English 1302: Week Fourteen

1. English 1302: Week Fourteen Revision Process

2. Structural Exercise Please order the following sentences according to a logical paragraph structure: 1. topic sentence, 2. evidence, 3. explanation/reasoning, 4. outcomes statement THESIS: Additional critical writing courses should be required at the high school level. • A high school curriculum that fails to offer preparation for advanced writing will effectively undermine students’ ability to adapt to a changing professional field. • Courses emphasizing critical writing better prepare students for adapting to college courses. • Although math and science courses are fundamental to most core curricula, writing-intensive courses and university-wide writing initiatives in the U.S. have increased by 40% since 1990 because they offer critical thinking skills in an adaptable environment (Taub et al 91). • Increases in university writing requirements are designed to meet the rising need for functional literacy in today’s technology-centered workplace.

3. Class Overview • Reminders • Structure Exercises • Revision Techniques • Argumentation Language • Instructor Evaluations

4. Topic Sentence Exercise Which of the following is the best topic sentence in connection to the thesis? (i. e. which one best answers “why” someone should believe the thesis claim?) THESIS: The U. S. government should tighten regulations of hydraulic fracturing to protect the interests of its citizens and environment. • In 2011, a family from Decatur, Texas began to develop nervous system problems after a fracturing operation began outside of their ranch. • In their 2013 study on the dangers of rural drinking water contamination, Spiegelman and Howard found that in areas near fracking outfits, the number of toxic pollutants increased in ground water by 25% (89). • Hydraulic fracturing has become controversial amongst researchers. • Despite current regulations, fracturing techniques endanger nearby residents by introducing harmful compounds near drinking water and soil.

5. Structural Exercise: Paragraphs • Compare your thesis to your supporting-paragraph topic sentences: does each sentence say “why” a reader should agree with the thesis? • Next, examine each topic sentence for your supporting paragraphs and compare them to the evidence within the paragraph: does the evidence directly prove or illustrate the topic sentence claim? • Finally, check your concluding sentences for each paragraph: do they connect the topic sentence claim back to the thesis in a decisive and urgent manner? • Check for the following: • Unrelated claims mid-paragraph (do you make another topic sentence-like statement?) • Evidence: do you provide more than one piece of evidence and follow up with reasoning?

6. Revision Techniques • In your word document, bold or highlight all of your paper’s structural elements (thesis, topic sentences, outcomes statements, concluding sentences): take these and copy them into a separate document so that you can revise for logic, clarity, and accuracy. • Check your concluding sentences: would these make clearer and narrower topic sentences? Try switching these and revise the paragraph accordingly. • For intros and conclusions, read over your work, and then on a separate page, try writing (w/o looking at the old draft) a new introduction that begins with an urgent claim about the topic and its social context. How do the two drafts compare? What can you combine?

7. Argumentation Language • Although theses will have words like “should” or must, be careful that these do not appear frequently in your body paragraphs: you may be making too many claims! • Eliminate all meta-discourse (e. g. “I will argue/I believe that…,” “first, second, third,” “As you see/it is obvious/clear/proven”) • After presenting evidence, try using “if” and “because” phrases emphasize reasoning: “If A happens, the B would…”; “Because A…, B has ___ effects, which…” • Try using verbs as sentence subjects connected to “would” or “will”: • “Expanding current health coveragewould help increase patient self-awareness and the frequency of basic checkups.” • “Redefining this law will allow more freedom for small farmers who otherwise depend on seeds that are modified for monopolized pesticides.” • Locate all phrases beginning with “It is,” “There is,” “The problem/answer is…” and try to reverse the sentence structure: • “There is a problem when companies try to patent lab modifications to natural goods”=“Companies trying to patent … is problematic because…” • “There are several correlations between these graphs”=“These graphs correlate on several points.”

8. Homework • For class next week, please read your Brief Assignment 1 and reader commentary from at least three early assignments. What issues or strengths did you identify with your writing? How have you worked to improve those issues through each assignment since BA1? • In two paragraphs, respond to the point above and then describe your professional goals and how written communication relates or will relate to those goals; consider your current coursework and how this class has changed your how you approach assignments (use a specific example of a paper or written project from another class). • You are NOT ALLOWED to say that writing doesn’t relate to your professional interests or coursework. If you think this, you likely have not thought deeply or critically enough about your interests and field of discipline. You will lose participation credit if you state that writing does not relate to your work.