What does the X Factor Have?

1. What does the X Factor Have? • As you watch the video, record the following information in your RWN • Controlling Idea • Details about the show that support the controlling idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIaTNpJw0uo

2. Commercial Debrief • What is the controlling idea of the show? • Supporting Details? • Judges? • Auditions? • Rules? • How did the commercial explain the show to you?

3. EX-Factors in EX-pository Writing! Expository texts explain, inform, describe or define the author’s subject to the reader

4. What other EX-words help us define Expository Writing? • EXAMINE • EXACT • EXPANDING • EXPLORING • EXPOSE • EXAMPLES • EXEMPLIFY • EXCITE • EXPERT • EXUME • EXPIDITE • EXCAVATE • EXTERNAL • EXCLUDE • EXCEPTION • EXCLAIM • EXPRESS • EXCLAIM

5. Write an essay explaining how the qualities, characteristics, and achievements of somebody make you regard him/her as a hero.

6. Body Paragraphs • TIQAT • “T” is for Topic • “I” is for Introduce • “Q” is for Quote • “A” is for Analyze • “T” is for Transition

7. Body Paragraphs • Topic • Write your topic sentence that “englobes” your entire paragraph. If it doesn’t cover your whole paragraph, reword it until it does.

8. Body Paragraphs • Introduce your quote/evidence • Let the reader know where your quote or evidence came from. • Ex. “According to multiple sources…” • Ex. “Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “… ” • Ex. “Surveys have demonstrated…”

9. Body Paragraphs • Quote/Evidence • Now tell us what your quote/evidence is. • Use a quote if your essay is based on literature, history, or you are getting information from a famous source. • Use evidence if your essay is based on fact, statistics, or personal experience.

10. Body Paragraphs • Analysis • The most important part of your paragraph. • Tell us what your quote or evidence means in relation to your thesis/topic sentence. • It may seem redundant/repetitive but showing us that 2+2=4 demonstrates that you understand the concept and helps your audience understand the concept.

11. Body Paragraph • Transition • Your transition may be a simple phrase or word. It may also show up at the beginning of the next paragraph. • Some transitions may not be obvious. They may echo what was said in the sentence before. • Ex. “Sometimes what is broken cannot be fixed. However, it is in trying to repair the damage that we learn where we have made our mistakes.”

12. Revision #1 • Check your paragraphs for TIQAT: • Write TIQAT vertically on a separate piece of paper and see if you can fill in each blank. • Reorganize your paragraphs if needed. • Add or delete any sentences as needed.

13. Writing Thesis Statements What’s a thesis statement? • Your controlling idea! • Answer to the prompt • Topic of prompt • Your opinion • Should be included at the end of the Introduction!

14. Student Sample Thesis Statements • Authors of fiction illustrate aspects of our culture and society that we choose to ignore based on our own blinders. • Failure is not what leads you to the achievements and opportunities, but rather, the road to success itself. • Courage, commitment and friendship help heroes complete a task despite obstacles along the way.

15. Thesis Statement Checklist • Explicitly connects to the prompt (not the quotation or anecdote) • Expresses my opinion about the topic in an assertive way • Be an insider to the topic—give an unique perspective and examples

16. Revision #2 • Write out your thesis on the thesis checklist. • Have a friend verify that your thesis is sound.

17. Three - Part Essay Part 1- The Introduction: An introduction to an essay is like walking into a room full of people who don’t know you, but who will still form definite and probably lasting impressions of you based on how you present yourself in the first five minutes. Scary? Not if you are prepared for the experience! Just as your own entrance needs to be impressive, so do your essays need to be introduced well.

18. Three-Part Essay • Part 1- The Introduction: Any audience wants to read papers that stand out– in a good way! Your introduction is the first impression of your ability, and if that introduction is poorly written, your readers may expect the rest of the paper to also be poorly written. So your introduction needs not only to be well written, it also needs to be special; it needs to grab the reader. The following are some suggestions about what to do and what not to do when writing introductions.

19. Three-Part Essay • Part 1- The Introduction: To Do: 1. Directly address the prompt or topic 2. Include your thesis (what your essay will prove). Don’t, however, say, “This paper will prove…” or “I will talk about…” 3. Say something that will pique the interest of the reader 4. An introduction should be five to seven sentences long 5. Mention the author and the title of the work

20. Three-Part Essay • Part 1- The Introduction: Not To Do: 1. Do not repeat or paraphrase the prompt or topic 2. Do not make a general value judgment of the author or his or her work. Do not say that he or she is wonderful/horrible or that his work is wonderful/horrible. 3. Never refer to an author by his or her first name. 4. Do not say, “This paper will…” 5. Do not say, “I think that…” or “I believe that…” this weakens your statement 6. Do not use broad statements such as, “All authors since the beginning of time…” 7. Avoid superlatives like all, none, never, always

21. Three-Part Essay • Part 1- The Introduction: (Hooking the reader) Seven Standard Methods for Writing Introductions 1. Open with a question (rhetorical question or a question that will be answered in the essay- this question should be too difficult for the reader to answer right away.) 2. Tell an appropriate anecdote (a story that engages the reader right away) 3. Create a vivid image (paint a memorable picture in the mind) 4. Begin with a startling statement 5. Start with a quotation 6. Begin with a definition (do not put, “According to Webster’s Dictionary,….” 7. Begin with an analogy

22. Revision #3 • Pick two ways to write an introduction from the seven standard ways of writing an introduction and write your introduction twice.

23. Three - Part Essay Part 3 • Conclusion(one or more paragraphs) • Includes • Summary • Intensified Insight

24. Three-Part Essay • Part 3- The Conclusion 1. Close with a rhetorical question 2. Finish an appropriate anecdote or example begun earlier in the essay (refer to introduction example number 2) 3. Close with a simple analogy, allusion, simile, or metaphor 4. End with a startling statement (may or may not refer to earlier statement) 5. Close with an appropriate quote (may or may not refer to an earlier statement)

25. Three-Part Essay • Part 3- The Conclusion • Give a finished feel to the essay (answer all questions) • Come full circle- it should pull elements of the introduction through the essay (don’t restate- make an insightful point)- completes all thoughts and possible insights from the introduction • Never repeat or summarize • Quick and to the point

26. Sample Conclusion: BRIEF SUMMARY OF ESSAY: Complicating matters, the Red Cross pointed out that the Fourth of July falls during the middle of the week this year, which has reduced the number of planned blood drives. INTENSIFIED INSIGHT: The Red Cross called upon individual donors to make appointments to give blood in the near future. The organization noted one pint of blood can save more than one life. How is this conclusion effective? http://news.yahoo.com/u-blood-supply-dangerously-low-levels-red-cross-160408166.html

27. Writing Conferences • Preparation • Come with 1-2 specific questions about your writing • Your writing does not have to be completed to have a conference • Sign up on the board when you are ready • Conference • You will have 3 minutes or less to ask your specific questions • Make notes on your paper as we discuss