Writing

1. Writing

2. 4 Stages of Writing • Prewriting: Writing down ideas in whatever form that works to get your ideas down on paper • Drafting: Write in sentences the ideas you want to communicate—develop/expand and link ideas together. This is a preliminary stage of exploration and discovery • Revision: Take a closer look at the organization, structure and logic of the draft and rethink, refine, develop, reshape and/or rewrite—meaning you should delete, expand and/or clarify your ideas • Editing/Proofreading: examine ideas, details, grammar and mechanics (like punctuation) for accuracy and clarity

3. Things to Note for a Well-Written Piece • Grammar and Mechanics • Style • Focus and Organization • Content

4. 1. Grammar and Mechanics • The few errors that are present do not undermine the overall effectiveness of the writing

5. Common Grammar Errors • Subject-verb agreement • Fragment • Comma splice/fused sentences • Commas • Run-ons • Modifiers • Pronouns • Pronoun reference/agreement • Parallel structure • Idioms/jargons

6. Basic Grammar Text Ruvinsky, Maxine. (2009). Practical Grammar. 2nd ed. Toronto: OUP Note: you can use any grammar book. You don’t have to buy one…

7. 2. Style • Diction is tailored to the audience and purpose • There is an effective and consistent use of a range of sentence types, including subordinators and modifiers • Writing is concise and readable

8. Things to Note • Voice • make sure the tone of the writing is in accordance with its content • Do not use out-of-place colloquialism/idioms • we use this type of expression for informal talk/writing, but we should avoid them in formal writing (e.g., “I was an awfully good runner when I was young” should be “I was a good runner when I was young”; “You can’t have your cake and eat it too!” should be…)

9. Formal Writing • Do not write the way we speak (unstructured). When we talk, our thoughts are spoken without any systemized order. Writing is the opposite. It has to be focused, organized and structured • Also it differs from Informal standard (for memos, speeches, letters, newspapers, newsletters, emails…), and Professional English (for emails, presentations, manuals, professional reports, proposals…)

10. 3. Focus and Organization • Responds to the topic in a thoughtful/ meaningful way • Main idea (thesis) is focused and clear, and the points are well organized • Paragraphs are fully developed

11. 4. Content • The evidence is consistently, critically, accurately and thoughtfully interpreted and analyzed

12. A Checklist • Are there a topic sentence and a concluding sentence for each paragraph • Are supporting details/examples logical and clear? • Are transition words used? • Do I have varied sentence lengths? • Is there a bias in language? • Is there any idiom or jargon used? • Am I using the right voice?

13. 6 Different types of Writing

14. 1. Narrative as a major writing strategy • Tells a story/event that has occurred or recounts action for a purpose in the first (“I”) person or third person • Answers the six basic questions: who, where, when, what, why and how • The purpose can be “to reflect, inform, explain or to persuade” ( Dietch, 2006, p. 122)

15. 2. Descriptive • Uses sensory details to leave an impression about the central idea • Use specific nouns and strong verbs • Organize details in a spatial and/or chronological order • Can be used to provide solid supporting details for the thesis

16. 3a. Process • A step-by-step, chronological and/or logical explanation of how something happens or is done in a specific order • Ask yourself if the steps are presented in appropriate order and developed in enough detail

17. 3b. Illustration (examples) • Selecting the right kind of examples is the key • Make sure relevant examples are used to support the thesis • The number of examples needed will depend on the topic and the thesis

18. 4. Compare and Contrast • Comparison/Contrast is used for assessment purposes to show why someone or something is superior to another to persuade, inform, and/or present a new perspective

19. Compare and Contrast • If similarities are predominant, use them to focus on the differences, and vice versa • Don’t compare/contrast the too obvious, avoid common expressions, and don’t draw hasty generalizations • There are two ways to compare/contrast

20. Main Point 1: A and B Main Point 2: A and B Main Point 3: A and B A: Points 1, 2 and 3 B: Points 1, 2 and 3 Note: Points for A and B have the same topic Point-by-Point Blocking

21. 5. Cause and Effect • Explains WHY • One cause can produce many effects • One effect can be the result of many causes • Look for all the possible explanations, like pre-existing conditions and all the possibilities

22. Cause and Effect • Don’t confuse and/or mix up causes and effects • Just because something happened in a certain order does not mean chronology is the causation • Don’t make hasty generalizations or illogical inferences

23. 6. Argument/Persuasion • Rationally/logically structured evidence is presented • Appeals to logic (facts), ethics (a set of moral values) and/or emotion (feelings) • Has four basic parts • Thesis • Objection • Proof/evidence • conclusion

24. Argument/Persuasion • Logical appeal (facts, authorities, statistics and personal experience) should dominate, but a right dose of ethical appeal sprinkled with emotional appeal can be highly effective • Know the common fallacies and avoid them • NEVER contradict yourself

25. Sources Dietsch, Betty Mattix, Sauer, Laura, & Levering, Andrea. (2006). Reasoning and Writing Well: A Rhetoric Research Guide, Reader and Handbook. (Canadian ed.)Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Reinking, J.A., von derOsten, R., Cairns, S.A., & Fleming, R. (2010). Strategies for Successful Writing. (4th Canadian ed). Toronto: Pearson