Congrats on Finishing and Submitting
the Rhetorical Analysis!
• Any problems with turnitin?
• Anyone need a late contract?
• Remember, when using the late contract you must BOTH
turn in a printed copy with a signed late contract stapled
to it, AND upload to the Late Assignments folder on
turnitin.com (which I will open this week).
THE BASIC STEPS OF
ESSAY WRITING
These basic steps apply to ALL essays, not just
the ones in our class!
Characteristics of an Essay
• Has a thesis statement – a claim the entire essay works to
support
• Has paragraphs that support the thesis.
• Each paragraph covers one point of support for the thesis.
• Each point of support (these are your reasons that the thesis is
correct) is logical and explained thoroughly.
• Uses an appropriate tone and style for the intended
audience.
• Uses the tools of writing to convey the author’s message
clearly and memorably.
Step One: Know what is required of you.
• Prompts are the key to successful
assignments.
• It’s important to know how to read a prompt and
understand it.
• Read and re-read your prompt until you
understand fully what is being asked of you.
• If you don’t understand, ask your professor to clarify
EARLY ON.
• If you ask the day before the essay is due, IT IS ALREADY
TOO LATE.
•
Let’s review our Prompt!
• Know the minimum requirements and
take them seriously.
•
These include: page length or word count, format, works
cited/research required. ALL DUE DATES.
Step Two: Brainstorm and Freewrite
• Read the Prompt
• Freewrite your general thoughts about the
prompt and the overall topic
• Then, write down your ideas about how to make
the prompt/topic personal to you.
• Freewrite
• Do idea bubbles
• Lists/Outlines
Step 2.5: Prewrite (Research and Reading)
• If you are writing an essay or paper that requires research,
this is the point where you do that.
• Our first essay does not require research and can be written from
personal experience only.
• DO NOT put off research until the last minute. Very bad idea
to write a rough draft and THEN do research—the research
you find may invalidate the work you have done.
• Read up on your topic FIRST.
• In order to write a successful rough draft, you have to be making
a claim
• In order to make a claim, you have to know what you think
• In order to know what you think, you have to be familiar with
the topic
Step 3: Think About Thesis and Organization
• Remember that your narrative needs to have a
point.
• As you begin to write your rough draft, be sure to write
out a tentative thesis. Your thesis is the main point,
the focusing idea of your essay. Stay focused on this as
you organize your narrative.
• Organize your information
• What happened? Where? When? Who was there? What
influenced these events? What details can you describe to
make the narrative come alive for your reader?
• Decide on the order of events and paragraphs.
Chronological? Start in the middle/end, go back, then
forward again? Some other order?
Step Four: Develop an Outline
• Once you establish a thesis, use it to help you
develop an outline of the paper
• An outline will:
• Help you organize your ideas
• Keep you focused
• Save time
• Keep in mind there are several ways to approach
writing an outline
Outline Example
• Thesis
• Focus of Paragraph
• Supporting Details
• Focus of Paragraph
• Supporting Details
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•
Detail
Detail
• Example
•
•
Detail
Detail
•
•
Detail
Detail
• Example
•
•
Detail
Detail
• Focus of Paragraph
• Supporting Details
• Focus of Paragraph
• Supporting Details
•
•
Detail
Detail
• Example
•
•
Detail
Detail
•
•
Detail
Detail
• Example
•
•
Detail
Detail
• Conclusion
Step Five: Begin Drafting
• Put your ideas together in a first draft. It doesn’t have
to be perfect, but this is a first try.
• Draft an opening
• A good introduction draws your audience in and makes them
want to know more. You should also give context for your
narrative—what does your reader need to know in order to
understand your narrative?
• Draft your paragraphs
• Focus on your IDEAS first. Worry about grammar and spelling later.
• Draft a conclusion
• Your conclusion will not only end your narrative, but should also
include some reflection on the significance of the events, places,
and people you have just described. Make sure that your readers
understand the point of the narrative—what do you want your
readers get our of your narrative? What do you want them to
understand and remember?
Step Six: Revise and Edit
• Revise – It’s time to see your writing from a new
perspective. Seek advice from peers, tutors, and
instructors. Put revision strategies we learn in class to
work.
• Edit – Check for grammar, spelling, word choice, and
clarity. Read your essay aloud to yourself.
Step Seven: Check Your Formatting
• Use an accepted font. If you don’t know what fonts your
teacher accepts, Times New Roman is almost always a
safe choice
• Font size: Unless your professor says otherwise, always
use size 12.
• Spacing: Always double space, unless you are told
otherwise. Remove automatic formatting that adds extra
spaces between paragraphs (each time you hit “enter”)
[Show how to change]
• Margins: Always 1 inch on all sides, unless otherwise
specified. [Show how to check margins]
Step Eight: The Final Draft
• SAVE and/or SAVE AS
• NAME IT SOMETHING SPECFIC – and in a location you
can find later!
• Save a backup too!
• Print and/or Upload
Writing as “Unpacking the Box”
• One way to think of writing is as the process of unpacking
a box that is full of objects.
• Each sentence is a box that contains other sentences.
• You just have to look carefully to find them.
• When you Brainstorm:
• Identify words/concepts that are related. Do you notice any
patterns? Record what you notice on your brainstorming sheet.
• Does one set of ideas stand out to you? Mark it. Why does
it stand out?
• Which of the ideas you brainstormed seems like the “box” with the
most in it?
• That is the one you probably want to write about, as long
as it fits your assignment prompt.
Remember, Writing is a Process
• Every writing assignment is practice for the next
one—so every one has value.
• Writing takes time
• Go through every step of the process
• Focus on your ideas first
• Focus on grammar and spelling last
• Get feedback from a peer, instructor, or tutor
A Brief Introduction to
MLA Format
What Is MLA Format?
• MLA Stands for “Modern Language Association”
• The MLA makes rules for the writers of research
papers in English and the Humanities so that
everyone who is doing research is following the same
set of rules and we can all understand each other.
• The rules that govern the formatting of things like
font, spacing, margins, etc are to give uniformity to
assignments given in a single discipline: ie, English
and Composition.
• This makes sure that we are all using the same
standards—and that one 6 page paper is about the
same actual length as another.
What kinds of things do I need to
do to have correct MLA Format?
• Part of MLA style is format.
• Margins
• Heading
• Font, etc.
• Please see the formatting example that is on the class blog
for my expectations on formatting.
• Part of MLA style is citation.
• This means giving credit to your sources and avoiding
plagiarism.
• Citation is also meant to make is easy for your reader find
your sources if he or she wishes to read them.
MLA Citation has two main parts:
1. Parenthetical citations. Ex: (Anderson 3)
– Are in the body (main text) of your essay.
– Come after each paraphrase or quote that you did not
write or think of yourself, you must indicate which source
you are using in order to avoid plagiarism. Consult your
textbook, a handbook, or the handout on Moodle for
more detail.
2. A Works Cited page:
–
–
–
On its own page at the end of your essay
Lists every source you used in alphabetical order by the
last name of the author.
Each works cited entry must contain specific
information in a specific order. Consult a handbook or
the handout on moodle for more details.
Four Basic Rules for Avoiding Plagiarism
1. Make sure all word-for-word quotes have quote marks
showing where they begin and end.
2. Make sure to make the difference between your ideas and
your sources’ ideas clear when paraphrasing.
3. Identify where each quote OR paraphrased idea came from
in the body of your paper using in-text citations.
4. Make sure that each source you quote OR paraphrase in
your paper is correctly listed on your Works Cited page.
Show Students WHERE to download Format Example, MLA
Templates Handout, and Incorporating Sources Handout
BREAK TIME
Please return in 10-15 minutes
Reminders: Upcoming Essay Rough Draft
• Our Peer Review of the Narrative Essay is next week.
• Your rough draft should be at least 2-3 pages.
• Remember, topics for this paper are very flexible.
• The prompt asks you to write about a way that a
culture you are part of or identify with (can be either
ethnic culture, pop culture, a particular subculture, or a
mix of these) is connected in a significant and
influential way to how you form or express
identity.
• To put this another way, you are writing about how a
culture/subculture you identify with has shaped, changed, or
otherwise influenced your own identity and outlook on the world.
• This essay will use the first person, and will include personal
narrative elements, as well as specific examples and details.
Including Detail and Personal
Experience in Your Essay
• Include details and specific examples of the ideas
you are talking about
• Camera Lens: Zoom In (Details) Zoom Out (Reflection,
Context)
• You will not simply be talking about the culture or
pop culture you are part, but you should also
discuss how your identity has been
impacted by a particular aspect of culture or
pop culture, and how your personal
experiences might shed light on certain
realities in society.
Your Essay Needs to Include
• A focusing idea (or main point) that says something
about how culture/subculture [or a specific aspect of pop
culture] can have an impact on identity + issues in
society.
• Details, Description and Specific Examples of the ideas,
pop culture elements, subcultures, people, and events
you are talking about. Personal Narrative Elements that
illustrate how pop culture has had an impact on YOUR
life.
• Your Essay Might Also Include:
• Connections to outside texts that functions as “examples” of (or
a contrast to) the observations you are making about your own
life/identity/culture
Using Specific Details
• Wherever possible in your essay, use specific
details instead of general ones.
– Refer to people who are important to the narrative by
their names whenever possible.
– Refer to specific numbers, times, and places.
– Add facts and explanation to statements that might
mean different things to different readers.
– Use examples to explain.
– Remember, you can draw from your experience. Make
it unique to you.
Examples of Specific Details
• Not specific at all: “I eat some things some people
I know consider weird.”
• “Things” is a very vague word. The same thing
goes for “stuff” and “some.”
• Try to avoid these words in your essay.
• How could this sentence be improved?
Improved Sentence:
• Original Sentence: “I eat some things some people
consider weird.”
• Improved: “I eat Sushi, Indian food, or Thai food at
least once or twice a month, and some of my older
relatives find this strange because it’s not what they
are used to. My dad’s parents are both from the
Midwest where the staples of a good dinner are steak
and corn on the cob, and they are confused by the fact
that their granddaughter loves raw fish, spicy curry,
and slippery clear noodles.
DISCUSSING THE READINGS
“Throws Like the Girl She Is” p. 264
• What is the primary focus of this text? What is the author trying
to say?
• Do you think that sports can represent more than just an
activity for some people, but can also represent a culture, a
family, a place to belong?
• Do you have any examples from your own experience?
• Besides the message about sports providing community, this
essay also makes a point about the old insult “You throw like a
girl”. We know that in the author’s family, this was not an insult
that was used. Yet many people continue to say it this way.
•
•
•
•
“Like a Girl” Ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs
Mythbusters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD5Xm5u7UDM
Discuss Reading: “Goin’ Gangsta Choosin’ Cholita”
• This essay raises questions about whether or not people
have the right to “claim” a ethnic or racial identity that is
not part of their own ethnic/family heritage.
• What are some of the problems associated with appropriation of
racial and ethnic identities that may connect to this practice?
• The essay also raises the question whether multi-ethnic
people can claim one of their racial or ethnic over the
other(s).
• Is this idea less problematic than the first idea? Why or why not?
• What potential societal benefits might there be if people “embraced
the new racial hybridism”? What potential negative repercussions
might come from this as well?
• This essay uses examples from real people’s lives to make
its points. Is this an effective rhetorical strategy?
• What are its strengths? Weaknesses?
Thinking Like a Writer: “Punk’s Not Dead” p. 554
• What are some of stereotypes the author and his
friends faced because they were part of the punk
subculture?
• You might find it useful to compare the way this author
writes about his experience with other authors we have
read.
• What do you think of how the author depicts the
punk subculture as a place for community?
• Notice the level of specificity the author uses. He quotes
specific lyrics from songs, tells several stories about specific
defining moments in his involvement in the punk subculture,
etc. Choose one of these specific passages and discuss how it
contributes to the essay as a whole.
Self-Made Labels
• Sometimes claiming an identity or label can be problematic,
especially if they involve people from a group with more social
power deciding to “claim” identities from a group with less
social power, while still retaining the ability to ‘claim’ their
original label when its convenient.
• So should we just get rid of labels altogether?
• Well, not necessarily. Labels can be helpful.
• Some labels can be empowering, IF they are labels we choose
for ourselves and they are not forced on us.
• As one tumblr user put it:
• Re: LABELS. As I am sure any cat owner can tell you, someone else
putting you in a box is entirely different from putting yourself in a
box.
If We Have Time: Think, Pair, Share
• Find a Partner
• “Interview” each other about the upcoming essay.
• Ask your partner what ideas they are considering for
topics, what aspect of pop culture and identity they will be
focusing on
• Ask your partner what their main point/thesis might be
• Help each other brainstorm even more ideas.
• If we have time, I will call out “switch partners.”
Find someone new and repeat for more ideas and a
stronger sense of your own plan.
Let’s Review the Upcoming Schedule!
• On the Class Blog!