2. Pretend you are a real estate agent and you must write a description of the piece of land above. Currently, you have the following information: This 1000 acre mostly wooded lot is for sale. Near the mountains. Some cleared land. Asking $100,000. Make this more appealing to your clients.

3. What is Description? Information presented that appeals to the five senses. Lets others know what the experience of the author was Nurse: What the burn looked like Art: How the artist used line and color Chemistry: what a reaction looked or smelled like

4. How? Start with Research Your experiences Something you learned about List the senses involved Find fantastic words for those senses Be sure to use those words in your essay

5. Why? Description is what the reader will remember Makes something more or less appealing Creates the emotional response Remember people are motivated by what they feel We learn about what we care about. Make your reader care.

6. Deciding on the Topic First- Do you want to write about something you know about? Or something you want to learn about?

7. Something you know about Pros Cons You should be familiar with this already Your background is solid You may know where to find research Paper is likely to seem “expert” “Easier” Not much new to learn May be hard to find research that supports what you “know” May be hard not to let your own feelings dominate Easy to not explain enough

8. Something New Pros Cons Learn something interesting Ideas will be guided by your research instead of “feelings” More research (but this might be good) You may not learn enough to seem like an “expert”

9. Research Regardless of known or new, you must have solid research Minimum of 2 database resources

10. Choose the Vantage Point Who is the narrator? What relationship does he/she have with the subject? Why does this matter enough to explain?

11. Choose the Audience Who is listening? How much background do they have? Where are they from? Where will they read this? Why would they read it? Whatever you choose- keep the audience consistent

12. Organize the Essay Spatial Order Make the journey sensible (inside out; top to bottom; focal point outward) Stay consistent Chronological Beginning to end or end to beginning Most to least or Least to most A Graphic Organizer or Outline is advisable

13. The Rough Draft Read all of your information Think Consider your organization Decide on the Controlling Idea or thesis Following your organization- write

14. Connotation For each of the following give 5 words with essentially the same meaning Small child Woman Car Wealthy Farmer

15. Revision before Peer or Class Editing Clear focus Sentence variety Use connotation to your advantage Action Verbs Sensory words Fix Grammar and Spelling errors You want this to be as perfect as you can before others help you. Bring your best to the plate!

16. Submit your best Rough Draft Submit to turnitin.com

17. Peer/ Class Editing Constructive Comments Help everybody get an A Hints for what would help Take it seriously Do not take it personally- they are just words- your ideas are not the problem- we are only trying to make you more effective

18. Final Draft Not a “neat” copy versus the “sloppy” copy Look at all of the comments from everybody. Are there themes? Fix the common problems. Errors in logistics, organization, or facts hold much more weight than grammar mistakes or typos Perfect the wording Clean up mechanical errors

19. Feedback Read the feedback Recognize the errors Notice the strengths What to improve I will look for this in particular in the following paper. It is the next step to being a better writer