1. Introduction to Writing: Writers INC English 9 Mrs. Smith

2. Why do we write? O To develop a personal voice. “Voice is the writer’s unique personality that comes through in his or her writing.” O To become more reflective. “By its very nature, writing is perfectly suited to examining daily happenings.” O To become more analytical. “With practice, you will become more analytical in your writing, intent on finding patterns and relationships between ideas.”

3. Prewriting Process 1. Select a topic. 2. Explore first thoughts. 3. Gather details. 4. Generate questions. 5. Carry out the research. 6. Form a thesis. 7. Plan your first draft.

4. Six Traits of Effective Writing O Ideas O Organization O Voice O Word choice O Sentence fluency O Conventions See the checklist on page 26. These traits will be used in my assessment of your writing, and you would do well to use them in evaluating and improving your own writing.

5. Types of Paragraphs O Expository Purpose: to inform readers about a specific subject. O Descriptive Purpose: to present a clear picture of a person, place, thing, or idea, using specific sights, sounds, and smells. O Narrative Purpose: to tell a story using the 5 W’s. O Persuasive Purpose: to express an opinion and attempt to convince the reader that the opinion is valid.

6. Arranging Details/Organization O Classification O Order of Location O Chronological O Illustration O Climax O Cause and Effect O Comparison See pp. 107-108.

7. Parts of a Paragraph O Topic sentence: tells your reader what the paragraph is about. Formula: A specific topic + a particular feeling or feature about the topic = an effective topic sentence Example: The average cost of a Hollywood film (specific topic) runs between 30 and 50 million dollars (particular feature).

8. Parts of a Paragraph O Body: The main part of the paragraph. Sentences in the body should support the topic sentence with clear details. *Organization within the body paragraph is very important. Example: The salary of a top star such as Johnny Depp or Angelina Jolie can add $20 million to the cost of a major film.

9. Parts of a Paragraph O Closing: This sentence follows the body, and reminds readers of the topic, summarizes the paragraph, or links the paragraph to the next one. Example: Anyone who has bought a movie ticket recently knows that the consumer pays for these extravagant productions.