ENGL 501 Week/Workshop Six
Narration
Writing Strategies
W6. 6.1.2 Narratives
Topic: Writing Strategies
Slide 1
Welcome to Workshop six presentation!
During this presentation we will be discussing writing strategies and you’ll get to
see examples of these strategies. We will also review the eight parts of speech.
Sit back and enjoy!
Slide 2
Writing for many of us may be time consuming and at times difficult. Would a
construction worker go to work in flip flops? Does a barber leave his scissors? Just
like any other job, if you have the proper tools the task will be easier. Writing
strategies provide you with the tools you need to overcome your writing difficulties.
You might have trouble thinking about a topic to write about, explaining your
supporting details, or just not know how to end your story. Writing strategies can
help you
Slide 3
The worst feeling a writer can have is when he does not know what to write about.
Having to write and not knowing how to start can be a struggle. This is why you
need strategies that will help you select a good topic. An approach that helps in the
selection of a topic is the T-Chart strategy. This strategy consists of making two
lists of things that are opposites. After you complete your list you’ll realize you have
a lot of topics to write about.
If what you want to do is express an opinion, the “What-Why- How Chart” is the
way to go. This strategy gives you the chance to support your opinion. All you have
to do is ask yourself, what is my opinion? Why do I feel this way? How do I know
this? Answering this will allow you to make sure your argument makes sense.
If your problem is lack of details to support your topic the “Idea-Detail Strategy” is
right for you. For this strategy you have to pick a sentence from your paragraph
and write 5 to 10 details that go with the sentence.
If what you are asked to do is a narration of an event; use the “Transitions-ActionDetails Strategy.” This involves the use of correct transition words, events in the
order in which they occurred, and details that describe those events. These are just
a few examples of writing strategies. There are many more.
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ENGL 501 Week/Workshop Six
Narration
Writing Strategies
W6. 6.1.2 Narratives
Slide 4
The T-Chart is a strategy used when the writer has trouble selecting a topic. It
consists of making a list of two opposites and writing what comes to your mind
about those topics on the list. Once you have completed your list you’ll find yourself
with several topics to select from. There are some things you should keep in mind
when it comes to selecting your topic from the list: Is the topic something you
know a lot about? Is the topic something your audience would be interested in? Is
the topic something your audience will feel worth reading? Is the topic something
you can describe in great detail?
Slide 5
The “What-Why- How Strategy” is used when a writer wants to make sure his/her
audience understands the opinion he/she is trying to express. This strategy will help
the writer support his/her opinion and is a strategy that is recommended when
writing expository and persuasive essays (these types of essays will be discussed in
another course). This strategy requires that you ask yourself the following
questions: What do you think? This is where you give your opinion or state the
main idea of your paragraph. Why do you think it? Your opinion didn’t drop from
the sky; there has to be a reason. Give your reason. How do you know? Show your
proof. For every reason there should be some kind of evidence.
Slide 6
The “Idea-Detail Strategy” is a chart that is divided into two columns: ideas and
details. This type of strategy is used when a writer lacks details that support his/her
topic. What the writer does is select a sentence from the paragraph and puts it on
the idea side of the chart and writes all the details that go with that sentence in the
detail column. Once you have completed your chart and begin to write it is
important to remember that your audience needs enough details to be able to
understand your topic.
Slide 7
The “Transitions -Action -Detail Strategy” is an approach used to help the writer
narrate an event. This strategy will help the writer retell an event in the order in
which it occurred. The strategy consists of making a chart with 3 columns. The first
column is for writing the transition words you’ll be using to retell the story.
Examples of these transition words are “Then”, “After a while”, or “In the
beginning”. In the second column you should write the events in the order in which
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ENGL 501 Week/Workshop Six
Narration
Writing Strategies
W6. 6.1.2 Narratives
they occurred. Finally, in the detail column you should include additional
information about each action.
Slide 8
As we have already discussed, writing conventions include spelling, grammar,
capitalization, and punctuation. In order for our writing to be understood we must
use these conventions properly. It is impossible for us to use these conventions
properly if we are not familiarized with the parts of speech. The upcoming slides are
a review of the eight parts of speech.
Slide 9
The eight parts of speech are the noun, verb, pronoun, adjective, adverb,
preposition, conjunction, and interjection. Each part of speech explains how the
word is used in the sentence. The next slides will provide you with information and
examples about each part of speech.
Slide 10
A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing. There are different types of
nouns such as: Common nouns that name a general person, place, or thing. For
example: city, girl, boy, etc. Proper nouns name a specific person, place, thing, or
idea. These nouns begin with a capital letter. For example: New York, Luis, John,
etc. There are also singular nouns that refer to one person, place, or thing, such as:
dog or boy. Plural nouns refer to more than one noun, such as: dogs or boys. We
also have singular possessive and plural possessive nouns that represent
ownership. An example of a sentence with a singular possessive noun would be:
The boy’s car is blue. The singular possessive noun would be “boy’s”. A plural
possessive noun in a sentence would be: The boys’ car is blue.
A verb is a word that expresses an action or state of being. Action verbs express a
physical or mental action. Words such as dance, eat, read, and run are action
verbs. Linking verbs make a statement by connecting the subject with a word that
describes or explains it. These words show no action. Is, are, was, and were are all
examples of linking verbs.
A pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns and may stand for a
person, place, thing, or idea. Pronouns may be personal, indefinite, demonstrative,
or interrogative. Personal pronouns are: I, me, mine, you, yours, she, her, hers, it,
its, we, us, our, ours, they, them, their, theirs, myself, and yourself. Indefinite
pronouns are: anybody, each, either, none, someone, etc. Demonstrative pronouns
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ENGL 501 Week/Workshop Six
Narration
Writing Strategies
W6. 6.1.2 Narratives
are: this, that, these, and those. Finally, interrogative pronouns are: who, whom,
what, which, and whose.
Slide 11
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. It answers the questions
which, what kind, and how many. Adjectives indicate quality and quantity.
For example: Did you use your address book? In this sentence the adjective is
“address” and it answers which. Is that your wool sweater? The adjective is “wool”
and it answers what kind. Just give me five minutes. The adjective is “five” and it
answers how many. The trick here is to identify the nouns and look for the words
that are describing it.
The adverb is a word that describes or modifies the verb. The trick here is to
identify the verb and then look for the word that answers how the action occurred,
as well as when, where, and to what degree it happened. For example: He ran
quickly. Quickly is the adverb and answers how. She left yesterday. Yesterday is
the adverb and answers when. We went there. There is the adverb and answers
where. It was too hot! Too is the adverb and answers how much.
A preposition is a word that introduces a noun, pronoun, phrase, or clause
functioning as a noun. It links the noun to another word. Here is a list of some
common prepositions: aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, among,
around, as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond,
but, by, concerning, considering, despite, down, during, except, excepting,
excluding, following, for, from, in, inside, to, like, near, of, off, on,onto, opposite,
outside, over, past, regarding, since, than, through, toward, towards, under,
underneath, unlike, until, up, upon, with, within, and without.
The conjunction is a word or group of words that joins words or groups of words.
Examples of conjunctions are: and, or, either, neither, nor, and but.
An interjection is an exclamatory word that expresses emotion. Examples of
interjections are words such as: Wow! Ouch! Goodness!
Slide 12
During this workshop we have discussed writing strategies and we have gone over
the parts of speech. Both topics will prepare you to become a better writer. Now
you have some of the tools you need to begin your writing journey. Grab your tools
and continue with your journey.
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ENGL 501 Week/Workshop Six
Narration
Writing Strategies
W6. 6.1.2 Narratives
Slide 13
Congratulations. You have completed Workshop Six presentation!
You’re getting closer to the finish line!
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