TIMED WRITING
SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING IN CLASS WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
GENERAL TIPS
• Read the prompt carefully and circle key terms.
• Understand what it is asking.
• Identify what questions you are being asked.
• Stay focused on a consistent thesis/central idea
throughout.
KEY TERMS
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Analyze- to separate something into parts and then discuss those parts and their
meanings.
Classify- to arrange into groups on the basis of shared characteristics.
Compare and contrast- to show similarities and their differences.
Criticize- to judge and discuss the merits and faults of your subject.
Define- to explain or identify the nature or essential qualities of your subject.
Discuss- to consider or examine by argument, comment or debate, or to explore
solutions.
Evaluate- to appraise the worth of an idea, comment, etc. and justify your
conclusion.
Explain- to make clear or intelligible something that needs to be understood or
interpreted.
Illustrate- to use specific examples or analogies to clarify or explain something.
Interpret- to define information through an explanation based on personal
opinion.
Justify- showing or proving that something is valid or correct.
Prove- to present evidence that cannot be refuted logically or with other evidence.
Relate- to show the connections between two or more things.
Review- to reexamine, summarize, or reprise something.
Summarize- to briefly repeat the major points of something.
Support- to argue in favor of something.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
• The ability to write quickly and put thoughts into words is
called fluency.
• Fluency can be developed with practice.
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Keep a journal
Write daily
Understand the subject thoroughly
Reread your notes
You must know – own – the material
BRAINSTORM
• Divide your time between brainstorming, writing, and
proofreading
• Example:
• 5-7 minutes to free write
• 35-40 minutes to write
• 5 minutes to read through
• Free association vs. structured outlines
• Webbing, listing, free writing, outlining
THESIS
• Answer the prompt directly.
• Quick thesis format guide:
• Topic
• Writing
+
+
limited topic
+
significance =
Thesis
college writing + similar to business writing
• College writing is similar to writing in the business world.
• College writing is similar to writing in the business world in three
important ways: Both types of writing must be logical, well developed,
and clear.
THESIS
• Use the essay question to help formulate your thesis:
• How did the Crusades affect the economy in Europe?
• The Crusades affected the European economy in four essential ways.
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• Europe's economy was influenced significantly by the Crusades.
STRUCTURE
• What type of structure is the essay asking for?
• Prompts that ask you to compare/contrast:
• Balance the comparison
• Compare/contrast on specific points
• Prompts that ask for causes and effects:
• Causes – why something happened
• Effects – Results
• Prompts that ask how:
• Explain how Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power in France.
• Make use of descriptive and narrative strategies
STRUCTURE
• Introduction:
• Introduce the topic and put the thesis at the end of the intro
• An introduction should have any background information necessary for
the reader to understand the topic
• Body
• Make sure that each body paragraph relates back to the thesis and has a
strong topic sentence
• Conclusion
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Summarize
Reiterate the most important point
Propose a solution
Predict the future
SAVE TIME FOR
PROOFREADING
• Do you prove the
argument laid out in
your thesis?
• What errors are you
most likely to make?
• Proofread for only
one kind of error at a
time.
• Read the paper
backwards.
• Read slow, and read
every word.