Writing

1. Writing Often a student is asked to write a paragraph or essay on a particular subject, and he/she cannot think of how to begin. This happens to professional writers too. So how does a writer get started?

2. Brainstorming and Using Graphic Organizers • Using a brainstorming technique will help you come up with many aspects or sides to a given topic. • The Five W Questions • Who? ----- • What? ---- • Where? ---- • When? ---- • Why? -----

3. Graphic Organizers Graphic organizers such as a list, diagram, or chart will help you organize your ideas.

4. Five-paragraph Essay Main Idea, Introductory and Thesis Paragraph Main Idea Supporting Details Main idea Supporting Details Main Idea Supporting Details Summary/Conclusion

5. Recipe for Writing • Step: l: Read the prompt. Re-read as many times as necessary to make sure that you fully understand what it is asking you to write about.

6. Recipe for Writing Step 2: Brainstorming--- writing down ALL of your ideas. Write down EVERYTHING you can think of that has to do with answering the prompt. Now place all your ideas on a graphic organizer. Make sure you stay on topic and you are writing on the prompt. At this point you don’t need to worry about spelling, punctuation or capitalization.

7. Writing an Introduction • Begin writing with an effective introduction. An effective introduction makes the topic of the report clear. It sets up the organization of the essay and gets the reader interested. • In the Introduction: Restate the prompt or topic ----- make it interesting to catch the reader’s attention.

8. Ideas for Writing an Introduction Get your reader interested in your piece. Show your own interest in it. You may begin one of these ways: • Use a quotation • Use a catchy title • Give a lively, colorful description • Give an interesting fact or unusual detail • Lead the reader from something familiar into something strange

9. Bold Beginnings Bring Writing to Life • State a belief . . . And then explain why you believe it . . . . Example . . .The school cafeteria should offer pepperoni pizza every day. • use a single word .. . . And then provide more information . . . . Pickles! Pickles! Pickles! They are ubiquitous (seen everywhere)!

10. Share an interesting fact . . . And then tell more about it. The bumblebee bat is the smallest mammal on earth. • Describe a sound . . . and then tell where it came from . . . Snap! Crackle! Crunch! Something heavy is lurking in the woods. • Ask an intriguing question . . . And then provide an answer.. . . Have you ever wondered how many dogs you can walk at one time?

11. Now that started your essay! • Always keeping in mind the type of writing you are doing: Descriptive Narrative Expository • Write • Write • Write

12. Descriptive writing • This type of writing helps the reader see a picture in his/her mind because the writer has included a great deal of detail.

13. Narrative writing • This type of writing tells a story or tale that is real or imagined. • The key is to keep writing on the prompt/topic and make sure the piece flows in a logical and sequential way, without getting sidetracked. • Some Sequential Words. . . . Before Soon Meanwhile Afterwards First The beginning, Second After a short time Third Therefore Last Eventually

14. Expository Writing: informs, explains, clarifies, defines or instructs. Expository writing appears in letters, newsletters, definitions, instructions, reports, research papers, magazine articles

15. Some useful words for starting sentences • Anyone Quickly • He Finally • They First • Tomorrow Our • Quickly Soon • Suddenly First • My Not • Soon Suddenly • Up Happily • Yesterday Not • She In • Never Their • Always His • To Into • From By • Beyond Below • Over Nobody

16. Avoid empty Adjectives. . . • Empty adjectives: nice, cute, funny, great, awful special. Interesting Adjectives Exquisite bizarre joyful Disturbing majestic steady Sinister courageous sleek Inevitable distinguished Remote talented incomprehensible • Adjectives provide important details, making nouns more vivid and precise.

17. The building blocks of your writing voice are the words you choose. Express ideas in original and creative ways. Use a variety of words to add interest. (the same words again and again will only bore the reader) Use specific words or phrases whenever possible. (they communicate your message more accurately and powerfully than general words do) Example: Spider is general, butblack widow or tarantulais more specific.

18. Writing an Effective Conclusion 1. Present interesting information that did not fit or belong in the introduction and body. Be certain that it relates directly to the topic. 2. A sophisticated technique is toto refer back to an interesting detail from the beginningand lead from it to your final statement (bring the reader FULL CIRCLE). 3. Summarize the main point of the report or writing. Restate the topic clearly, or it can be implied. 4. Give a personal response to the topic. This could be a personal experience that relates to the topic. It could be a prediction, or an informed guess. An effective concluding paragraph usually restates (IN DIFFERENT WORDS) the ideas from the introduction. It gives the sense that enough has been said.