Writing

Why might you want to write better? Grades Expression Tests (essay style) Demonstrate understanding

Where do you write? English class History / Social Studies class Theology class Science class

What do you normally do wrong? Lots Write book reports Include yourself in your writing Use informal language Boring word choice Poor organization

Specific problems First person pronouns: I me we my mine us our Second person pronouns: you your Starting sentences with conjunctions: and or for nor so but yet

One sentence to give the main idea of your writing assignment The thesis statement One sentence to give the main idea of your writing assignment

Thesis Statements Where does it go? At the end of the introduction paragraph What is in it? Title and author, main idea Must be something that can be provable, not simply an opinion

The five paragraph essay Introduction paragraph Body 1 Body 2 Body 3 Conclusion paragraph

The five paragraph essay is a basic format that is easy to build confidence with. Some say that there is no room for creativity in this format, but I disagree . There is an art to injecting creativity into s rigid structure.

Introduction Paragraph Needs to start with a general idea that will interest the reader. Consider an upside down pyramid- start with something general and then get closer to the thesis in each sentence. When you get to the thesis you should have given a very brief preview of what is coming up in the rest of the paper There are two types of thesis statement that you can choose from: mapped and unmapped

The anatomy of an introduction First sentence should be broad and not refer to the topic of your writing. It should be used as a hook to catch interest By the second or third sentence you should introduce your topic. In the case of literature mention the title and author of the work you will be discussing. Introduce characters or literary elements that will be important to the paper Transition form summary to thesis by using a sentence to set up the thesis The thesis should be the final sentence of your introductory paragraph

Things to avoid in a thesis Do not list your three main points (mapped thesis) Make sure it is the last sentence

The mapped thesis This is the easiest type of thesis statement You pretty much say exactly what you are going to write about " In William Shakespeare's Macbeth the title character deals with greed, ambition, and guilt." There are three clear ideas that will become the topics for each body paragraph

Unmapped thesis This is a less structured version of the thesis It gives you a little more wiggle room with regards to the topics you will cover. " Shakespeare demonstrates the dangers of human weakness in Macbeth" You can cover the exact same topics as in the mapped thesis, but also if your writing takes you in a different direction.

The body paragraph Begin with a topic sentence that clearly states the main idea of the paragraph Then begin to back that point up using clear examples from the text Quotes are and excellent way to present proof of your points

Things to avoid in your body paragraphs "in chapter one" "this quote means" "I think that" " in the unit on..."

Facts vs opinions Remember that you need to back up your idea with facts and evidence from the story Your thesis can be an opinion, but it must be stated like it is a definite statement NEVER say " in my opinion", " I think", " I feel" Don't say that a book is great

The transition sentence This is an important element to Make sure that your paper flows nicely from point to point It should be the final sentence of each body paragraph It should summarize your point and introduce, briefly, the next "Macbeth is a victim of his own ambition, however his wife's is more dangerous."

The conclusion Restate your thesis statement, but using different words Summarize your argument in one sentence You should not list your three main points Consider the following about your topic: is it relevant today? What can be learned from this literature? Why is this important for people today? Is there a valid argument against your topic?

Some more things to avoid

First person pronouns: I, we, me, my, mine, our, us Don't use 2nd person pronouns like you and your Don't say book. Use "novel" Use interesting words - don't say "a lot", "stuff", "things", "big" Don't over use commas. This leads to run on sentences. Feel free have short, meaningful sentences.