Real-World Writing

Forms Speech Editorial Article Letter

Purposes Build an argument Inform/explain

Scoring Criteria Audience and purpose Idea development Organization Sentence variety Word choice Correctness

Scores 4 consistent writing skills, effective communication 3 adequate writing skills, effective, yet not always consistent, communication 2 developing writing skills, less effective communication 1 little or no skill, ineffective communication

Timed (40 minutes) 5-10 Read situations and tasks closely and select the one with which you will be most successful. Annotate the task. Jot down your thesis and three main reasons or points. (Also, jot down the counterargument if you are building an argument.) Write a best draft. Make sure that it contains five paragraphs, six for an argument Read over your draft closely for spelling, punctuation, word choice, sentence variety.

Writing the Lead (5 sentence minimum) The lead, or first paragraph, or introduction, is three parts: 1. Hook 2. Explanation of situation/background 3. Thesis

Hook A hook is the part of the lead that engages the reader, pulls them in, hooks them. The hook can be any of the following: a story or anecdote quote startling statistic question or series of three questions description (really, really, really good description)

Which one is not a hook? A. A boy, small for his age, timidly sits alone at the cafeteria table. He hears the laughter from a nearby table. He hears his name, then looks down at his plate pretending he didn’t hear it. B. Did you know millions of Americans are functionally illiterate? C. Women today, I believe, are treated like objects.

Situation/Background This is where you think about what your audience really needs to know in order to understand what you are about to tell them. You kind of explain what led you to write. You give them some background, set the context. Hint: use some of the language from the “situation” part of the prompt.

Example A boy, small for his age, timidly sits alone at the cafeteria table. He hears the laughter from a nearby table. He hears his name, then looks down at his plate pretending he didn’t hear it. Bullying does not always look the same. It may not include physically pushing someone around or calling someone a name to their face. Often, it exists in the form of ostracism Ostracism is defined as “intentionally leaving someone out”. This type of bullying is all too common and it is extremely hurtful.

Thesis One sentence that clearly states the main idea of your paper. If you are expressing an opinion in your paper, it’s a sentence statement of your opinion WITHOUT the reasons for your opinion. The thesis is ONLY the big idea, not the reasons, points or details. A good thesis should be CLEAR, STRONG, and TO THE POINT.

Example A boy, small for his age, timidly sits alone at the cafeteria table. He hears the laughter from a nearby table. He hears his name, then looks down at his plate pretending he didn’t hear it. Bullying does not always look the same. It may not include physically pushing someone around or calling someone a name to their face. Often, it exists in the form of ostracism Ostracism is defined as “intentionally leaving someone out”. This type of bullying is all too common and it is extremely hurtful.

Which of the following would not be a good thesis? A. I kind of think it would be hard to be handicapped today because you’d get made fun of but then again a lot of people would treat you nice too. B. Racism still exists today! C. Being illiterate can put you at a major disadvantage. Not being able to read is bad because it can keep you in a job you don’t like, it can prevent you from communicating effectively, and it can make you rely on other people for information.

Body Paragraphs (8 sentence minimum) Make a clear transition from the previous paragraph. Always start with a topic sentence and end with a closing sentence that re-states topic. Develop/elaborate on your ideas.

How to develop ideas Stories or examples from your own experiences Facts Statistics History of the incident Quotes Descriptions Comparisons or contrasts Analogies Imaginary scenarios of what might result if the problem is or isn’t resolved

Conclusion In the first sentence of your conclusion paragraph, re- state your thesis. Then, broaden back out and wrap it up by doing one of the following: offer a solution, summarize your points, end with a quote, challenge the reader to do something, give the reader something to think about, project the future, answer the question you began with, or somehow go back to your beginning.