Intensive Writing Unit
Please remain quiet in the IWU. These essays
need a lot of structural work.
Portfolio requirements
Your portfolio is due Friday, January 20th, 2006.
Your portfolio must include:
 A title page with: your title, your name, English
102, Ms. Marlow, and the date (10 points)
 Rough draft of your narrative essay (20 points)
 Rough draft of your persuasive essay (20 points)
 Rough draft of your expository essay (20 points)
 Peer review of your narrative essay (10 points)
Portfolio requirements






Peer review of your persuasive essay (10
points)
Peer review of your expository essay (10
points)
Typed final draft of ONE of your essays
(narrative, persuasive, OR expository) (30
points)
Reflection statement (10 points)
MUST BE TURNED IN AT START OF CLASS
Friday, January 20th, 2006 (10 points)
Total Points for this project: 150
Writing Basics: A Review
Give the definition and at least two examples for
each of the following:
 Nouns:
people, place, or thing (cat, Chicago)
 Pronouns:
stands in for a noun (me, you, them)
 Verbs:
tell what the noun is doing (running)
 Adverbs:
modify verbs, adverbs, or other adjectives
(quickly, almost)
Writing Basics: A Review




Adjectives:
describe or modify nouns (red, happy)
Conjunctions:
link words or parts of sentences (but, and)
Interjections:
provide emphasis (AHHH!!, Oh my!)
Articles:
introduce nouns (a, an, the)
Complete Sentences Vs Phrases
What makes a sentence complete?
Sentences must have a subject (the
noun) and a predicate (what the
noun is doing).
Sentences must start with a capital
letter and end with a period,
question mark, or exclamation
mark!
Complete Sentences Vs Phrases

1.
Are these sentences complete?
On the way to the store the dog.
NO!
2. yesterday was Wednesday
NO!
3. I am here.
YES!
Now try the examples given on your own.
Complete Sentences Vs Phrases





Yes / No 1. Yesterday I went to the
grocery story.
Yes / No 2. The running purple
dog!
Yes / No 3. My favorite ice cream
is butter pecan.
Yes / No 4. I gave my left lung to
a frog.
Yes / No 5. The frog over there.
Complete Paragraphs

What makes a paragraph complete?


How many sentences should be in a paragraph?


AT LEAST FIVE—Topic sentence, three
explanatory sentences, and a closing sentence
How many topics should be discussed in a
paragraph?


Everything listed below!!
ONE!!
How is a paragraph formatted?

Indent the first line only, use at least five
complete sentences
Now you try it! Draw a picture of a paragraph in your packet.
Writing Vs Speaking

What is the difference between writing
and speaking?


What different types of speaking do we
use?


PLEASE! Don’t write like you speak!
Formal, casual, slang…
What different types of writing do we
use?

Formal, casual, instant messaging!...
Now follow the directions in your packet.
You must first learn the rules.
Then you can
break them.
Narrative Writing

Purpose:


Narratives tell a story. Narratives can be
fiction (made-up) or non-fiction (happened in
real life), but must have a clear “voice” telling
the events of the story. Narratives have been
told forever and help us to understand our
lives and the lives of others.
Format:

Your narrative must have a narrator (person
telling the story) at least three characters, a
clear setting and a theme. You must also have
a climax in the action and a resolution.
Narrative Writing

Prompts:
 1. Think of a person who is now important to you or has made a
lasting impression on you. Write a story about how you came to
know that person and what that person did that impressed you.
Be sure to narrate an event or series of events and include
specific details in your response.
 2. Think of a time when someone showed you kindness or a time
when you showed someone else kindness or a time when you
witnessed someone else showing kindness to another person.
Choose one of these times and write a story about what
happened. Be sure to narrate an event or series of events and
include specific details in your response.
 3. Think of a childhood memory that you recall clearly. Write a
story about what happened. Be sure to narrate an event or series
of events and include specific details in your response.
 4. Imagine that you could be invisible for one day. Write a story
about that day. Be sure to narrate an event or series of events
and include specific details in your response.
 5. Think about something that has happened during a day in your
favorite (or least favorite) class. Tell a story about what
happened. Be sure to narrate an event or series of events and
include specific details in your response.
Narrative Writing

Additional Requirements:



You must complete the character
analysis chart for at least three
characters.
Your story must have dialogue (in
the correct format)
and must be at least three pages
(double spaced, one side of the
paper).
NOTICE: When the
speaker changes, you
must start a new
paragraph. This goes
against the “paragraph
rules” to a certain
extent, but is necessary

when using dialogue.
John and Laura walked out of the store together. “I
am not going home this early, John,” Laura said in a smug
NOTICE:
voice. “After all, I’m not the one that left all of my work for
the last minute!” John gave Laura a disgusted look.
You do not
“Give me a break,” John shot back. “I was just trying
need to
NOTICE:
The comma
after John
to help you out yesterday.
If I could
have stayed
home all
write “said
thatdone,
this is
partJohn
of a turned left
weekend I would have shows
my work
too.”
Laura.”
larger
sentence.
UseIna order
comma
as they continued walking
down
the road.
to follow
Your reader
to up
include
the speaker,
then
him, Laura had to speed
slightly.
She should
have made
knows that
end
the
sentence.
You
can
a right to go back towards her own car. Instead, she decided
Laura said
to see where John wascontinue
going. to use the same
this
without
giving
“I’m not sayingspeaker
you weren’t
a big
helpher
yesterday.
because
I’m just saying I’m notname
readyevery
to gotime.
back to my boring
you started
apartment all alone.”
a new
paragraph.
Narrative Writing
Using Dialogue:
Narrative Writing


Point of View: Your story, your choice.
First person

First person is from the narrator’s point-ofview. A story written in the first person is told
by an "I," where "I" can be the main character,
a less important character witnessing events,
or a person retelling a story they were told by
someone else. This point of view is often
effective in giving a sense of closeness to the
character. It can be very easy to get the reader
to identify or sympathize with your main
character when the reader is seeing everything
through that character's eyes. In a first person
narrative the reader knows the thoughts and
feelings of one person (the main character or
the narrator).
Narrative Writing

First Person Example:
“You won’t believe me even if I told
you!” Tom said as he walked away from
me. I didn’t know what to do! I followed
him about three steps and stopped.
“I might,” I answered, even though I
thought he was probably right. Tom
always came up with the strangest
excuses for forgetting to pick me up. Last
time he was “abducted by aliens.”
Narrative Writing

Second person

In second person, the narrator addresses the
main character as "you." Often, this kind of
story has the narrator speaking to a younger
version of their self. This point of view is very
rare because it is extremely difficult to pull off.
The reader may feel that they are the one
spoken to, and will find it difficult to accept that
they are doing the things the narrator tells them
they are doing. If you choose to tell a story in
second person, it is very important to make it
clear to the reader who is being addressed, so
they can trust in the teller and accept the story
as given.
Narrative Writing

Third person

Characters are referred to as "he" and "she" in
third person. In this case the narrator (who
may be indistinguishable from the author) is
not a character in the story. Depending on the
type of third person point of view, the narrator
may know -- and be able to tell about -- the
thoughts and feelings of all characters, or only
one character, or they may only be able to
report what is seen or heard.
Narrative Writing


Third Person Omniscient: The narrator knows
everything; all thoughts, feelings, and actions
may be related to the reader (or they may be
withheld).
Third Person Objective: The narrator can only
relate to the reader what is seen or heard. A good
writer can tell a completely objective story in such
a way that the reader is able to determine the
feelings and sometimes even the thoughts of the
characters through what those characters say and
do, even though the thoughts and feelings are
never described.
Narrative Writing

Third Person Limited: The narrator is able
to see into the mind of a single character.
Sometimes the point of view may zoom in
so close to that character that the
narrator begins to use that character's
manner of speech and thought, and
sometimes the narrator may step back to
take a more objective view. This point of
view is sort of the "default" in fiction -- it
is the most common because it can be
used the most effectively in the majority
of situations.
Narrative Writing

Example of Third Person:
John and Laura walked out of the store together. “I
am not going home this early, John,” Laura said in a
smug voice. “After all, I’m not the one that left all of my
work for the last minute!” John gave Laura a disgusted
look.
“Give me a break,” John shot back. “I was just
trying to help you out yesterday. If I could have stayed
home all weekend I would have my work done, too.”
John turned left as they continued walking down the
road. In order to follow him, Laura had to speed up
slightly. She should have made a right to go back
towards her own car. Instead, she decided to see where
John was going.
“I’m not saying you weren’t a big help yesterday.
I’m just saying I’m not ready to go back to my boring
apartment all alone.”
Narrative Writing


Character Chart– what’s it all about?
Follow along on page 10 in your
packet.

Now it’s time to try it on your own.

What story will you tell?
Persuasive Writing

Purpose :


Authors write to persuade readers to make a
change, accept new ideas, take action, or consider
different points of view. To be effective, the author
includes specific reasons why the action would be
beneficial to the reader.
Format:

An introduction with an attention grabber,
explanatory sentences and a thesis statement.
Body paragraphs that follow the order of the
thesis and each explain one part of the argument.
A conclusion that restates the thesis in a new way
and answers the question “so what?”.
Persuasive Writing


Writing Prompt: : Write an essay designed to
convince readers to take a specific action.
Include very specific reasons why the reader
should take that action and how it would benefit
the reader.
You can use one of these topic ideas or your own
idea.






Why You should Recycle
Eating Healthy Snacks Is Good for You
Take Your Next Vacation in the South Pole
Donate Blood
Join a Club
Support the Community Theater
Persuasive Writing



I have chosen to write about__________
_________________________________
I will persuade my audience that people
should____________________________
_________________________________
My reasons are_____________________
_________________________________
Persuasive Writing
Informal Outline
 Attention Grabber: ____________________________
____________________________________________




Working Thesis:_______________________________
____________________________________________
Argument for paragraph one:____________________
____________________________________________
Argument for paragraph two:____________________
____________________________________________
Argument for paragraph three:___________________
____________________________________________
Expository Writing

Purpose :


Expository writing is used to inform the reader. The
most important thing to remember in expository
writing is that you are not trying to persuade your
reader. “Just the facts!” The format is a lot like a
persuasive paper in that you should have a thesis
and the body of the paper should follow the order
set by the thesis. However, you should be giving
information, not opinion.
Format:

An introduction with an attention grabber,
explanatory sentences and a thesis statement.
Body paragraphs that follow the order of the
thesis and each explain one part of the argument.
A conclusion that restates the thesis in a new way
and answers the question “so what?”.
Expository Writing
Writing Prompt:
 You can use one of these topic ideas or
your own idea.
 A how to report: explain the process of
something
 An interview: interview a friend or relative
and give an account of the interview
 Report on something you have observed
 Give the history of something
 Describe an important person
Expository Writing



I have chosen to write about_____
____________________________
I will inform my audience about___
____________________________
My examples are_______________
_____________________________
Expository Writing
Informal Outline
 Attention Grabber:__________________
_________________________________
 Working Thesis:____________________
_________________________________
 Example for paragraph one:___________
_________________________________
 Example for paragraph two:___________
_________________________________
 Example for paragraph three:_________
_________________________________
Reflection

First consider how you thought about writing
before you entered the IWU. Did you consider
your audience? Did you consider how formal your
language should be? Did you look carefully to be
sure all of your sentences and paragraphs were
complete? Now that you have lived through the
IWU, what has changed about your writing
process? Which style of writing (Narrative,
Persuasive, Expository) did you find the easiest?
Most challenging? Most fun? Why? What did you
learn during your time in the IWU? Reflect on your
experience over the last two weeks and write a
reflective statement. Remember to use complete
sentences and Standard American English. Your
reflection must be at least one typed page double
spaced.
Reminder: Portfolio requirements
Your portfolio is due Friday, January 20th, 2006.
Your portfolio must include:
 A title page with: your title, your name, English
102, Ms. Marlow, and the date (10 points)
 Rough draft of your narrative essay (20 points)
 Rough draft of your persuasive essay (20 points)
 Rough draft of your expository essay (20 points)
 Peer review of your narrative essay (10 points)