Head Start
Module 1
The Writing Process
“It never gets easier; it’s always hard, it’s always a test. I’ve reached a point in
my life where if a sentence seems easy, I distrust it.” – Amitav Ghosh, The
Wall Street Journal
“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” – Stephen King, On
Writing
“And though the rewriting — and the rereading — sound like effort, they are
actually the most pleasurable parts of writing.”—Susan Sontag, “Directions:
Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed.” The New York Times
The blank page can be a scary thing. Sometimes the size of the task ahead of you can
seem daunting. But the trick to writing is to break the task down into smaller, more
manageable parts. In this module, you will read about the writing process, and you
will practice some activities that will help you complete any writing task.
The writing process consists of three parts:
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Invention is about devising a game plan, finding your focus, and organizing
your thoughts.
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Composition is about fleshing out the ideas you find through invention.
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Revision is about revisiting your writing and making changes as needed.
When writing you will do all three of these activities, but you might not necessarily
do them in this order. For instance, while you’re drafting, you might get writer’s
block. At that point, you may need to take a step back and do some brainstorming or
invention. During revision you might find that a part of your writing isn’t quite right,
and you’ll need to go back to drafting to get some new material. Keep in mind that
you may need to stop and rethink your writing process at any given point.
The writing process can be difficult, and you may find yourself getting stuck. The
trick is to have tools that you can use to get yourself unblocked and writing again.
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Invention
Invention is the process of generating ideas to write about. There are many different
ways for you to begin brainstorming ideas for your writing. For instance, if you were
asked to write a paragraph, you could approach the invention process in several
different ways. You could use any of the following activities to help get your ideas
flowing:
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mind mapping
listing questions
researching
observing
freewriting or journaling
reading
talking with someone
making lists
Throughout these modules, you will try 4 brainstorming activities: Freewriting,
Mind Mapping, Listing, and Questioning. You may not use every brainstorming
technique every time you write, but hopefully one or more of these techniques will
appeal to you.
The Expository Essay
Expository essays explain or define something to the reader. This is something that
we do in our daily lives quite a bit. For instance, the module that you are reading is
expository writing.
The expository essay you will produce in this program will follow a clear path: there
will be a beginning, middle, and end. We’ll learn more about introductions, body
paragraphs, and conclusions throughout the program.
What is a Thesis Statement?
The thesis statement establishes what an essay is about, and the rest of the essay
supports the thesis statement. It is a promise to your reader—you must be sure that
the rest of the paper keeps that promise. Thesis statements are one of the most
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important sections of an essay. They are “make or break” sections. If a thesis
statement is not successful, the rest of the paper can seem unfocused and
unorganized.
Strong thesis statements are specific
When developing a thesis statement, remember the Goldilocks approach—the scope
of your thesis shouldn’t be too broad or too narrow; you want something that is just
right. For instance, consider the following statements:
Example: Cell phones in today’s society are everywhere.
This topic is too broad and vague to make a clear essay—what will be said about cell
phones?
Example: Cell phones should be banned from schools.
The above example is a bit more specific then the first, but it’s still pretty broad.
What kind of schools will be discussed?
Example: Cell phones should be banned from high schools.
This topic sentence is much more specific, and the narrowness means that the essay
that follows will have a much clearer focus.
Example: Don’t text while you drive to work today.
This statement is much too narrow and specific. It will be very hard to come up with
three points with supporting details to support this statement. All that needs to be
said has already been said.
Example: Ontario’s ban on texting and driving will save lives.
This example is specific, but it’s not too narrow to limit what can be said.
Strong thesis statements are focused on one main idea
Be sure not to include information that you will not cover in your paper. Choose one
main idea and focus on that.
Example: The auto industry needs to use fresh, new marketing tactics to get
people into their dealerships in this economy, and the government should not
bail out automakers like GM.
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The above example is covering two completely different topics: marketing tactics
and the government bailout. Those topics could easily be covered in two separate
essays.
Example: Because of our poor economy and recent troubles in the auto
industry, dealerships need to start using fresher and newer marketing tactics
to get people into their dealerships.
This example is much more focused. It tackles one main idea that will be discussed
throughout the paper.
Freewriting Activity
Purpose
This activity is designed to help you practice brainstorming and invention, also
known as prewriting. Prewriting will help you be better prepared and organized to
complete any writing task. It will make your job as a writer easier when you get to
the other stages of the writing process.
Instructions
In freewriting, you give yourself a set amount of time to write whatever comes to
your mind. The most important thing to remember when freewriting is to keep
writing. At this stage, your writing and ideas do not have to be perfect—editing and
revising come later. By forcing yourself to write no matter what, you might come
upon ideas that you wouldn’t have otherwise. So even if you have to write “I don’t
know what to write,” that’s ok. Much of what you write may not be useable, but even
if you can pull out one clear idea from your freewrite, it was successful.
Choose one topic from the list below and freewrite a paragraph. Give yourself
enough time to generate ideas—10-15 minutes or more. If you don’t give yourself
enough time, the activity will not be as successful as it could be. There is an example
freewrite included in the next section.
Remember—keep writing! Don’t worry about whether your ideas are grammatically
correct at this point. The stage to worry about that is later.
This freewrite will be the basis for an essay that you will be writing throughout
these modules.
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Topics
1. Describe a dish or meal that has importance in your culture.
2. Describe a task that you particularly dislike.
3. Discuss your favourite musician/group and why you like that particular
musician/group.
4. Discuss the qualities of a best friend.
5. Explain what makes someone a safe driver.
Freewrite Example
Here is a short example of how to freewrite in order to find a topic.
I could write about my favourite sports teams. I like the Jays, and I guess I like the
Leafs, but the Leafs do frustrate me quite a bit. I don’t like many other sports. I could
write about my favourite TV shows—I really liked Lost when it was on the air, and I
like How I Met Your Mother, but there aren’t too many good shows anymore. I’m not
sure I could write a whole essay about that. Maybe I could write about food? I like food.
I love dessert. Chocolate cake—yum! But what could I really say about dessert that
would take a whole essay? I could write about school—I have a lot to say about that
since I’m so excited about it. I could write about what stresses a student out. I like
school, but it’s also stressful. I am stressed about meeting deadlines and finding the
money for tuition. I am also stressed about how hard it will be. I think I could write a
lot about student stress.
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Essay Outline
Throughout this series of modules, you will be working towards drafting an essay.
Take some time now to plan out your essay and draft a clear, specific, and focused
thesis statement. Use the following template to plan out your writing.
Thesis Statement:
Supporting Point 1:
Examples and explanations:
a.)
b.)
c.)
Supporting Point 2:
Examples and explanations:
a.)
b.)
c.)
Supporting Point 3:
Examples and explanations:
a.)
b.)
c.)
Concluding Statement:
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Example Expository Essay Outline
This is an outline for an essay that describes services Humber offers to help
students deal with the stresses of college life.
Thesis Statement: Humber’s North Campus has three important services that can
help students deal with some of the stresses of college life: the Writing Centre,
Counselling Services, and the Athletic Complex.
Supporting Point 1: The Writing Centre at Humber’s North Campus is a welcoming
place where all students can get one-on-one help with their writing problems.
Examples and explanations:
a.) close to Williams Coffee Pub
b.) furniture gives an inviting feel
c.) tutors help the students
Supporting Point 2: Students who need assistance in the many other areas of their
lives can make use of Counselling Services.
Examples and explanations:
a.) has private rooms (confidential)
b.) Academic, Personal and Career counseling available
c.) Trained counsellors
Supporting Point 3: The Athletic Complex offers access to sports and recreational
activities to students who want to work off some of their stress in healthy ways.
Examples and explanations:
a.) Free
b.) Triple Gym
c.) Additional facilities
Concluding Statement: The Writing Centre, Counselling Services, and Athletic
Complex provide valuable services to stressed-out students.
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Body Paragraph 1
Purpose
In this assignment, you will practice proper paragraph and topic sentence writing.
Instructions
Take a look at the topics below. Using your freewrite, write a paragraph that could
be used in the body of an essay on this topic. Note: you will be completing two more
paragraphs on this topic, so be sure to pick something you can write about at length.
Try to ensure that the scope of your paragraph is not too large or narrow for one
paragraph.
Your paragraph should have a proper topic sentence—this is a sentence that maps
out what your paragraph will discuss.
Topics
1. Describe a dish or meal that has importance in your culture.
2. Describe a task that you particularly dislike.
3. Discuss your favourite musician/group and why you like that particular
musician/group.
4. Discuss the qualities of a best friend.
5. Explain what makes someone a safe driver.
Body Paragraph 1 example
The following is an example of a body paragraph. Notice the underlined topic
sentence that explains to the reader what the paragraph is about. Notice, too, that
the paragraph is unified, and the entire paragraph is about one main idea: The
Humber College Writing Centre.
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The Writing Centre at Humber’s North Campus is a welcoming place where all
students can get one-on-one help with their writing problems. The Writing Centre is
near Williams Coffee Pub, where coffee-drinkers and muffin-eaters can satisfy their
daily craving while on their way to improving their English. Inside the Writing Centre,
the glass wall, large windows, and round tables make the room feel inviting to students
who may feel uneasy about getting help. It’s possible to drop in, but since the Centre
gets very busy later in the semester, students are advised to make an appointment first.
During the tutoring sessions, a tutor reads the student’s work carefully and then offers
suggestions on how to improve it. The Writing Centre’s trained and experienced staff
includes University of Waterloo co-op tutors, Humber peer tutors, English teachers,
coordinators, and Writing Centre supervisors. Overall, the Writing Centre has a
comfortable atmosphere that encourages students to learn to be their own editors.
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