Welcome!
EWRT1A
Composition and Reading
Agenda
• Reading Journals
• Outlines
• Workshops
Review
• Let’s look at the notes from last time.
Reading Journals
• It’s impossible for me to identify the
source for some of the reading journal
entries.
Outlines
• Your essay will probably consist of a combination of
the following elements:
– A narrative about someone affected by immigration policy
– The details of a specific law, rule, or policy
– Background concerning debates about a specific law, rule,
or policy (in particular, the arguments that were used to
create the law, rule, or policy)
– You might also need background about an institution
– Reasons for making a change to the law, rule, policy, or
institution
Outlines
• The headings of your outline, ideally, will be the topic
sentences of your essay.
• Your initial outline will not consist of the topic
sentences of your essay.
• You will decide the arrangement of elements of your
essay.
• Points in your outline should not be questions. For
example, a point might be this: “AB540 arose
through the activism of undocumented students and
their allies.”
Outlines
• Write a first draft of your outline.
• The outline will give you a sense of the kind of
research that you will still need to do.
Workshop
• Check for the following on your outline:
– Do the points taken together form a coherent argument in
response to your question?
– Check for additional research that you need to do. Are the
points of the outline detailed? Do any points on the outline
lead to questions? How long will it take you to answer the
questions?
– Check for underdeveloped points. Are any of the major
points too large? Do any of the major points need to be
separated into smaller points?
– Check for the quality of argumentation. Are there important
points and points of view that the argument does not
address?
Workshop
• Write your question on your outline, exchange
outlines, and then check for the following on your
partner’s outline:
– Do the points taken together form a coherent argument in
response to your question?
– Check for additional research that you need to do. Are the
points of the outline detailed? Do any points on the outline
lead to questions? How long will it take you to answer the
questions?
– Check for underdeveloped points. Are any of the major
points too large? Do any of the major points need to be
separated into smaller points?
– Check for the quality of argumentation. Are there important
points and points of view that the argument does not
address?
Homework
• Rough Draft due on Tuesday. The rough draft should
be typed and three to five pages long.