Informative Writing Introductions

1. Pro-Active  The first four sentences: 4-8  The last four sentences: Begin with the End in Mind  Good Score: 6-15  Work on this: Put First Things First  Good:  Work on this:  Negative Statements: last two 4. Think Win-Win  Good: 5-12  Work on this: Score Guide

5. Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood  Good:  Work on this: Synergize  Good:  Work on this:  Negative Statement: I do not always obey the rules. 7. Sharpen the Saw  Good:  Work on this: 31-56

Writing Prompt You are writing a letter to the Warren County School Board about how the 7 Habits have influenced you. My top 3 writing Habits are: 1. ___________________ 2. ___________________ 3. ___________________ These will be used to write your thesis.

Aspects of Informative Writing 1. Introduction  Hook  Thesis Statement: 3 Body Points 2. Body Paragraph 1 3. Body Paragraph 2 4. Body Paragraph 3 5. Conclusion  Restate of thesis  Wrap up the important details

Before Writing: R.A.F.T. R ole: What point of view are you writing? A udience: The person you are writing to. F ormat: What form are you writing? T opic: What are you writing about?

Introduction: 5 sentences  A hook grabs the reader’s attention at the beginning of the paper.  A thesis statement explains the three main points that will be discussed in your paper in the order they appear

Introduction: Hooks  Unusual Details  Example: Manitoba, because of its cold climate, is not thought of as a great place to be a reptile. Actually, it has the largest seasonal congregation of garter snakes in the world.  Strong Statement  Example: Teenagers have the power to change the world.

Introduction: Hooks  Quotation  Example: Elbert Hubbard once said, "Truth is stronger than fiction.”  Anecdote : can provide an amusing and attention-getting opening if it is short and to the point.  Statistic or Fact  Exaggeration  Example: The whole world watched as the comet flew overhead.

Introduction: Sentence 2-4  These sentences should lead to your thesis statement without giving away the thesis statement.  Provide background information  How do you know the 7 habits have influenced you?  Define terms (if needed)

Introduction: Thesis  Road map of your paper  The 1 st point in your thesis matches your 1 st body point  The 2 nd point in your thesis matches your 2 nd body point  The 3 rd point in your thesis matches your 3 rd body point

Introduction: Thesis  Example : After completing eighth grade language arts, I now have the ability to write a narrative, an informative, and an argumentative piece. Remember the THESIS statement is the last sentence of the INTRODUCTION.

What Caught Your Eye?  What type of hook are you going to use?  Write your hook sentence.  Write your thesis statement using your TOP 3 body points.

Informative Writing: Body Paragraphs

Body Paragraphs: Outline 1. Topic Sentences 2. Evidence 3. Support 4. Evidence 5. Support 6. Evidence 7. Support 8. Transition Sentence

Body Paragraphs: Topic Sentences  Organizes the body paragraphs  The FIRST sentence of each body paragraph.

Body Paragraph: Topic Sentence  Example:  Thesis : After completing eighth grade language arts, I now have the ability to write a narrative, an informative, and an argumentative piece.  Body Paragraph 1 Topic Sentence : One of the things I learned in language arts class this year was how to write a narrative.

Body Paragraph: Topic Sentence  Example:  Thesis : After completing eighth grade language arts, I now have the ability to write a narrative, an informative, and an argumentative piece.  Body Paragraph 2 Topic Sentence : I also learned how to write an informative piece in language arts class.

Body Paragraph: Topic Sentence  Example:  Thesis : After completing eighth grade language arts, I now have the ability to write a narrative, an informative, and an argumentative piece.  Body Paragraph 3 Topic Sentence : Language arts class also taught me how to write an argumentative piece, which has helped prepare me for KPREP.

Body Paragraphs: Evidence DRAPES D ialogue R hetorical question A nalogy P ersonal experience E xample S tatistics (Facts)  Use PERSONAL EXPERIENCE as your evidence for this piece  Use STATISTICS (FACTS) when discussing about your grades. You need THREE pieces of evidence for each body paragraph.

Body Paragraph: Evidence  Example:  Body Paragraph 3 Topic Sentence : Language arts class also taught me how to write an argumentative piece, which has helped prepare me for KPREP.  Body Paragraph 3 Evidence: During the first quarter, I learned how to write in argumentative format, but made a 74% on the paper. However, during the third quarter, I wrote another argumentative piece receiving a 90% for my grade.

Body Paragraphs: Support  Gives reason behind the evidence.  Questions to ask yourself:  How did the personal experience you share for evidence improve your 7 habits?  What lesson did you learn through the personal experience?  How does your statistic or fact show growth in one of the 7 habits?

Body Paragraph: Support  Example:  Body Paragraph 3 Evidence: During the first quarter, I learned how to write in argumentative format, but made a 74% on the paper. However, during the third quarter, I wrote another argumentative piece receiving a 90% for my grade.  Body Paragraph 3 Support: I made quite a bit of improvement on my grade because I took the mistakes from my first paper and corrected them for my second piece using the feedback from my teacher.

Body Paragraph: Transitions  Help the reader understand the flow of the paragraph  DON’T SAY:  The next paragraph will be about….  Make sure you are using transition words or phrases

Body Paragraph: Transitions  Example:  Body Paragraph 3 Support: I made quite a bit of improvement on my grade because I took the mistakes from my first paper and corrected them for my second piece using the feedback from my teacher.  Body Paragraph 3 Transition: As a result from the practice I have had with argumentative writing, I feel confident and prepared for the KPREP testing.

Body Paragraph: Example Language arts class also taught me how to write an argumentative piece, which has helped prepare me for KPREP. During the first quarter, I learned how to write in argumentative format, but made a 74% on the paper. However, during the third quarter, I wrote another argumentative piece receiving a 90% for my grade. I made quite a bit of improvement on my grade because I took the mistakes from my first paper and corrected them for my second piece using the feedback from my teacher. Evidence 2. Support 2. Evidence 3. Support 3. As a result from the practice I have had with argumentative writing, I feel confident and prepared for the KPREP testing.

Informative Writing Grammar Help

Sentence Starters  Sentences DO NOT start with:  AND  BUT  OR  SO  LIKE