1. Thesis & TTAPP Practice When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing. ~Enrique Jardiel Poncela

2. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check 1. First, count the number of sentences that you have – write the total at the end of the paragraph. Your Points: 7-10 Sentences? 5 points Less than or More – 0 points

3. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check 2. Circle the general subject Circle the AND in your less general subject Limited Subject Your Points: 2 points if you have 1 word for your General Subject 2 points if you have the word AND 2 points if you included your limited subject

4. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check 3. Purpose – Highlight the TO and your POD verb Your Points: 2 points for “to” 3 points for your POD verb – it must match your notes!

5. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check 4. Tone – For your tone go into your paragraph and make a squiggle line with your highlighter where it demonstrates you are meeting your tone! Your Points: 4 points for having 1 tone that is clearly an emotion

6. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check 5. Point of View – be sure you have both parts... Your Points: 3 points for having 1 st, 2 nd, or 3 rd 2 points for having “Someone who”

7. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check 6. Point of View – Next to the 1 st, 2 nd, or 3 rd write out what the pronouns are. Then circle who you are as a writer. Your Points: 4 points if you stay within the appropriate point of view 3 points if you have only 1-2 errors 2 points if you have more than 3 errors If you are writing inYou can use 1 st PersonI, we, he, she, it or they – no you or your 2 nd PersonYou, your, I, we, he, she, it they (all of them!) 3 rd PersonHe, she, it, they (one) – no I, we, you or your

8. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check 7. Thesis – Circle your topic, and then underline your comment. Your Points: 4 points for having both a topic and comment 3 points for having one or the other

9. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check 8.Highlight your thesis in your paragraph. Your points: 3 points for placing it as the first sentence of your paper. 2 points if you have it in your paragraph, just not as the first sentence.

10. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check 9.Vocab? Highlight each of your three vocab words! In the margin, write down the definition of each of the three words close to where you used the word and be sure you used it correctly. Your Points: 2 points for each correctly used vocab words – total of 6 points.

11. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check 10. MLA Formatting Your Points: 3 points for correct order: Your name, my name, course, and Due date 1 point for a title 1 point for double spaced (-5 overall if this is not typed)

12. The TTAPP Practice Quick Check Total Points: 47 points On the back tell me: 2 strengths of what you wrote for today. 2 items you struggled with as you put this together. (you can put this right on the back of your paper or anywhere you have space!)

13. Wait – One more thing… The copula! We want to avoid those! Take a minute and circle all your copula! It is important that we strengthen your writing by eliminating as many copula as we can! isam waswere bebeing beenhave hashad Choose three sentences where you have a copula and rewrite them – you can do this on the back of your paper!

14. Now, on to the thesis...

15. Common Problems... Don’t write a highly opinionated statement Don’t make an announcement Don’t make a factual statement Don’t make a broad statement

16. Just a few hints... Not a question No quotes 1 sentence or 2 – no more Avoid shady pronouns – be specific Will always be the last sentence of your intro paragraph.

17. Before we move on – Take out your tone and style handout!

18. A Little Bit of Practice Prompt 1:Prompt 2: “The price of greatness is responsibility.” Winston Churchill Do we expect too much from our public figures? Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present. Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present? #1 Choose one of the two writing prompts to complete a general, less general, and limited subject. After you have completed this, find someone at your table to approve you have met all the requirements for this! This person needs to put his/her initials next to your work. Include 1 vocab word!

19. A Little Bit of Practice Prompt 1:Prompt 2: The media not only transmit information and culture, they also decide what information is important. In that way, they help to shape culture and values. Do newspapers, magazines, television, radio, movies, the Internet, and other media determine what is important to most people? If we are afraid to reveal our lack of knowledge we will not be able to learn. In order to make progress we must admit where we are now. Such an admission of ignorance is not easy. As Thoreau says, “How can we remember our ignorance which our growth requires, when we are using our knowledge all the time?” Does the present system of education encourage us to admit our lack of knowledge, or is there too much pressure to demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge? #2 Choose one of the two writing prompts and identify your purpose, audience, tone, and point of view – pretend you are going to write an essay based on the prompt, even though you aren’t! Be sure you identify which prompt you have chosen. After you have finished, find someone at your table to review what you have and approve this section by putting his/her initials next to your work. Be certain that all the required pieces are there for this section! Include 1 vocab word!

20. A Little Bit of Practice #3 Choose two of the four writing prompts to write a thesis. Be sure you identify which prompt you have chosen. After you have written your thesis highlight your topic and circle your comment. Then, find two other people to review your thesis and each person needs to provide one strength of your thesis and one weakness. Include 1 vocab word!

21. A Little Bit of Practice Prompt 1:Prompt 2: “A little inaccuracy saves a world of explanation.” C.E.Ayers Is it always essential to tell the truth, or are there circumstances in which it is better to lie? Many societies believe that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human right. But it is also true that attainment of happiness remains elusive. Perhaps Bertrand Russell had it right when he said, “To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.” What gives us more pleasure and satisfaction: the pursuit of our desires or the attainment of them? Prompt 3:Prompt 4: A man who waits to believe in action before acting is anything you like, but he is not a man of action. It is as if a tennis player before returning the ball stopped to think about his views of the physical and mental advantages of tennis. You must act as you breathe. Is it true that acting quickly and instinctively is the best response to a crisis? Or are there times when an urgent situation requires a more careful consideration and a slower response? I cannot comprehend those who emphasize or recognize only what is useful. I am concerned that learning for learning's sake is no longer considered desirable, that everything we do and think must be directed toward the solution of a practical problem. More and more we seem to try to teach how to make a good living and not how to live a good life. Do people put too much emphasis on learning practical skills? #3 Choose two of the four writing prompts to write a thesis. Be sure you identify which prompt you have chosen. After you have written your thesis highlight your topic and circle your comment. Then, find two other people to review your thesis and each person needs to provide one strength of your thesis and one weakness. Include 1 vocab word!