1. 02.09.2011 WRITER’S WORKSHOP English II CP | Mr. Smith

2. Warm-up  Choose one of the following to answer: A. What people, events, or other forces have caused you to become who you are today? In other words, what has caused you to become “you”? B. What effect do you hope to have on the world? In what way(s), big or small, do you want to change the people or places around you?

3. [ Mini-lesson ] Cause/Effect essay

4. What is it?  A cause and effect essay examines the causes and/or effects of a given issue or event  One of the formats used on the NC Writing Test

5. Helpful definitions  Cause – a force of some kind that makes something happen or creates a change  Effect – The consequence or result of a cause

6. Practice  With your neighbor, come up with possible causes and effects for each item listed below.  You make a failing grade on a quiz  The NBHS Bears win the state football championship  Mr. Smith walks down the stairs with too many books in his arms  Aliens land a UFO in your backyard  You pass English with an ‘A’ and make a ‘4’ on the writing test

7. Topics to choose from  The effects of cell phones on society  The effects of Facebook on society  The effects of a coach or teammate (or teacher or classmate) on your life  The effects of teen pregnancy on society (or on the mother)  The effects of high school dropouts on society (or on the dropout)  The effects of discrimination (racial, sexual, or religious)

8. How do I start?  Prewriting  Brainstorm as many effects as you can come up with for your topic  Choose your three strongest effects  Use mapping to generate as many concrete details as you can that relate to each effect you identified  Drafting  Remember to start with a hook  Make sure you have B/M/E  Discuss each effect and its details in a logical order

9. Protected Writing Time

10. Agenda  Definition essay (Prewriting, Drafting)  Effect essay (Prewriting)  NO TALKING  Check in with Mr. Smith at each stage

11. Homework

12. For tonight:  Read Example Essay C and answer the questions

13. Essay reading questions  What is the author’s thesis about the effects of cell phones?  What effect does each body paragraph focus on?  Find at least one concrete detail and one sentence of commentary in each paragraph.  Do you agree or disagree with the author’s opinion about the effects of cell phones? Why or why not?  If you could change one thing about this essay, what would it be and why?