Writing is a Process

BrainstormMake a plan before you write.

What is your point? Write with a clear purpose.

AnswerYou reach your audience when you write.

April 10, 2023 Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2011. Proprietary and Confidential. 5

Your audience is who you reach when you write. When you think about your reader, you are paying attention to your audience.

A clear awareness of audience can be a powerful tool.

Check your rough draft

• Missing or incorrect words and incomplete sentences

• Organizational issues• Lack of support or specific details• Format• Capitalization and punctuation

Missing or incorrect words and incomplete sentences

Incorrect• After the game, they went

to there house for an ice-cream.

• Some of my best are from when I was a little girl.

Correct• After the game, they went

to their house for an ice-cream party.

• Some of my best memories are from when I was a little girl.

Organizational IssuesAlways re-read and make sure your writing is organized and clear.

IncorrectCleaning the house is an easy process if you follow a few steps. Start the dishwasher and then vacuum the living room. Finally gather all of the dirty dishes around the house and load them in the dishwasher.

CorrectCleaning the house is an easy process if you follow a few steps. First, gather all of the dirty dishes around the house and load them into the dishwasher. Start the dishwasher and then vacuum the living room.

Lack of support or specific details

IncorrectMy favorite place is a cabin in the woods.

CorrectThe crisp clean mountain air fills my lungs as I drive to my favorite cabin in the woods. Although the cabin is small and rustic, it offers me an escape from the reality of my busy life. I love relaxing on the front porch with a book and a glass of sweet tea. Listening to the birds and leaves in the trees is my definition of peace.

Format your paper in Microsoft Word with Times New Roman 12 pt. font

First Second

Select this little box under the FONT tab to open up more options.

Set up double line spacing in the paragraph tab in Microsoft Word

Before you begin typing, select the paragraph tab and set the line spacing to Double.

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Capitalization Rules

Copyright Rasmussen, Inc. 2011. Proprietary and Confidential.

people’s names

holidays

placeslocations nationalities

businesses and brands

languagesChinese takeout

months and days of week

New York

Capitalize Titles• Capitalize major words in the titles (books, movies, articles, journal) • Do not capitalize little words like articles (a, an, the), prepositions, (in, on ,

at) or conjunctions (and, but, so ) unless they are the first word in the title.•

– Waiting to Exhale– Malcolm X– The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

• Capitalize a person’s title, when it comes before a name.– Doctor Grey– President Obama– Do not capitalize a title if it comes after a name.– Meredith Grey is a doctor who works at Seattle Grace Hospital.

* Very high ranking government official titles are capitalized even when not followed by a name or used in direct address.

*the President of a country*the Chief Justice*the Queen

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• Capitalize the first word of a salutation and the first word of a complimentary close.

Dear Mr. Smith:Greetings!

Sincerely yours,Love,

More Capitalization Rules

Practice

Incorrect• when i gone to my

grandmas house i drove South on route 66

Eight errors—can you find them?

Correct• When I went to my

grandma’s house I drove south on Route 66.

• Many students forget to add periods or other end punctuation and capitalize the word I. Be careful and catch these errors.