Bring Your Essay (BYE) Workshop 1 Troy University Student Support Services An English / Reading Workshop / Fall 2007

BYE 1 Workshop Objective  To help SSS students begin working on an actual essay or writing assignment due for a class.  To help SSS students brainstorm and invent a topic, compose a plan of development, and create a working thesis statement.  To prepare SSS students for the Bring Your Essay 2 workshop that will instruct students on editing and proofing their writing assignments.

What must you do first?  Define Your Audience (Readers and Evaluators). - Instructor (s) - Peer Evaluators  Define Your Purpose. - Examine the Assignment Requirements. - Decide on the Type of Essay You will write, an Analysis, Evaluation, or Synthesis essay.  Determine what format you are to use. (MLA, APA usually)

Next... Brainstorm and Search  Brainstorm: Think of topics that interest you and list them quickly on paper.  Evaluate each subject to see if it can be narrowed or broadened to fit the paper guidelines (length, content, etc.).  Select the topic that most interest you.  Go online to do a preliminary search to see if scholarly source information is readily available on the subject that interest you. Print source material as soon as you find it. Do not use wilkipedia.com.

Next... Invent Topic Sentence & Thesis  Invent a topic sentence: Write a general topic sentence, (perhaps one stating a fact about the subject that others might find surprising or interesting). Remember to site the source of your information.  Invent a thesis sentence: Write a working thesis that expresses your opinion on the topic. (Your opinion may change).  Create a plan of development to support your thesis.

Purpose of a Plan of Development...  Organize Your Ideas Put your ideas about the topic on paper and in a moderately organized format. -- The plan may change before the essay is complete; -- You will be surprised at how much easier and less stressful your paper is to write if you plan each paragraph’s content first.  Keep Your Focus The structure that a planned outline provides can help you contain your ideas and keep your writing focus.

Plan of Development (Outline Format)  Begin your outline by writing your topic at the top of the page.  Next, Write your thesis (working thesis).  Next, write the Roman numerals I, II, and III, spread apart down the left side of the page.  Next to each Roman numeral, write the main ideas that you have about your topic, or the main points that you want to make. It is important to know what type of essay you are writing so that you know how to plan your approach. If you are trying to persuade, you want to write your best arguments. If you are trying to explain a process, you want to write the steps that should be followed. You will probably need to group these into categories. If you have trouble grouping the steps into categories, try using Beginning, Middle, and End. If you are trying to inform, you want to write the major categories into which your information can be divided.

Plan of Development (Outline Format) – contd.  Under each Roman numeral, write A, B, and C down the left side of the page.  Next to each capital letter, write the facts or information that support that main idea. These letters generally represent topic sentences for each paragraph of your paper.  Beneath each capital letter (main idea), place numbers and list subtopics or supporting examples you plan to include.  When you have finished, you have the basic structure for your essay and are ready to continue.

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Conclusion  SSS hopes this presentation has given you some useful information concerning the task of choosing a subject about which to write.  Please complete an Academic Seminar Evaluation form before you leave so that we may document your participation.  Also, please feel free to suggest any other topics that you would like to see presented. Phone:  Thank you, and have a great learning experience here at Troy University.

End of BYE 1

Bring Your Essay (BYE) Workshop 2: Editing, Revising & Proofing Troy University Student Support Services An English / Reading Workshop / Fall 2007

Why proof, edit and revise?  To prove you think and care about what you write.  To help you examine your writing.  To help you refine idea transitions and paragraph structure.  To refine your writing (perfect your tone, correct your verbs, and convey a clear message). Source: Smith, Brady. Proofreading,revising, & Editing Skills Success In 20 Minutes A Day. 5 Nov

What is Proofreading? Proofreading - Proofreading is review of every word, sentence, and paragraph to locate errors. -You can use proofreading symbols to shorten the amount of time you spend editing.

Some Common Proofreading Symbols SymbolMeaningExample insert a comma Insert or change to an apostrophe or single quotation mark insert something use double quotation marks use a period here

Presentation developed by: Rebecca C. Money, English/Reading Specialist Student Support Services; Eldridge Hall, Room 24; Troy University; Troy, AL Phone: ; PPT dev: 2007/01-04 Troy University Troy, Alabama Student Support Services Buffie Edwards, Coordinator Eldridge Hall, Room 24; Troy University; Troy, AL Phone: ;

Conclusion  SSS hopes this presentation has given you some useful information concerning the task of choosing a subject about which to write.  Please complete an Academic Seminar Evaluation form before you leave so that we may document your participation.  Also, please feel free to suggest any other topics that you would like to see presented. Phone:  Thank you, and have a great learning experience here at Troy University.

Source  “Essay Writing Tips.” CollegeBoard.com. 16 October  Guide to Writing a Basic Essay.  “Homework Center: Writing Skills.” Infoplease.com. 16 October  Writing Tips: Essay Building.” WritingDEN. 16 October 2007

Presentation developed by: Rebecca C. Money, English/Reading Specialist Student Support Services; Eldridge Hall, Room 24; Troy University; Troy, AL Phone: ; PPT dev: 2007/01-04 Troy University Troy, Alabama Student Support Services Buffie Edwards, Coordinator Eldridge Hall, Room 24; Troy University; Troy, AL Phone: ;

The End