1. Quarter One Unit Culminating Writing Assignment INFORMATIVE WRITING Intellectual property of Becci Carmack: Use with permission only.

2. Claim (review) A claim in writing should be clear and understandable. (A claim is the thesis in an essay or the topic sentence in a paragraph if the assignment is a single paragraph.) The claim should be very focused. The claim should help the reader want to know more. The claim gets the reader ready to listen to explanations and evidence.

3. Claim A claim in writing should be clear and understandable. (A claim is the thesis in an essay or the topic sentence in a paragraph if the assignment is a single paragraph.) The claim should be very focused. The claim should help the reader want to know more. The claim gets the reader ready to listen to explanations and evidence. This assignment will be a single paragraph, so the claim IS the topic sentence. Claim = topic sentence!!!!

4. Stop and write your claim (topic sentence). Copy one, adapt one of these, or write your own.  Our decisions can change our lives.  Being a true friend is not always easy.  Consequences are a part of making a choice.  Doing the right thing can be difficult.  People can grow from making mistakes.

5. Explanations After your claim…add the support (details). ◦Add explanations, commentary, examples from the novel, etc. ◦Write as if the reader doesn’t know much about the author, story, or characters. ◦Fill out every bullet point. ◦Remember, these don’t need to be in complete thoughts.

6. Stop and choose your evidence. Make sure your two citations directly support the claim. For example, if you are writing about the topic sentence being a true friend is not always easy, then your two citations will directly relate to Brady’s complications with his friends J.T. and Digger.

7. Review Take a minute to get your head back into your writing…read back over your writing organizer, then get ready to write.

8. Draft your paragraph. ◦Try to fill up all the lines on the back of your paper. ◦Start with your claim, then “sandwich” your explanations with your evidence Include a text reference or internal citation or both. ◦Never end a paragraph with a citation; always end with your own commentary (explanations)! ◦Double check the Work Cited at the bottom. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. Remember, this is a culmination of our Quarter One unit of study!!! Take these things into consideration: 1.Do I have a clear topic sentence? 2.Have I avoided using the words you or your? 3.Have I been thorough and complete in my explanations? 4.Did I use a text reference or citation? 5.Did I use MLA format? 6.Are my sentences complete (no comma splices, fragments, etc.)? 7.Did I correctly capitalize words? 8.Does every sentence have the appropriate end mark? 9.Have I double checked the homophones?