Writing Workshop
From Frustration To Fluency
1. Outline
For a successful outline, you Must!...
Read and understand the prompt/question!!!!! Discuss with peers
to make sure that you fully understand.
Identify the general question being discussed and break it into
2 or 3 smaller, more manageable questions (especially for mini
midterms).
Identify and understand the keywords being used in the
prompt, and keep them (or synonyms) as your anchor words
for your thesis, map statements and topic sentences
When creating your clusters of ideas, be mindful of the theme,
chronology (10th grade IUEs are historical in nature), number of
body paragraphs (at least 2; no more than 4) and time that is
available to you
Create a formal outline like the one on the next slide: if you
have a I, you should have II; if you have an A, you should also
have a B; if you have a 1 you should also have a 2, etc.
Don’t!....
Ignore the question and rely
solely on yourself, your
teacher or peers
Work alone
Skip homework and reading
assignments since they are
designed to provide you with
the material you need to
create an outline
1. Introduction
Introductory Paragraphs Must!!!
Attract the reader’s interest
and attention on the topic and
arouse their curiosity, drawing
the reader from her world to
yours (current events, quote,
etc.)
Define terms and themes when
necessary (example: “virtue”;
“reason”, etc)
Present a thesis statement that
answers the question clearly,
concisely and directly.
Indicate a plan of development
or map, previewing the 2-3-4
reasons that make your thesis
true.
Attributes of a Good Thesis
Answers the question clearly, and
completely.
Takes a stand upon which reasonable
people can disagree.
Expresses one main idea, with map
statements providing the support
needed to prove the thesis.
Asserts your conclusion about the
subject.
Uses specific language with thematic
anchor words such as “virtue” (unit 1) or
“Christianity” (unit 2)
What To Avoid
Don’t use vague generalities such
as “during this time, people (…)” or
“Throughout time, people have
(done this)”
A thesis should never, ever restate
the prompt. It is YOUR answer to
the prompt.
MYTH BUSTER: Do not keep your
thesis vague so you can reveal your
position later. This is an essay, not a
Hollywood flick!
Never start with, “The purpose of
this essay ...” or “In this essay I will
...” or any similar flat announcement
of your intention or topic.
2. Body paragraphs
PEE Method
Point - The main point you are
trying to make in your paragraph
(topic sentence).
Evidence - The proof you offer to
prove your point is correct.
Explanation - Your thoughts for
why your evidence proves your
point (you must create this
yourself! Evidence does
not explain itself).
Active Reading Provides Evidence
To find evidence for your
essay, you must actively read
the packets and use quotes or
paraphrase sections of the text
as your evidence.
Effective Body Paragraphs
A Paragraph is a unit of thought, expressing a unified idea through a
series of sentences.
Effective paragraphs do the following:
•
•
•
•
•
Discusses only 1 topic
Is complete and developed, expressing all that your reader
needs to know about the topic.
Exhibits an order (often chronological for IUEs) that the
reader can recognize.
Displays coherence, allowing the reader to move easily from
one sentence to another without feeling there are gaps in the
sequence of your ideas.
Transition smoothly into the next paragraph
Topic sentences
Unity begins with a solid topic sentence. A topic sentence is NOT a
FACT. It is the argument of the paragraph that partially proves that
your thesis is true. To ensure that your topic sentence is not a fact,
use one of the anchor words in order to clarify the link between
your sentence and the general theme.
A quality topic sentence does these 3 things:
•
•
Indicates the purpose of the paragraph
Indicates how the paragraph supports the thesis and answers the
general question.
•
Controls ALL the other sentences in the paragraph
•
Provides a transition with the preceding paragraph.
Paragraph Coherence
A paragraph is coherent when the sentences are woven together, leading
the reader from one sentence to the next in an orderly and logical fashion.
2 things are essential to paragraph coherence:
1.
The connections between the ideas.
2.
The order used to arrange the ideas. Types of order include:
•
Logical - Group ideas together to show their relationship.
•
Chronological - show how things change over time.
•
Order of importance - List ideas from least to most important or vice
versa.
Completeness and Development
Detailed information is necessary to make your
meaning clear. Unless your readers are given the
necessary information, they will have difficulty grasping
your purpose.
Analysis, breaking down information into parts and
explaining the meaning of each part, shows the reader
that you have a specific and holistic understanding of
the subject (you understand the small details and the
big picture).
Transition to next paragraph
Do NOT use vague words or expressions such as “ next” or
“This correlates to (…)” or “We can also see this with (…)”
Do use specific language instead
3. Conclusion
Some Strategies for Closing Paragraphs
Restate the thesis and summarize the main points of the paper.
Echo the introduction by returning to the quotation from the
introduction.
Create an image in the readers mind.
Strike a note of hope or despair.
Give a symbolic or powerful reflective comment that perhaps help us
understand how this has affected our contemporary world; or how this
helps us understand the world we live in and its implications.
Recommend a course of action.
Stick to ONE idea or reflection
Closing Paragraphs To Avoid
Do NOT simply restate your introduction - thesis statement
and all. You should include your thesis and major points in
the conclusion, but in different words that are not redundant.
Do NOT start off in new directions or add new evidence.
That’s the job of the body paragraphs.
Do NOT wander off in several directions or provide multiple
new examples. Stick to one and develop your thought.
Do NOT use the same conclusion as your peers’ and avoid
using the same conclusion for all your IUEs. The more
generic the conclusion, the less original it will be, leaving the
reader with a poor last impression.
4. Other considerations
Absence of time management: you need
to organize your time prior to the test and
check the clock every 10 minutes during
the essay!
Absence of a “Voice”; instead of
regurgitating the info like a robot,
internalize it and show that you are
passionate about what you are writing
about.
MYTH BUSTER: Thinking that
convoluted/complex writing shows
sophistication and intelligence. Wrong!!!!!
Simplicity = clarity
Poor grammar/misspellings: use spell
check! Even more damaging: misspelling
of key artists, historical figures,
philosophers or writers. Ex: Javier
(Javert); Napolean (Napoleon); Augustus
(instead of Augustine); Rafael (Raphael)
Writing pitfalls (1)
Absence of punctuation
Writing pitfalls (2)
Excessive use of PLUPERFECT.
Ex: Instead of “in 1789, the French had
revolted”, you should simply use the
regular past tense and write: ”in 1789, the
French revolted”.
Writing as you speak
Use of vague terms such as “people” or
“things”
Use of the passive voice. Example:
instead of writing “In the Iliad, it is shown
by Homer that Achilles is full of rage”,
write: “in the Iliad, Homer shows that
Achilles is full of rage”.
Lack of consistency with the use of
tenses.