2. When given an essay prompt, turn that prompt
into a question so that you know what issue
you need to research.
3. Sample Prompt: While America is diverse in
terms of race and ethnicity, it is diverse in
regard to language as well. Discuss the
diversity of what linguist call Standard
American English.
Question: How is Standard American English
diverse?
4. Freewrite: Freewrite on the prompt question
by identifying broad terms (nouns) in the
question and trying to specify them.
Freewriting is a method of preliminary writing
in which an individual writes nonstop for 5 to
10 minutes about a question or issue posed
to him.
5. Use the freewriting to narrow the focus of the
essay prompt.
Turn that narrow focus into a question and then
into a statement that will serve as your
preliminary thesis.
Develop a preliminary outline using the
preliminary thesis.
6. Original Essay Prompt: While America is diverse in
terms of race and ethnicity, it is diverse in
regard to language as well. Discuss the diversity
of what linguist call Standard American English.
Question: How is Standard American English
diverse?
Revised/Narrowed Question: How are African
American Vernacular English and European
American Vernacular English different from SAE?
7. Revised/Narrowed Question: How are African
American Vernacular English and European
American Vernacular English different from
SAE?
Preliminary Thesis: African American
Vernacular English and European American
Vernacular English differ from Standard
American English.
8. PreliminaryThesis: African American
Vernacular English and European American
Vernacular English differ from Standard
American English.
I. AAVE and SAE
II. EAVE and SAE
9. Using your preliminary thesis, develop a keyword
list.
A keyword list is a simple list of terms that will
be used to help you find sources for your topic.
Conduct a Boolean search using the keywords. A
Boolean search is merely the combining of
keywords when inputting them into a database.
10. Preliminary Thesis: African American
Vernacular English and European American
Vernacular English differ from Standard
American English.
Keyword List: African American Vernacular
English, AAVE, Standard American English,
European American Vernacular English, EAVE,
Lexicon
11. Database Categories to Search at library
(www.auctr.edu)
News and Current Events
Arts and Humanities
12. Search for articles that support, refute, or add
to your ideas. In this way, your paper will be
a mixture of your ideas and source ideas.
