Welcome to Unit 3! Developing Your Focus and Prewriting KU121 ~ Angela Lavine, PhD

Key Concepts Choosing a topic Prewriting The steps of the writing process The parts of speech

Unit Outcomes Successfully choose a focus for your final project Complete prewriting for your final project Describe the steps of the writing process Understand the parts of speech

To-Do List Complete Reading Assignment Participate in Discussion - 20 points. Attend seminar or complete alternative seminar assignment - 5 points MyWritingLab Take Quiz - 5 points. Complete the Project - 25 points.

Reading Assignment Reviewing the Basics Parts of Speech Read pp. 551–571 in Pathways: Writing Scenarios Writing the Essay: Read Chapter 11: Planning and Organizing Fundamentals of Writing: Read the "Fundamentals of Writing by clicking on the Required Reading button.

Discussion This is where you get to have a little fun! Think ahead and think about what matters to you, professionally. Visualize yourself five or so years from now: You have finished your program at Kaplan and have been hired to work at your dream job. What is your job? What makes it a dream job? What company do your work for, or do you work for yourself? What is the name of your company or business? What type of work do you do? What is your job title? Who is your boss? What are your co-workers like? What would constitute a “good day” at this dream job? Write out the specifics of your dream job in this weeks’ discussion before so that you have a concrete topic and focus in mind for your essay.

Pre-Writing Project Based on the dream job you defined in the Unit 3 Discussion, use one of the pre-writing techniques from the Unit 3 Readings and develop the ideas for your essay. For instance, you might free write for 20 minutes without stopping or create a jot list. Use the method that works best for you to help you generate ideas.

Pre-Writing Project Pre-writing is by nature very informal. You do not worry about full sentences. Because professional presentation of writing is critical to your success, please compose all projects in MS Word even if you are asked to cut/copy and paste rather than attach. At a minimum, you must run grammar and spelling check before submitting all work. You should also proof carefully for typos and other noticeable mistakes. You also must employ a formal, professional writing style. Do not use chat lingo. For example, do not use "i" for "I,”.” Do capitalize the first letter of each sentence, and do not use abbreviations like IMHO, TY, etc. All writing assignments must be double-spaced, use Arial or Times New Roman font, and employ a 12- point font size.

Pre-Writing Project (to come…) Project Description: Imagine that it is five years in the future. You have completed your educational program at Kaplan University and have been offered your dream job! The company or organization you will be working for wants to issue a biographical essay about you to announce that you are joining them and in what capacity. In order to do so, they need a minimum 500- word background essay from you.

Project (to come…) Your essay should include the following 5 elements: 1. One introductory paragraph that identifies who you are, where you live, the company or organization that has hired you, and your new job title. 2. One body paragraph that gives appropriate personal details about you and your life: your age, family, hobbies, etc. (NOTE: This is a professional essay, so you need to limit personal details to only what is appropriate in the professional environment.) One body paragraph that talks about your education. You should include high school or your GED, any previous college experience, and your Kaplan program. 3. One body paragraph that talks about your education. You should include high school or your GED, any previous college experience, and your Kaplan program. 4. One paragraph that details professional experiences, including past job experiences, honors and awards, and other related professional details. 5. One concluding paragraph that reinforces where you will be working, your job title, and what you will be doing.

More Information: Because your background essay will appear in the company newsletter or in the local newspaper, it should be written in the third person point of view (no “I” or “you” pronouns). You will also want to include concrete nouns, descriptive adjectives, active verbs, and effective transitions between paragraphs. The final essay will need to be relatively error free. We will go over each of these ideas in the weeks to come.

Submitting your pre-writing Put your pre-writing in a Word document. Save it in a location and with your name. For example: macgrottyprewriting.doc.

Submit your Word document to the Dropbox for grading: 1. Click on the Dropbox. 2. Click the link that says Submit an Assignment. 3. In the "Submit to Basket" menu, select Unit 3: Project. 4. In the "Comments" field, include the title of your paper. 5. Click the Add Attachments button. 6. Follow the steps listed to attach your Word document. 7. To view your graded work, come back to the Dropbox or go to the Gradebook after your instructor has evaluated it. Make sure that you save a copy of your submitted pre- writing.

Pre-Writing The first thing to do: Determine the PURPOSE of your writing Use different strategies to generate ideas based on the purpose.

Pre-Writing Brainstorm… Sit down for minutes This is the process of gathering ideas in an informal manner. During this process you: Write down everything that comes to mind about a certain topic during that time. Focus on words and phrases

Pre-Writing Free-writing Sit down for 5-10 minutes Continuously write about a specific topic without stopping Keep writing even when nothing comes to mind Once you complete… look for themes, narrow your focus and repeat

Why Pre-Writing is Important… It will help set the stage for your outline (next step in the writing process) It makes all future steps in the process run more smoothly.

Let’s try out Free-Writing Topic 1 5 minute time Your favorite vacation spot

Let’s try out Free-Writing Topic 2 5 minute time Your favorite holiday or occasion

Let’s try out Free-Writing Topic 3 5 minute time Your BIGGEST wish