Goals and Expectations English II Writing Goals and Expectations

Reminders from Freshmen Year Body Paragraph: Heart of essay Let’s review with Prompt 1: What are one or 2 important things students need to know to succeed in high school? Write an essay that will convince an incoming student to follow your advice so that he or she may succeed. Topic Sentence: To succeed in high school, students need to complete homework assignments Assertions: Completing homework is necessary because it will prepares students for tests and quizzes. Refer to key terms in the topic sentence. Refer to new terms in the assertion. Refer to important parts of the example.

Evidence and Elaboration Evidence: (some forgot to include examples) For example, teachers are known for taking test questions from practice done in class or for homework. Elaboration: If homework is ignored, your grade will suffer. By deciding not to attempt the homework, a student may commit an avoidable mistake on the test. That will result in a loss of points, which will hurt your grade and can cause test anxiety. By finishing assigned homework, you can approach the test with confidence because you know how to solve the problem! Transition & 2nd assertion: In addition to good grades, homework is important because it helps maintain good grades. For example, in some classes homework accounts for 20% of a student’s overall grade. Elaboration: If homework is not completed, your grade will decrease. 20% may not seem like a lot, but that may be the difference between a C+ and a B-. Good grades are desired because they will help you get into college, graduate, and maybe award students with scholarships! Also, homework completion is vital to getting good grades since teachers can identify any weaknesses you have w *for this past essay, no direct evidence was needed; however, see notes for future literary essays. Note: Grammar~intro all evidence and follow with comma End with proper citation (Author Last name page #).  period on outside

Goal: Develop strong elaborations Elaboration is devoted to clarifying or explaining how your evidence proves your assertion. It not only relates to the assertion, but it also furthers your argument. Prove your topic sentence at the end of every elaboration. Actually use the words (or clear synonyms) from your topic sentence. Think of this as instant replay…. You don’t summarize what you just saw/read; you analyze, explain it in your own words. What does it prove? Interpretation This proves/explains/this character exhibits….. Good elaborations consist of 4-6 sentences. Moving on up!! Mrs. Nowicki’s “So what?!?!” rule 

Final Reminders At L-W North, we don’t use first or second person in our essays (No “I” or “you”). Don’t switch the tense you are writing in. Past to present or vise-versa. Of course, watch out for those minimum competency errors. Re-read your essay. Sometimes you hear mistakes when you read aloud. GO TO THE WRITING CENTER! Remember, in order to re-write any essay, a student must see a writing tutor. So what is different? Longer elaborations~mature thinking and deeper analysis Structure: 1-3 claims per paragraph. Mix it up to develop writing if you believe you are strong already.

Diagnostic Essay Organize ideas~brainstorming is important and will be done prior to writing in here Do not just give a “laundry list” of ideas or reasons. Back it up with support and justification Strong verbs will help with repetition or redundancy or duplication or reiterating same thing 

Thesis Statements

What is a thesis statement? A sentence that states the purpose of the essay. Debatable, not a fact One sentence long Focused on answering the question or prompt. Consider using one of the DEBRAS: Despite Even though Because Rather than Although Since Through

Thesis statements should… Be arguable You are NOT presenting facts; you are tackling an issue, an argument, a debatable topic Be focused You need to explicitly state what YOUR opinion is on the matter There should be NO DOUBT in the reader’s mind about what the issue is or where you stand on it!!! We will work on counter-arguments here as well later! Woo!

Practice Let’s review with Prompt 1: What are one or 2 important things students need to know to succeed in high school? Write an essay that will convince an incoming student to follow your advice so that he or she may succeed. Thesis: (2 pronged) Even though high school is a fun time, incoming students must remember that in order to succeed, he/she need to complete assigned homework and get involved.