1. Basic, Practical, and Helpful Instruction About Writing
Step Up to Writing
Basic, Practical, and Helpful
Instruction About Writing

2. It’s about giving you tools!!!!
What’s Step Up to Writing all about?
Showing you the process.
Helping you through the process.
Letting you work through the process on your own.
It’s about giving you tools!!!!
Colors
Word lists
Informal Outlines
Examples
Small Steps

3. Step Up to Writing is About the Writing Process
3. Creating a Final Copy, Proofreading, and Sharing
2. Drafting, Revising, and Editing
1. Prewriting and Planning

4. It Promotes Traits of Good Writing
Content
Organization
Style
Vocabulary
Sentence Structure
Conventions

5. Does this seem like a well thought out, organized paragraph?
Golf is a great sport to play. It’s fun to pound a golf ball around for nine to eighteen holes. However, to become good you need lots of practice and mental toughness. Practice is easy to come by, but we need toughness too. Personally, I need a lot of mental toughness. Golf can be really fun if you are playing well, but if you are playing badly, it can cause frustration.
Does this seem like a well thought out, organized paragraph?

6. This Paragraph was a Brain Dump!
This student took all the information he/she knew about golf and just regurgitated it onto paper.

7. Keys to an Effective Paragraph
Expository paragraphs need:
A title
A topic sentence
Transitions
Good explanations and examples
A conclusion

8. Smoking’s Health Toll and Price Tag Sixth Grade Paragraph
Although smoking may seem cool, it is very unhealthy and expensive. Many people die from smoking related problems such as cancer, heart disease etc. every year. According to World Book Encyclopedia during the mid-1980s smoking contributed to 30 percent of all deaths from cancer and heart disease in the United States of America. Furthermore, cigarette smoking was associated with 85 percent of all cases of lung cancer. Secondly, smoking is very expensive. If someone smoked one pack of cigarettes everyday that cost $3.00 for 50 years it would cost them $54,750 which is enough to buy an expensive and luxurious car. On the contrary, if shomeone put $3.00 a day into a bank or investment institution they would be making hundreds of dollars in only a few years just because of the interest they are collecting. Clearly smoking is a very unhealthy and expensive too, so don’t start smoking until you have considered all of the negative effects!

9. That was better!!! Why? In one word: ORGANIZATION
The author A.A. Milne and her famous character , Winnie the Pooh, once said, “Organization is what you do before you do something, so when you do it, it isn’t all mixed up.”
I will show you the process that student used to get that level of organization. It’s a process you can use now, through high school, and even in college.

10. The Five Elements of Expository Writing
Organization is the key.
Topic sentences and thesis statements are the heart.
Transitions are the glue. (RDF)
Examples, evidence, and explanations (E’s)are the meat.
Conclusions tie it all together.

11. Step One: Organization is the Key
Creating an Informal Outline using colors.
Get out three colored pencils: green yellow, and red.
You MUST have the correct colors!!!!
Begin by folding one page in your composition book to the red margin line.
Follow my lead…

12. Topic
Reason/detail/fact
Conclusion
explain
Note: Use your colored pencils to place your circles and titles in the correct areas. See my examples on the next slide or on the camera

13. Note: Use just a few words to get your ideas quickly into the outline
Topic: Cats can protect themselves
Reason/detail/fact:
They can get away from enemies
Good fighters
Conclusion:
Cats take care, protect themselves when needed
Explain: run fast
Explain: climb trees
Explain: sharp claws
Explain: sharp teeth
Note: Use just a few words to get your ideas quickly into the outline

14. Don’t forget!!! Add transition words at each RDF (Reason/Detail/Fact)
Topic: Cats can protect themselves
Reason/detail/fact:
They can get away from enemies
Good fighters
Conclusion:
Cats take care, protect themselves when needed
Don’t forget!!! Add transition words at each RDF (Reason/Detail/Fact)
First
Explain: run fast
Explain: climb trees
Explain: sharp claws
Explain: sharp teeth
Next

15. What is the deal with the colors?
Go!
Write a topic sentence.
Give a reason, detail, or fact Use a transition word or phrase.
Explain. Give an example, explanation, or evidence.
Remind the reader of your topic.
Slow
Down
Stop
Go Back

16. Step Two: Building Sentences
Using our outline I’m going to write one clear sentence for each idea from each colored dot, adding words and synonyms when needed.
Cats protect themselves in two ways.
First, they are able to get away quickly from their enemies.
Cats are fast runners.
They climb trees, too.
Next, cats are good fighters.
Cat’s sharp claws can inflict pain and discourage attackers.
They can also use their pointed incisors to bite their enemies when necessary.
Felines can take care of themselves/

17. Using Colors for Organization
Topic or Thesis Statments:
Green means “go.”
The “heart” of the paper.
Green asks the writer to decide-
“What am I going to prove?”
“What am I going to explain?”
“What information will I share?”

18. Using Colors for Organization
Reasons/Details/Facts:
Yellow means “slow down.”
Introduce key concepts to support the topic sentence.
They usually have a transition word (glue).
Usually two to five major points, but it can have many more depending on the size of the piece of writing.
I refer to them as “RDFs.”

19. Using Colors for Organization
Explain:
Red means “stop and explain.”
Present evidence.
Provide explanation, examples, expert opinions, and elaboration.
I refer to these as the “E’s” or the meat of a paper.

20. Using Colors for Organization
Conclusions
Green means “go back to your topic.”
Restate the topic and the position.
DO NOT introduce new information.
Use synonyms and leave your reader with something to remember.

21. So now you see…
How to put together a well-organized accordion paragraph.
But…

22. Don’t get stuck!
Many students will ask, “How many sentences do I have to write?”
This is the ZME (Zone of Minimal Effort) talking.
With this process, you can expand and shrink your paragraphs with ease.
The rule is: you should use as many sentences as is needed to explain what you have to say.

23. An Option: 3 RDF Accordion Paragraph
Eight Sentence Paragraph
Topic Sentence
Reason/Detail/Fact
Explain
Conclusion

24. Practice: Step One
This time let’s make a simple six sentence paragraph.
Topic; Fun ways to spend a million dollars.

25. Topic: Fun ways to spend a million
Reason/detail/fact:
Shopping
Travelling
Fun, happy, rich
New car Toyota Tundra, down payment on house
European vacation, cruises
Note: just one or two words when organizing thoughts

26. Practice: Step Two
Topic: If I had a million dollars, I would have a grand time depleting it.
RDF: First, I would go shopping for some big-ticket items like a Toyota Tundra, the truck of my dreams.
Explain: This model has plenty of space for my family and it would be perfect for off-roading and camping
RDF: Next, I would book some trips to places I have never been.
Explain: I’ve always wanted to take my family on some cruises to Alaska and Mexico, but a European vacation would be a fantastic trip to take.
Conclusion: Having money to burn, would be not only fun for myself but also my family.

27. How about more than one paragraph????
You can just add more “Explain” pieces and make the Reason/Detail/Fact sentence become the topic.
See the next example.

28. For example: Paragraph: Topic = Lakers Franchise, Best All Time
Paragraph RDF = Great Coaches
e John Kundla
e Pat Riley
e Phil Jackson
Paragraph RDF = Amazing Players
e George Mikan/Jerry West/Wilt Chamberlain
e Kareen Abdul-Jabbar/Magic Johnson/James Worthy
e Shaquille O’Neil/Kobe Bryant
Paragraph RDF = Many Championship Runs
e 1940’s and 50’s (5 titles)
e 1980’s (5 titles)
e 2000’s (5 titles)
Paragraph: Conclusion = restate major ideas from above

29. Now you try…
Get a paper ready for step one. Think of a topic you want to explain, describe, or argue.
Have three colored pencils or highlighters (Green, Yellow, and Red)
You must have 3 RDFs, so your essay will be at least 5 paragraphs.
Each body paragraph (RDF) will have at least two E‘s or reds(explain)
Remember to only jot information in your outline.
This outline (step one) is due tomorrow