WRITING CONTENT TO RECOGNIZE AND INCLUDE IN YOUR OWN WRITING ANALYZING AN ESSAY

USEFUL WEBSITES! Purdue On-Line Writing Lab (O.W.L.) The URL is: The site is a good source of writing and reading tips Click on the “Grades 7-12 Instructors and Students” tab from the drop down menu on the left. This links to a long list of resources that can help you improve your writing, from the general to the specific. For ELL / ESL students, there are also good resources at the Purdue O.W.L. site. You can also find resources at:

SOME USEFUL PROOFREADING INFORMATION FROM THE O.W.L SITE Take a break! Allow yourself some time between writing and proofing. Even a five-minute break is productive because it will help you get some distance from what you have written. The goal is to return with a fresh eye and mind.

SOME USEFUL PROOFREADING INFORMATION FROM THE O.W.L SITE Leave yourself enough time. Since many errors are made by speeding through writing and proofreading, you should take your time to look over your writing carefully. This will help you to catch errors you might otherwise miss. Always read through your writing slowly. If you read at a normal speed, you won't give your eyes sufficient time to spot errors.

SOME USEFUL PROOFREADING INFORMATION FROM THE O.W.L SITE Read aloud. Reading a paper aloud encourages you to read every little word.

SOME USEFUL PROOFREADING INFORMATION FROM THE O.W.L SITE Role-play. While reading, put yourself in your audience's shoes. Playing the role of the reader encourages you to see the paper as your audience might.

SOME USEFUL PROOFREADING INFORMATION FROM THE O.W.L SITE Get others involved. Asking a teacher to read your paper will let you get another perspective on your writing and a fresh reader will be able to help you catch mistakes that you might have overlooked.

WHAT YOU SHOULD TRY TO FOCUS ON IN YOUR WRITING (EVEN FOR THE READING PROMPTS) From the Common Core State Standards rubrics for writing argumentative writing and Explanatory writing Argumentative: “Present thorough and detailed information to effectively support and develop the focus, idea, or claim. Makes a clarifying connection that illuminates the argument and adds depth to reasoning.” Explanatory: “Presents thorough and detailed information to strongly support the focus and controlling idea. Thoroughly discusses relevant and salient implications or consequences and one or more significant gaps/unanswered questions.”

WHAT EVERY RESPONSE SHOULD HAVE: An awareness of the question! Note any key words in the question such as “analyze” or “compare” or “explain” or “persuade”. Do what the question expects you to do. Oftentimes, students answer the wrong question. By misreading the question, you provide the wrong answer and not the information or thoughts that the reader was asking for.

WHAT EVERY RESPONSE SHOULD HAVE: Main idea Writing: A strong thesis statement – This is the LAST sentence of your first paragraph and it states the topic and your opinion regarding it. Reading: A strong topic sentence for each of the three entries. Because these are generally shorter writing entries, this is the FIRST sentence of your response. If you are doing a multi-paragraph response, then have an introductory paragraph that ends in a thesis statement.

WHAT EVERY RESPONSE SHOULD HAVE: Details! Writing: Offer specific and relevant details that add depth to your answer. Use facts, examples, connections, etc. that paint a clear picture for the reader. Make it clear what you are trying to say to them. Imagine how the reader will react to the statements you are making and what additional questions you might need to answer or elaborate on. Reading: text-based details are strongest, particularly direct quotes (with quotation marks). Go back to the reading and use the best and most specific examples to support your responses. Don’t just “data dump” though. For every sentence of detail from the reading, you should have 2-3 sentences of your own opinion / elaboration that makes sense of the details you took out of the reading.

WHAT EVERY RESPONSE SHOULD HAVE: An organizational plan Know how you want to organize your main idea and supporting details in a logical and effective way. Don’t just ramble from sentence to sentence without a point. Each sentence should be a complete thought (ending in a period) and each paragraph should be a complete idea related to the thesis statement. Have an introduction, body and conclusion… even with the Reading responses. Every response should have a statement of purpose at the beginning (thesis statement), a middle with details, and a conclusion clearly explaining ideas for the reader or (in the case of persuasive writing) making a “call to action” about what the reader should do.

WHAT EVERY RESPONSE SHOULD HAVE: Spelling and Grammar check and correction Use the spellchecker function! Correct words that the spellchecker might miss (Ex: “U” instead of “you” or “Cause” instead of “Because”) Use appropriately complex sentence structure and word choice. If the text reads as simple, dull or too conversational in tone (Ex: “Well…” or “So anyway…”), then edit to make the writing more academic sounding and specific in its focus.

WHAT EVERY RESPONSE SHOULD HAVE: Show your understanding Read the question carefully and fully answer it. Show that you “know what you are talking about.” Don’t leave any gaps in your argument or explanation. Think like the reader! What are you “saying” to them that is confusing or too brief to make a clear point.

FINAL WORD Only YOU can properly edit your work and make it better. For the “On Demand” prompts in January and May, you are flying solo without any input. Before that point, use the time wisely and prepare. Recognize any skills that are lacking (spelling, grammar, idea development, organizational flaws, etc.) and correct them as much as possible before the “On Demand” days. At that point, the training wheels are off! You have to be able to write quickly and effectively without days of editing.