What does the X Factor Have?
• As you watch the
video, record the
following
information in your
RWN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIaTNpJw0
uo
– Controlling Idea
– Details about the
show that support
the controlling idea
Commercial Debrief
• What is the
controlling idea of
the show?
• Supporting Details?
– Judges?
– Auditions?
– Rules?
• How did the
commercial explain
the show to you?
EX-Factors in EX-pository Writing!
Expository texts
explain, inform,
describe or define
the author’s
subject to the
reader
What other EX-words help us define
EXPOSITORY WRITING?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
EXAMINE
EXACT
EXPANDING
EXPLORING
EXPOSE
EXAMPLES
EXEMPLIFY
EXCITE
EXPERT
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
EXUME
EXPIDITE
EXCAVATE
EXTERNAL
EXCLUDE
EXCEPTION
EXCLAIM
EXPRESS
EXCLAIM
Write an essay explaining how the qualities,
characteristics, and achievements of somebody make
you regard him/her as a hero.
Body Paragraphs
• TIQAT
– “T” is for Topic
– “I” is for Introduce
– “Q” is for Quote
– “A” is for Analyze
– “T” is for Transition
Body Paragraphs
• Topic
– Write your topic sentence that “englobes” your
entire paragraph. If it doesn’t cover your whole
paragraph, reword it until it does.
Body Paragraphs
• Introduce your quote/evidence
– Let the reader know where your quote or
evidence came from.
• Ex. “According to multiple sources…”
• Ex. “Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “… ”
• Ex. “Surveys have demonstrated…”
Body Paragraphs
• Quote/Evidence
– Now tell us what your quote/evidence is.
• Use a quote if your essay is based on literature, history,
or you are getting information from a famous source.
• Use evidence if your essay is based on fact, statistics, or
personal experience.
Body Paragraphs
• Analysis
– The most important part of your paragraph.
– Tell us what your quote or evidence means in
relation to your thesis/topic sentence.
• It may seem redundant/repetitive but showing us that
2+2=4 demonstrates that you understand the concept
and helps your audience understand the concept.
Body Paragraph
• Transition
– Your transition may be a simple phrase or word. It
may also show up at the beginning of the next
paragraph.
– Some transitions may not be obvious. They may
echo what was said in the sentence before.
• Ex. “Sometimes what is broken cannot be fixed.
However, it is in trying to repair the damage that we
learn where we have made our mistakes.”
Revision #1
• Check your paragraphs for TIQAT:
– Write TIQAT vertically on a separate piece of
paper and see if you can fill in each blank.
– Reorganize your paragraphs if needed.
– Add or delete any sentences as needed.
Writing Thesis Statements
What’s a thesis statement?
– Your controlling idea!
– Answer to the prompt
• Topic of prompt
• Your opinion
– Should be included at
the end of the
Introduction!
Student Sample Thesis Statements
• Authors of fiction illustrate aspects of our culture
and society that we choose to ignore based on
our own blinders.
• Failure is not what leads you to the achievements
and opportunities, but rather, the road to
success itself.
• Courage, commitment and friendship help
heroes complete a task despite obstacles along
the way.
Thesis Statement Checklist
 Explicitly connects to the prompt
(not the quotation or anecdote)
 Expresses my opinion about the
topic in an assertive way
 Be an insider to the topic—give
an unique perspective and
examples
Revision #2
• Write out your thesis on
the thesis checklist.
• Have a friend verify that
your thesis is sound.
Three - Part Essay
Part 1- The Introduction:
An introduction to an essay is like walking
into a room full of people who don’t know you,
but who will still form definite and probably
lasting impressions of you based on how you
present yourself in the first five minutes. Scary?
Not if you are prepared for the experience! Just
as your own entrance needs to be impressive, so
do your essays need to be introduced well.
Three-Part Essay
• Part 1- The Introduction:
Any audience wants to read papers that stand
out– in a good way! Your introduction is the first
impression of your ability, and if that introduction is
poorly written, your readers may expect the rest of
the paper to also be poorly written. So your
introduction needs not only to be well written, it
also needs to be special; it needs to grab the
reader. The following are some suggestions about
what to do and what not to do when writing
introductions.
Three-Part Essay
• Part 1- The Introduction:
To Do:
1. Directly address the prompt or topic
2. Include your thesis (what your essay will
prove). Don’t, however, say, “This paper will
prove…” or “I will talk about…”
3. Say something that will pique the interest of the
reader
4. An introduction should be five to seven
sentences long
5. Mention the author and the title of the work
Three-Part Essay
• Part 1- The Introduction:
Not To Do:
1. Do not repeat or paraphrase the prompt or topic
2. Do not make a general value judgment of the author or his
or her work. Do not say that he or she is wonderful/horrible or
that his work is wonderful/horrible.
3. Never refer to an author by his or her first name.
4. Do not say, “This paper will…”
5. Do not say, “I think that…” or “I believe that…” this weakens
your statement
6. Do not use broad statements such as, “All authors since the
beginning of time…”
7. Avoid superlatives like all, none, never, always
Three-Part Essay
• Part 1- The Introduction: (Hooking the reader)
Seven Standard Methods for Writing Introductions
1. Open with a question (rhetorical question or a question that will
be answered in the essay- this question should be too difficult for
the reader to answer right away.)
2. Tell an appropriate anecdote (a story that engages the reader
right away)
3. Create a vivid image (paint a memorable picture in the mind)
4. Begin with a startling statement
5. Start with a quotation
6. Begin with a definition (do not put, “According to Webster’s
Dictionary,….”
7. Begin with an analogy
Revision #3
• Pick two ways to write an introduction from
the seven standard ways of writing an
introduction and write your introduction
twice.
Three - Part Essay
Part 3
Conclusion
(one or more paragraphs)
Includes


Summary
Intensified Insight
Three-Part Essay
• Part 3- The Conclusion
1. Close with a rhetorical question
2. Finish an appropriate anecdote or example
begun earlier in the essay (refer to introduction
example number 2)
3. Close with a simple analogy, allusion, simile, or
metaphor
4. End with a startling statement (may or may not
refer to earlier statement)
5. Close with an appropriate quote (may or may
not refer to an earlier statement)
Three-Part Essay
• Part 3- The Conclusion
– Give a finished feel to the essay (answer all
questions)
– Come full circle- it should pull elements of the
introduction through the essay (don’t restatemake an insightful point)- completes all thoughts
and possible insights from the introduction
– Never repeat or summarize
– Quick and to the point
Sample Conclusion:
BRIEF SUMMARY OF ESSAY: Complicating matters,
the Red Cross pointed out that the Fourth of July
falls during the middle of the week this year, which
has reduced the number of planned blood drives.
INTENSIFIED INSIGHT: The Red Cross called upon
individual donors to make appointments to give
blood in the near future. The organization noted
one pint of blood can save more than one life.
How is this
conclusion
effective?
http://news.yahoo.com/u-blood-supply-dangerously-low-levels-red-cross-160408166.html
Writing Conferences
• Preparation
– Come with 1-2 specific questions about your
writing
– Your writing does not have to be completed
to have a conference
– Sign up on the board when you are ready
• Conference
– You will have 3 minutes or less to ask your
specific questions
– Make notes on your paper as we discuss