The Journey of Writing. 2 Outline A. The general purposes for writing B. The writing process C....

The Journey of Writing

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Outline

A. The general purposes for writingB. The writing processC. Techniques for developing a topicD. Functions of the thesis statementE. Checklist for revising the thesis statementF. Schemes for organizing ideas in an essayG. Ways to start draftingH. Ways to keep draftingI. Checklist for revisionJ. Checklist for editingK. Nuts and bolts in writing

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A. The general purposes for writing

To entertain readers To express your feelings or ideas To explain something to readers (exposition) To persuade readers to accept or act on your opinion

(argument)

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B. The writing process

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C. Techniques for developing a topic

Keep a journal Observe your surroundings Freewrite Make a list or brainstorm Cluster Ask the journalist’s questions Use the patterns of development Read Think critically

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D. Functions of the thesis statement

Narrow your subject Claim something specific and significant Convey your purpose Preview the arrangement of ideas

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E. Checklist for revising the thesis statement

Subject Claim Significance Clarity Unity

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F. Schemes for organizing ideas in an essay

Space Time Emphasis General to specific → Increasing importance Specific to general → Decreasing familiarity Problem-solution → Increasing complexity

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G. Ways to start drafting

Read over what you’ve already written. Freewrite. Write scribbles or type nonsense. Pretend you’re writing to a friend about your subject. Describe an image that represents your subject. Write a paragraph. Skip the opening and start in the middle. Start writing the part that you understand best or feel

most strongly about.

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H. Ways to keep drafting

Set aside enough time for yourself. Work in a quiet place. Make yourself comfortable. If you must stop working, write down what you expect

to do next. Be as fluid as possible, and don’t worry about mistakes. Keep going. Resist self-criticism. Use your thesis statement and outline. Do not feel constrained by your thesis and outline.

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I. Checklist for revision

Purpose

Thesis

Structure

Development

Tone

Unity

CoherenceTitle, introduction, conclusion

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J. Checklist for editing

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K. Nuts and bolts in writing

a. Overview b. Organization ( General to Specific) c. Transitional Devices d. Sentences Strategies e. Word Choicef. Improving Vocabulary g. 5 Good Habits for Writers

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a. Overview

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b. Organization

specific rather than general

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EXAMPLE

City College should have a new campus for three major reasons. First, the

present campus is badly overcrowded and there is absolutely no space left for

additional expansion. Second, the campus is an ugly improvisation of old high school

buildings and flimsy, boxlike portables that fail to create a collegiate atmosphere.

Third, the equipment in such departments as science, art, and physical education is

completely inadequate for the needs of college students. There are other strong

arguments for a new campus, but these are three of the most outstanding.

A

b. Organization (Cont.)

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EXAMPLE

City College is completely overcrowded. The lack of space is apparent in all

parts of the campus. The classrooms are so jammed that students feel like sardines,

and some of them have to sit on the floor. The library and study rooms are so packed

that many students must study in the halls and stairways. The cafeteria so bulges with

bodies that students often go hungry or lose their appetites. Every inch of the campus

is so overcrowded that it looks more like a bargain basement than a place for higher

learning.

B


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EXAMPLE

The cafeteria at crowded City College is one of the most overworked places on

the campus. The service line is frequently so long that a student gives up the idea of

eating altogether. If she is patient enough to wait for food, she is lucky if she can find

a place to eat it before she wears it. If she is particularly agile, she may work her way

through the masses to a spot where she can eat it before it’s cold. Once seated,

however, she is likely to find the atmosphere so choked with other bodies, noise, and

dead air, that she loses her appetite. She cannot easily slip away at the point, either.

Wedging her way out of the cafeteria, she discovers, is as miserable a matter as

working her way in.

C


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Joining Ideas

John’s room is an ordinary one. For instance, the door opens to reveal a

rather dark room with only one window. On the left is a plain bed. To the

right in the corner next to that little window sits a huge old dresser. Next is a

battered desk, situated under the window. The chair is shoved under the desk

to save space. Along the right wall is a small plain bookcase. In fact, the

only characteristic that marks this room as John’s are the clothes piled

everywhere and the books all over the floor.

c. Transitional devices

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c. Transitional devices (Cont.)

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Transitional Words

c. Transitional Devices (Cont.)

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d. Sentences strategies

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d. Sentences strategies (Cont.)

Relative Clauses/Appositives

functions: for economy, precision and emphasis examples: relative clauses The woman is a doctor. She lives next door.

The woman—who lives next door—is a doctor. She claims that an apple a day keeps doctors away.

The woman—who is a doctor—lives next door.She always plays loud music at midnight.

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appositives

Rap music offers political commentary on at least two

urban problems―poverty and despair.


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Exercise - appositives

1.) College life is a series of shocks. College life is a series of shocks—unfamiliar faces, strange professors, and all-night cram sessions for final examinations.

Your example: College life, the four years we will someday look back

on as the most carefree, is really a series of shocks.

d. Sentences Strategies (Cont.)

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2.) My blind date turned out to be a wonderful person. My blind date turned out to be a wonderful person—honest, fun-loving, and affectionate. Your example:


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Exercise - relative clauses

1.) The teacher surprised his colleagues.a) The teacher quit his job.b) The teacher decided to become a street vendor and sell oyster

omelettes for a living.

Answer: The teacher, who quit his job, decided to become a street vendor and sell oyster omelettes for a living.


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2.) a) Dogs often pick up some very bad habits.b) Dogs copy the behavior of their owners.

Answer:

Dogs which copy the behavior of their owners often pick up some very bad habits.


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Participles/Absolutes

Marie was sitting at her desk. Her head was slightly lowered over a pile of chemistry notes.

—Marie was sitting at her desk, her head slightly lowered over a pile of chemistry notes. cf. Marie, whose head was slightly lowered over a pile of chemistry notes, was sitting at her desk.

The sentence with the participial phrase emphasizes the action.


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Participles/Absolutes

Conciseness Vividness Suggesting Relationships Dangling Participles


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Exercise

a) Jennifer had already graduated from National Taiwan University.b) Jennifer had been accepted by Stanford and Yale.c) Jennifer was still waiting for an I-20 from Harvard.

Your answer: Having already graduated from National Taiwan University,

and accepted by Stanford and Yale, Jennifer was still waiting for an I-20 from Harvard.


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Coordination and Subordination

the relations between ideas two techniques

• Coordination equally important ➝ (e.g.) The cure of bad teaching is good teachers, and good teachers cost money.• Subordination ➝ the main clause vs. subordinate clauses (e.g.) I missed class because I had to go out of town for a job interview.


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Exercise Sentence Combining

The weather was unbearable.a) The sun shone brightly in the sky.b) The breeze was mild.c) The temperature did not fall below thirty degrees for a

week.

Your answer: Although the sun shone brightly in the sky, and the

breeze was mild, the temperature did not fall below thirty degrees for a week.


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Prepositional Phrases

Example: After passing through a glass prism, sunlight shows up as a spectrum of colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and, finally, violet.


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Exercise

[Make this sentence more concise by using “because of.”] The late nineteenth century saw the advent of the railroad and the telegraph, and as a result, our world shrank more in a single generation than in the preceding 5,000 years.

Your answer: Because of the advent of the railroad and the telegraph, our world shrank more in a single generation than in the preceding 5,000 years.


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Word Choice

a. Living in a temperate climate is good. beneficial, useful, advantageous, or healthful?

b. My father is good. benevolent, kind, merciful, or humane?

→ fails to communicate meanings

e. Word choice

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Denotations and Connotations

(e.g.) slender slim skinny scrawny

e. Word choice (Cont.)

Denotations

dictionary meanings

Connotations

extra meanings that go along with the dictionary

meaning

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Using meaning words

1.) The weather was very nice. changeable charming exhilarating invigorating sultry agreeable abominable foul

2.)The movie was terribly boring.insufferablyutterlyunexpectedly


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Exercise 1.)

e. Word Choice (Cont.)

1. Beautiful (adjective)—handsome, delightful, charming, graceful

a. The ____________ ballerina danced across the stage, never faltering.

b. The audience found the comedian to be __________ and demanded that he

come back for another encore.

c. The tall, stately woman was dressed in __________ clothing.

d. Most visitors described the town as __________ with its small, winding

streets and interesting doorways.

graceful

charming

handsome

delightful

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Exercise 2.)


1. Able (adjective)—competent, dexterous, expert, skillful

a. Knitting and crocheting require that a person be _____________.

b. The performer showed how ____________ she was on skates by doing a

series of difficult jumps.

c. The company needed a(n) _______________ translator who had _________

knowledge of electronics.

dexterous

skillful

competent expert

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Improving Vocabulary

context clue

definition clue

contrast clue

example clue

Context Clues

The way babies learn to talk is by hearing words over and over until they figure out from the context what the words mean. When you learn to read, unfamiliar words are presented in the context of sentences. By thinking about the sentence you can usually figure out what the unfamiliar word means. People who read a lot have bigger vocabularies than those who don’t because they have seen many more words in context.

f. Improving Vocabulary

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Definition Clue

1. It’s usually hard to differentiate, or tell the difference between, identical twins.

a. confuse

b. distinguish

c. talk to

d. ignore

The answer is b. The context clue used in this sentence is a definition clue. The

phrase or tell the difference defines the word differentiate.

f. Improving vocabulary (Cont.)

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1. Anything from limited to extensive damage can be caused by a hurricane.

a. major

b. minor

c. unusual

d. new

The answer is a. The context clue used in this case is a contrast clue. Extensive

damage is contrasted with limited damage.

Contrast Clue

f. Improving Vocabulary (Cont.)

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Example Clue

1. Examples of holidays unique to the heritage of the United States are the Fourth of

July and Thanksgiving.

a. tradition

b. future

c. problems

d. economics

The answer is a. The context clue used is an example clue. The sentence gives

examples of holidays unique to the heritage of the United States.

f. Improving vocabulary (Cont.)

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Experience Clue 1. Most students are elated when final exams are over.

a. depressed

b. anxious

c. angry

d. joyous

The answer is d. The context clue used is an experience clue. Anyone who has

ever taken final exams knows that students are happy when they are over.

f. Improving Vocabulary (Cont.)

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g. 5 Good habits for writers -

avajae.blogspot.com

① Read a little every day.② Write (or edit) a little every day.③ Observe, observe, observe. ④ Find inspiration. ⑤ Daydream.

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Thank you.

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