Writing Assignment #1 (Setting): Tips from Ms. Sanford
Writing your two paragraphs for this assignment will be easier if you remember these tips:
Read the directions. You’ve probably just opened this document, realized that it is three
pages long, and are thinking to yourself, I’m not reading this! Three pages?! (Was I
right?) In all seriousness though, if you want to do well on this assignment, you should
read through this document completely (and more than once). You will actually find that
if you take the time to read this, it will take you a lot less time to write the actual
assignment. You will see my own sample writing response on page three.
Use the High Five Method:
o Topic sentence
o Supporting details (usually 3)
o Concluding sentence
Your topic sentence for your first paragraph should be simple (for the purpose of our
assignment): author, title, and flip the question! This topic sentence should be focused,
clear, and set up a strong structure for the rest of the paragraph. All sentences in the
paragraph should tie back to this topic sentence. If you feel yourself going “off topic,”
remove that sentence from your paragraph. Otherwise, you’ll lose your reader’s focus.
Your second paragraph should also include a topic sentence, but there is no need to
include the title and author in every topic sentence (since you’ve already listed this
information in your first paragraph now).
o Instead, for future topic sentences, it is good to start with a transition word. Pick
one that fits your purpose. In some cases, “next” would be a good transition word,
but in other cases, “therefore” might be better. Think about which transition word
fits your purpose. Experiment, but make sure you know what a word means
before using it in your writing. You can even try these: furthermore, moreover,
additionally, and however.
o Your topic sentence for any future paragraph should still be focused, clear, and set
up a strong structure for the rest of the paragraph. You will specifically address
some other point that you are trying to make.
Recognize the importance of supporting your ideas after you have finished your topic
sentence. You are showing your reader that you know what you are talking about!
o One way that you can add support is through quotes. This does not mean that you
want your whole paragraph to be overwhelmed by quotes. Rather, as a rule of
thumb, try using one quote for each writing assignment for now.
What is a quote? Does this mean that you are supposed to find something that a character
says in quotation marks in your book and use that? No! You are to find any sentence(s)
from your book that could accurately support a point that you are trying to make. Then,
you, as the writer, put those sentences in quotation marks. That’s what makes it a quote.
You are quoting (referencing) the author’s work.
 You must introduce the quote. For this assignment, try introducing your
quote with the phrase “The author writes,” and set off the quote with a
comma. Here’s an example. Pretend that I found this sentence on page 17
of some book:
 The author writes, “Then, begin your quote here by capitalizing the
first letter after the quotation mark, end with another quotation
mark, include the page number in parentheses, and finish with a
period right after the parentheses” (17).
 Your job is not done just because you added a quote though! The most
important part is yet to come! Now, you need to explain the significance
of that quote. Why did you insert that quote? What is it helping to show?
This is where you get to prove to your reader that you are thinking on a
deeper level rather than just stating facts.
 This quote is significant because…
Lastly, remember the example I gave in class regarding the extended school year. If I
were to write something about why the school year should not be extended, I couldn’t
just walk up to the Massachusetts Department of Education and hand the guy at the front
desk a slip of paper that says, “Don’t extend the school year. That’d be bad! Thanks!” He
wouldn’t care at all! It is like Plato said, “Wise men speak because they have something
to say; Fools speak because they have to say something.” I would look foolish!
However, if I want to make the guy at the DOE care, I’d need to express myself more
clearly. I need to have something to say that is worthwhile. Instead, I could write, “The
school year should not be extended because doing so would keep students from
developing certain talents and skills outside the classroom.” Then, after that topic
sentence, in my paragraph, I’d give at least three supporting details about how extending
the school year could keep students from developing other skills and talents. In my next
paragraph, I’d create another topic sentence to explain how extending the school year
would be negative: “Additionally, extending the school year could cause financial
problems and ultimately harm the economy.” Again though, I’d need to support that
statement!
You can do this! Follow my tips! My sample is on the next page. Reread this document!
Let’s put it all together. Below is a sample that I made for you so that you have some
guidance when writing your own two paragraphs on setting. Remember, avoid comma
splices, incomplete sentences, and run-on sentences. Check for homophones (such as
their/they’re/there, hear/here, your/you’re, and two/to/too), apostrophes, and misspelled
words. This should be your work in your own words.
In The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan, the setting in the beginning is modern-day
upstate New York, although the setting changes multiple times. More specifically, the novel
originally takes place at a private boarding school called Yancy Academy, where the main
character, Percy Jackson, is a student. Within the first couple of chapters, Percy leaves Yancy
Academy after the term is over and returns to his little apartment; there, the reader is introduced
to Smelly Gabe, the man whom Percy’s mother unfortunately dates. Riordan depicts the scene of
Smelly Gabe’s portion of the apartment when he writes, “He didn’t study anything except old car
magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in a closet, leaving his muddy boots on my
windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale
beer” ( 32). This quote is significant because the house is being described, but Riordan is also
describing Gabe’s personality; like the tiny apartment, Gabe is smelly and messy. Percy does not
belong to that little apartment in the same way that he does not belong to Gabe. He is not proud
of either. After being introduced to the apartment, Percy ends up at Camp Half-Blood where he
is assigned a quest. He must travel across the United States and the Underworld to locate and
return the missing thunder bolt, which belongs to the Greek god Zeus, and Percy attempts to save
his mother.
Moreover, the fact that The Lightning Thief takes place in various locations is important
because this adds to the adventure of the novel. Percy Jackson is admired by most readers
because of his bravery. Had this novel been set only at Yancy Academy, Percy never would have
been able to fulfill his quest, and this is one of the vital parts of the plot. Readers may not have
the same respect for Percy if he had not traveled to parts of Las Vegas and the Underworld.
These locations, which are foreign to him, help the reader understand the evils that this
protagonist must encounter. Unlike other students his age, such as Nancy Bobofit, Percy wants to
do more than simply hang around Yancy Academy and act foolish. Instead, 12-year-old Percy is
willing to travel to unknown territory, battling monsters and Greek gods, in order to achieve
justice for both mortals and immortals.