarism, Writer’s Inc., 256) Writer’s Inc. p 256

Two ways to share information: Paraphrase & Incorporating quotes. Paraphrase: use your own words to restate someone else’s ideas. Still must cite your source. Quote: include the exact words of the author and put quotation marks around them. Cite your source. Writer’s Inc p

Paraphrase Skim the selection first to get the meaning. Read carefully paying attention to key words and phrases. List the main ideas on a piece of paper without looking at the selection. Review the selection again. Write your paraphrase restating the author’s ideas in your own words. –Stick to the essential info: drop anecdotes and details. –State each important idea clearly and concisely. –Put quotation marks around words taken directly from the source. –Arrange the ideas into a smooth, logical order. Writer’s Inc p 256-7

Using Quoted Material A quotation can be a single word or an entire paragraph. Choose quotations carefully; keep as brief as possible; use only when they are necessary. Longer quotes (over 4 lines) should be set off from your paragraph: indent 10 spaces; double space; no quotation marks. Be sure that the capitalization, punctuation, and spelling are the same as that in the original work. Clearly mark changes for your readers –Changes within the quote are enclosed in brackets [like this]. –Explanations are enclosed in parentheses at the end of the quotation before closing punctuation (like this). –If you leave out part of the quote, use an ellipsis to signify the omission: three periods with a space before and after each one (... ) Writer’s Inc p 258

Incorporating quotes Use “quote bits” – short, 3-4 word quoted phrases rather than quoting entire sentences. If you DO NOT want to change the forms of words, each quote bit should function grammatically in your sentence in the same way it functions in the original sentence. Test: Read the sentence aloud, mentally erasing the quotation marks. Does it sound grammatically correct and as smooth and natural as a sentence you would use in normal conversation? Avoid having two quotations in a row. Your own commentary should bridge the two.

Assessing When your paper is returned…don’t look at the grade and throw it in the trash! Use the rubric to assess where you need work. Is it the skill of development? Sentence structure? Editing and proofreading? Which of the 6-traits is causing you the most trouble? What “common error” are you still using incorrectly? Is this a paper you want to keep and possibly use as a beginning point in college? Are you satisfied with the effort you put forth on this paper?