Invention
and
Arrangement
From Patterns for College Writing
Chapters 1 & 2
Invention (prewriting)
• Before you start writing:
– Consider the assignment
– Explore your subject
– Decide what you want to say about it
Understanding the Assignment
• What are you being asked to do?
• Look for key words: compare, contrast,
analyze, describe, summarize, etc.
• Length (pp. 16 & 19)
• Purpose (pp. 16-17 & 19)
• Audience (pp. 17 – 19)
• Occasion (pp. 18-19)
• Knowledge (pp. 18-19)
Understanding the Assignment
• LENGTH OF THE PAPER
• The shorter the essay, the more narrow the
topic needs to be
• A summary of a chapter or article is much
shorter than the original; “an analysis of a
poem will usually be longer than the poem
itself” (16)
Understanding the Assignment
• PURPOSE
• To persuade? Analyze? Compare/contrast? Etc.
• AUDIENCE
• Group or individual? How much does your
audience know about the subject?
• OCCASION
• Academic or personal? Journal or formal essay?
• KNOWLEDGE
• How much do you know about your subject?
What are your opinions about it?
Chap. 1, Exercises 1 & 2
• Exercise 1: Decide whether the following
topics are appropriate for the given limits.
Why or why not? (19).
• Exercise 2: Consider the different way in
which you speak to different people in
your life (20).
Moving from Subject to Topic
• General subjects need to be narrowed to
specific topics (see p. 20).
• Ask yourself questions to help you narrow
a topic (see p. 21).
• Examples: Try to narrow general subjects
like “Iraq” or “Fast Food” or “American
Idol”
Chap. 1, Exercises 3 & 4
• Exercise 3: Are these topics narrow
enough for a short essay? (22).
• Exercise 4: Generate several specific
topics from each of the listed general
subjects (22).
Forms of Prewriting
•
•
•
•
•
Freewriting (23)
Brainstorming (25)
Journal Writing (25)
Clustering (27)
Outlining (28)
Understanding Thesis & Support
• A THESIS is the main idea of your essay. In
your introduction, you need to clearly state your
thesis, and you need to support it consistently in
the body paragraphs.
• A thesis statement isn’t just stating your essay’s
purpose, nor is it a statement of fact (30).
• See pp. 30-31 for examples
• Not necessary to write “My thesis is . . .” (32)
Thesis cont. & exercises
• A thesis statement can’t include all of the
points you’re going to discuss in your
essay – it should state, as specifically as
possible, the overall main point your essay
is going to make.
• See Exercises 8 & 9
Chapter 2: Arrangement
• See the checklist on p. 38 to help you
determine they type of essay you are
writing. This will help you determine the
arrangement, or organization.
• All essays should have an introduction, a
body, and a conclusion
The Introduction
An introduction should:
• Introduce your subject
• Get your readers’ attention
• Include your thesis statement
The Introduction
• 8 ways to introduce an essay (39-40)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1).
2).
3).
4).
5).
6).
7).
8).
Background information
A definition
An anecdote or story
A question
A quotation
A surprising statement
A contradiction
A fact or statistic
The Body Paragraphs
• Develops & supports your thesis
• Each body paragraph should be:
– Unified
– Coherent
– Well-developed
Body Paragraphs: Unity
• Unity means that all of the ideas are
related. Each sentence should relate to the
main idea of the paragraph (41).
• Use topic sentences to state the main idea
of a paragraph (usually the first sentence in
a body paragraph)
Body Paragraphs: Coherence
• If a paragraph is coherent, it means that it
makes sense . . . “its sentences are
smoothly and logically connected to one
another” (42).
• 3 Techniques to achieve coherence:
– Repeat key words
– Use pronouns to refer to key nouns from the
Previous sentence
– Use transitions (see p. 43)
Body Paragraphs: Development
• A well-developed paragraph contains
examples, reasons, etc. that help support
the main idea (thesis) of the essay
• Types of support (see p. 44)
The Conclusion
• Should briefly reinforce your main idea
(thesis and purpose)
• Avoid the phrase “In conclusion” (46).
• 4 ways to conclude an essay:
– 1). Review your key points; restate your
thesis
– 2). Recommend a course of action
– 3). Make a prediction
– 4). End with a “relevant quotation” (47)
Constructing an Outline
• A formal outline is detailed, provides you
with an exact order, specific information
that you want to include
• Writing an outline provides you with a
good chance to see whether all of your
ideas work together and are well-supported
• See example on p. 48