English 1320 Spring 2015 Laura Sims ACADEMIC WRITING

 Step 1: Think  Step 2: Prewrite  Step 3: Plan  Step 4: Write a draft  Step 5: Revise  Step 6: Proofread  Step 7: Turn it in! THE WRITING PROCESS

 Step 1: Think  The Bedford Handbook calls this “assessing the writing situation” (11).  What to think about:  What is the subject?  Where will you get information?  What is your purpose  Who is your audience? THINKING

 Step 2: Prewrite  Have a conversation.  Annotate the text.  List ideas.  Clustering: Draw a diagram of related ideas.  Freewriting: Write whatever comes into your head, and then go back to pull out your best ideas.  Answer the six W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and hoW? PREWRITING

 Step 3: Plan  The most important step in planning an argumentative essay is writing the thesis statement.  According to The Bedford Handbook, an effective thesis statement “should be a central idea that requires supporting evidence” (30).  In other words, an effective thesis statement includes a claim and a few reasons to support that claim.  After you have your thesis, you should outline your essay.  Some of you love outlines. Great! You can break up your essay into many, many sublevels.  Some of you hate outlines. That’s fine, too! You can just sketch out the main point you plan to make in each paragraph before diving into the actual writing.  Remember, anything done at the planning stage can (and often will) be changed later! PLANNING

Bad Thesis  Factual  Asks a question  Too broad or too narrow for the scope of your essay  Vague, using non- specific words like “interesting” or “bad.” Good Thesis  Arguable  Gives an answer  Match the breadth of your thesis to the scope of your essay  Focused, using concrete language and a clear plan THE THESIS STATEMENT

Directions: In a group of two or three, identify the problem with each of the following thesis statements. Then, rewrite one of the sentences to make a more effective thesis statement. 1.David Foster Wallace believes that the point of a college education is to teach you how to think. 2.Are people naturally empathic or naturally selfish? 3.I think the assumption that people tend to only look out for their own self-interest is bad. THESIS PRACTICE

 Step 4: Write a draft  Find a time when you are awake, focused, and as relaxed as possible. Find a place where you can concentrate.  Sometimes, you may not know what you want to say until after you write your first draft. If so, be prepared to spend a good amount of time revising your essay later.  If writing the entire essay is overwhelming, try focusing separately on each paragraph:  the introduction  the body paragraphs  the conclusion DRAFTING

 The introduction should spark your reader’s interest, lay out your main argument (“I say”), and explain what “they say.”  To grab attention, try beginning with one of the following (BH pg. 41):  A startling statistic or unusual fact  A vivid example  A description  A paradoxical statement  A quotation or a bit of dialogue  A question  An analogy  An anecdote THE INTRODUCTION

 Each body paragraph should focus on a main point that directly supports your thesis.  Try expressing that point in a topic sentence.  Stick to the point!  Support the main point of each body paragraph with evidence.  Supporting evidence can be structured to include personal examples, analogies, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, definitions, etc.  Some call this part of the paragraph the illustration.  Explain clearly how your evidence supports your main point (and therefore supports your thesis).  This explanation will probably make up the majority of your paragraph.  Readers need to be told how you interpret your evidence—they may not have the same immediate interpretation as you! THE BODY PARAGRAPHS

 Point  One negative consequence of this kind of stereotyping is...  Illustration  For example, when I was in elementary school...  Explanation  This experience shows that.... While some think that..., the truth is.... Ultimately, even though in this instance,..., I believe that.... THE P.I.E. PARAGRAPH

 The conclusion should echo the central argument of the essay without restating the thesis word-for-word. You should remind your reader of the view you are responding to!  The conclusion should be memorable (BH pg. 47):  Try referring back to a detail, an example, or an image from your introduction.  Try proposing a course of action.  Try discussing the topic’s wider significance.  Try posing a question for future study. THE CONCLUSION

 Step 5: Revise  Before diving into the nitty-gritty of grammar and punctuation, look at your focus, organization and content. I also recommend that you have a second person take a look at your essay.  Ask the following questions:  Is the thesis clear? Is it easy to identify?  Are any ideas off point?  Are ideas presented in a logical order?  Are any paragraphs too long or too short for easy reading?  Is the supporting evidence relevant and persuasive?  Do any ideas need further development or explanation?  Can any material be deleted? REVISING

 Step 6: Proofread  Read through your final draft a few times before turning it in. Read it out loud at least once.  Edit sentences for clarity and mechanics.  Cut wordiness and choose specific vocabulary.  Don’t forget to check your document format and works cited page! PROOFREADING

 Step 7: Turn it in!  Save your final draft as a.doc,.docx, or PDF file. Make sure that you save a copy that you can retrieve at a later date!  I recommend uploading your document to My Workspace on TRACS or ing an attachment to yourself.  Submit your final draft to TRACS Assignments. If you have a problem with the attachment, then your draft to your instructor to prove that you finished on time.  Breathe a big sigh of relief and move on to your next project! Don’t dwell on what could have been—think about how to improve for the future! TURNING IT IN