Writing Critically

1. Writing Critically English 050

2. Prewriting • As we learned with reading, there’s some work that must be done before you begin writing in order to get the most out of the activity. Why, you ask? Well… • It will make the task easier for you and • Save you late nights and (potentially) tears and/or screams of frustration • Seriously, you ask? Yes! So how do you go about it?

3. Prewriting • First, starting thinking about the task at hand. Think quietly, out loud, or by a task we call free writing. • Free writing can be fun! Yes, I know you are thinking, yeah right, but it’s one of the few times when you can write in a manner called “stream of consciousness”---essentially, you throw whatever random thoughts you have on paper in order to generate ideas. Prewriting can look like this: • I’m on a weekend away with the girls and staying up on Friday night trying to do a lesson plan. OMG, what am I going to do with them this week? Wine wine wine wine. Chocolate cake. Josh [coworker] is out sick with mono…I can’t get sick I don’t have time to get sick. Okay I know, a PowerPoint in which I can demonstrate free writing. Tomorrow is a latter day….

4. Prewriting • Notice how that paragraph makes no sense (to anyone but me?). The entire idea is to generate ideas. The book advises to write non-stop for 5 to 10 minutes, but don’t let that restrict you. Write as long as you feel you need to. • You can focus your free writing on just one topic if that will help, but again, whatever works for you and generates ideas.

5. Brainstorming • Another method is called “brainstorming.” One way to do it is to make a list. • Let’s say we’re going to write a paragraph on what our perfect day would look like. Write a list of things that you might include (here’s mine): • Massage. I need to relax. • All of the foods that are bad for me (doctor be damned…at least for today) • Wine tasting • Shopping (but little buying!) • Another massage. Need to relax after all of that shopping! • Pool! First must find someone with a pool. • Dinner (my favorite dish that someone else cooked) • Silly movies (Young Frankenstein, Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

6. Brainstorming • With the list I just made, I have enough details to put together a paragraph. • There’s also clustering, which works if you are a more visual person. A cluster might look something like it does on this next slide (ignore the content! We’ll do a demonstration later).

7. Clustering

8. Questioning • In this technique you ask yourself a series of questions in order to generate ideas. It’s the reporter’s formula of who, what, when, where, why and how. Let’s use “my perfect day” as an example again. • My perfect day • Who: Me, my best friends, and my family members • What: The perfect day. • When: The sooner the better! • Where: Cape May, New Hope…somewhere quaint and relaxing. • Why: Because we all deserve it and I need it! • How: Planning ahead and figuring out the perfect days.

9. Discussing • In this one you have a conversation with someone you know (or even don’t know) regarding the topic. Take notes during the conversation so you don’t miss any details • Live alone? Or don’t want to discuss with anyone? Then talk out loud to yourself (your dog, your cat, your plant) and record the “conversation.” All of the details are most likely in your notes.

10. Planning • Now that you’ve done your prewriting exercises, you need to plan out what you are going to write. • All of the info you need is most likely in your notes, but in this stage you think out the approach you are going to take. There are several things to consider: • Your subject. For many of our assignments the topic will be given to you, but it’s up to you to decide upon what you will be writing about. • Your purpose. Obviously you are writing for an assignment, but think beyond that. Do you want to entertain? Inform or educate? Persuade or argue a point? Keep that in mind before you write. • Your audience. For a school assignment it would be your instructor. So think of your audience as a general audience, or group of people who don’t know anything about your topic and who you want to entertain, inform or education, persuade or argue a point

11. Topic Sentence • We’re finally ready to write! • Every piece of writing needs a beginning point, and that’s your topic sentence. The topic sentence is what tells the reader specifically you are going to be writing about. • Everything in your paragraph hinges on your topic sentence. • Topic sentences have two parts: a topic (also called a limited topic) and a statement. • Say we have a topic of television. You need to limit that topic, and then make a statement about it. • Topic > TV • Limited topic > TV comedies • Statement: TV comedies are the shows I most enjoy because they give me a much needed laugh at the end of the day.

12. Developing Your Ideas • So we have a topic sentence…what’s next? • What’s next is the details. Think of this paragraph as a pizza. Your topic sentence is your crust. Now you need to “top” your topic sentence with details. The more details, the better your paragraph (just like with more toppings, the better the pizza). • Our topic sentence is TV comedies are the shows I most enjoy because they give me a much needed laugh at the end of the day. • Let’s come up with some details for this • Stressful long week; need to relax after work; laughter is a stress reliever; makes me happy when I laugh; can get to sleep more easily; a topic of discussion with coworkers/friends; new TV season coming up; they are little plays or movies

13. Developing Your Ideas • Having a hard time generating details? Go back to your prewriting techniques and do the same to come up with the details. Here are my details using the question method. • What: TV sitcoms • Why: They are funny and relaxing and make me happy. • When: After I get home from school or work. • Where: At home! • Who: Myself, and occasionally friends. Also a good topic of discussion, and can be used in class if they illustrate a point I’m trying to make. • How: On my TV or computer.

14. Organizing Your Paragraph • Organization is a very important aspect of writing. You could have a number of well constructed sentences and great details, but if you put it together in a manner that’s confusing, you’ll lose the reader. • Think of it as a friend telling you a story. If he/she reveals events out of order, or gives certain details without explaining them in context, you will end up confused, and ultimately lose interest. • There’s several different organizational methods you can use: • General to particular (talking about sitcoms, and then naming them, for example) • Particular to general (naming the sitcom…and then explaining why it’s important). • Chronologically (revealing the details in the order they occurred) • Spatially (by physical arrangement—if appropriate for the paragraph) • From one extreme to another (from a high-brow British sitcom to “Married with Children”)

15. Organizing Your Paragraph • Organization is a very important aspect of writing. You could have a number of well constructed sentences and great details, but if you put it together in a manner that’s confusing, you’ll lose the reader. • Think of it as a friend telling you a story. If he/she reveals events out of order, or gives certain details without explaining them in context, you will end up confused, and ultimately lose interest. • There’s several different organizational methods you can use: • General to particular (talking about sitcoms, and then naming them, for example) • Particular to general (naming the sitcom…and then explaining why it’s important). • Chronologically (revealing the details in the order they occurred) • Spatially (by physical arrangement—if appropriate for the paragraph) • From one extreme to another (from a high-brow British sitcom to “Married with Children”; or from working many hours over the week to doing nothing but watching sitcoms all weekend)

16. Ready…Set…Write! • Okay, let’s write!