WHY DO WE WRITE?
 We write to share information with others.
 We write to keep records of information for ourselves.
 We write to communicate with others.
 We write to relieve stress.
 We write because our teachers tell us we have to write.
 We write to express creativity.
 We write to express our opinions.
 We write to learn.
 We write to teach.
…AND NOW A MESSAGE FROM MR. GEORGE ORWELL
“From a very early age, perhaps the age of five
or six, I knew that when I grew up I should be a
writer. Between the ages of about seventeen
and twenty-four I tried to abandon this idea…”
(Orwell 1947)
WHAT DID MR. ORWELL MEAN BY THIS?
 Is it possible that a five or six year old know their
future occupation?
 Why would a seventeen to twenty-four year old want to
abandon the chosen occupation of a six year old?
 Why would a child want to be a writer?
 Why would a teenager NOT want to be a writer?
MOTIVES FOR WRITING
1. Sheer Egoism. Desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be
remembered after death, to get your own back on the grown-ups
who snubbed you in childhood, etc., etc…Serious writers, I should
say, are on the whole more vain and self-centered than
journalists, though less interested in money .
2. Aesthetic enthusiasm. Perception of beauty in the external world,
or, on the other hand, in words and their right
arrangement…Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in
the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story. Desire
to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not
to be missed.
3. Historical impulse. Desire to see things as they are, to find out
true facts and store them up for the use of posterity.
4. Political purpose -- using the word "political" in the widest
possible sense. Desire to push the world in a certain direction, to
alter other peoples' idea of the kind of society that they should
strive after. Once again, no book is genuinely free from political
bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics
is itself a political attitude.
(Orwell 1947)
SO…WHY DO YOU WRITE?
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FORMAL VS. INFORMAL WRITING
Formal Writing—the way we write for academic
or professional settings
Informal Writing—the way we write for personal
purposes, the way we write to our friends…the
way we write on a daily basis.
TYPES OF FORMAL WRITING
 Essays
 Reports
 Research Papers
 Resumes
 Cover letters
 Memos to staff members or to superiors
 ANYTHING YOU WRITE WHEN YOU NEED TO SOUND AS
INTELLIGENT AS POSSIBLE!!
TYPES OF INFORMAL WRITING
Notes to friends
Text messages
IM’s
Tweets
Grocery lists
To-do lists
Emails
Journals/Diaries
Anything you write that no one else will read
REQUIREMENTS OF FORMAL WRITING
Do not use contractions (can’t, won’t, don’t,
etc.) or abbreviations in formal writing
Do not use slang—rather than “kids” say
“children”
Spell out all numbers below 100
Stick to writing in the third person (unless you
are writing a letter, in which case first person
is expected)
Do not use clichés—instead of “tons of people
were there” say “many people were in
attendance”
CONTINUED…
Avoid the imperative voice, be polite—instead
of “Refer to page five” say “Please refer to
page 5”
Use the passive voice, not the active voice—
instead of “We noticed that she was gone a
lot” say “It has been noticed that…”
Use longer, more complex sentences
Use a variety of sentence structures
Be confident in your opinions, and do not back
down
ESSAYS—DIFFERENT TYPES AND STYLES
 Persuasive Essays—a persuasive essay has the goal of
persuading (convincing) the reader to agree with the
opinion of the writer.
 Argumentative Essays—an argumentative essay
presents a controversial issue and the opposing side
of that issue.
 Narrative Essays—a narrative essay tells a story from
the point-of-view of the writer.
 Descriptive Essays—a descriptive essay focuses on
one topic and uses as much vivid description as
possible and attempts to appeal to the five senses.
CONTINUED…
 Biographical Writing—biographical writing tells the story of
someone’s life.
 Autobiographical Writing—autobiographical writing tells the
story of one’s own life.
 Informative Essays—an informative essay provides
information on a specific topic.
 Demonstrative Essays—a demonstrative essay provides
instruction on how to accomplish a task.
 Cause-and-Effect Writing—cause-and-effect writing
examines the consequences and connections between
definite actions and outcomes.
 Compare-Contrast Writing—compare-contrast writing
examines the similarities as well as the differences
between certain topics
PERSUASIVE VS. ARGUMENTATIVE
PERSUASIVE ESSAYS
A RG U M E N TAT IV E E S S AYS
• Strong introduction
•
•
• Presentation of an
opinion
• Solid, unwavering focus
on the topic
• One-sided argument
• Presentation of all
benefits of the writer’s
viewpoint
• Solid, reinforcing close
•
•
•
•
Strong introduction
Presentation of an
opinion
Solid, unwavering focus
on the topic
Addressing of opposing
viewpoint
Presentation of all
benefits of the writer’s
viewpoint & presentation
of all shortcomings of
opposition
Solid, reinforcing close
NARRATIVE VS. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
N A R R AT IV E ES S AYS
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
• Written in first
person
• Written in first
person
• Focus on one event
• Focus on a longer
time-span
• Focus on imagery
• Attempt to draw the
reader into the story
• Focus on imagery
• Attempt to draw the
reader into the story
INFORMATIVE VS. BIOGRAPHICAL
IN FO R M AT IV E ES S AYS
BIOGRAPHICAL WRITING
• Provide information
on a specific topic
• Provide information
on a specific person
• Written in third
person
• Written in third
person
• Closely focused; not
broad
• Closely focused; not
broad
CHARACTERISTICS OF DEMONSTRATIVE WRITING
G O O D D EM O N ST R AT IO N S
NOT SO GOOD…
• Topic is very clear
• Topic is too broad or
too narrow
• Writer is unfamiliar
with topic
• Audience is bored or
confused
• Demonstration is
being “winged”
• Knowledge of topic is
apparent
• Audience is drawn in
and actively listening
• Demonstration has
been rehearsed and
runs smoothly
• All good
demonstrations begin
as good, clear
demonstrative writing
CAUSE-AND-EFFECT WRITING
GOOD…
•
•
•
•
The writer has chosen a
topic that has a causeand-effect relationship
The writer is familiar with
the effects of the causes
A variety of effects are
addressed for a very
specific, limited “cause”
OR—a limited scope of
effects are examined for a
series of “causes”
NOT SO GOOD…
• The topic is not one
that supports a causeand-effect relationship
• The writer is
unfamiliar with the
consequences of the
topic
• The focus jumps
around and the reader
becomes confused
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
GOOD…
NOT SO GOOD…
• The topic is very
clear and controlled
• There is a balance
between similarities
and differences
• There is a definite
organization to the
information
• The topic does not
have comparable
items
• The balance of
similarities to
differences is skewed
• The information is
disorganized
You will hear a lot of
“technical terms”
in this course. You
need to know what
they mean…
MECHANICS AKA THE REASON YOU GOT A “C”
INSTEAD OF AN “A”
• The mechanics of a paper refer to the technical issues of
writing: spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization,
sentence structure, and (thanks to technology) typos.
• The invention of Spell Check has greatly improved our
chances of producing a spelling-error free paper…if you
remember to use it and you PAY ATTENTION to the
suggestions. In other words, do not follow Spell Check with
blind faith. Spell Check has been know to suggest “brain”
for “Brian”. Unless you are making an ironically misguided
statement regarding your superior intellect, if your name is
“Brian” make sure Spell Check leaves it that way.
MORE ON MECHANICS…
• Grammar Check. Unfortunately, Grammar Check is
not as reliable as Microsoft would like us to believe.
Grammar Check needs to be verified. Grammar
Check is not a human, and therefore does not always
understand the nuances of writing. Therefore, double
check everything.
• Punctuation. Need I say more? Yes, I
need to say more!
• Go slow, children are crossing the street.
• Go, slow children are crossing the street.
• When you move the comma, YOU
CHANGE THE MEANING!
• Let’s eat, Grandpa!
• Let’s eat Grandpa!
FOCUS
What is focus?
• Focus means that your reader knows what your topic is.
•
Focus means that you zero in on your topic like a target and you
don’t look away.
In order to have an unwavering focus you need the following
information:
• Who is your audience? Are you writing for a teacher? A friend? An
adult? A child?
• What is your actual topic?
• What is your goal? Are you trying to persuade? To inform? To
describe?
• These basic items must be addressed in order to have focus.
•
SUPPORT
Anytime you make a point, you better be able to support it…or risk looking
silly when
someone else shuts down your point with their supported, thought out
point.
•
In order to support your point you need FACTUAL information.
•
You cannot support an opinion with an opinion. That is just a traffic-jam
of opinions…not an argument.
•
You must know your focus in order to support it.
•
You must know your audience to know what type of support you need.
Are you presenting a business plan to a group of executives? You better
support it with dollar amounts.
ELABORATION
One time, I did this one thing and it was okay.
BAD STORY!
Make it better…
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ELABORATION
• Elaboration comes down to two things:
• Word choice
• Detail
• Word choice can either kill your paper by putting your
reader to sleep, or it can make your paper the one that
no one wants to put down because it is so insanely
attention-grabbing.
• Lack of detail is an instant kiss of death for any paper.
Readers want to know what you are talking about—
otherwise they wouldn’t take the time to read your
writing. If you do not provide as much detail as
necessary for the reader to form a visual of your words,
then you did not do your job.
ORGANIZATION
Organization means your paper makes sense. It is NOT a hot mess.
You have the following items if you have organization:
• Paragraphs
• An understandable sequence of events
• A definite introduction
• A definite conclusion
• Subtle transitions between ideas
• Paragraphs contain ideas of the same nature