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1 2 planning and thesis statements
- 1. PLANNING AND ORGANIZING YOURESSAY ENGL 106-I / Summer 2013
- 2. Planning ¨ Before youbegin to write your essay, you should spend some time brainstorming about your topic/ assignment, and take notes. ¨ By planning ahead, you will better be able to organize your thoughts in a coherent and complete manner. ¨ http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=JiOySoEv57U&list=PL64125F56F6113162
- 3. Prewriting Techniques QUICKWRITING Quickwriting isa good way to collect your ideas for writing. Follow these instructions: - Write fast – as fast as you can. - Don’t worry about grammar or spelling. - If your mind goes blank, write: I can’t think of anything to write. I can’t think of anything to write. - Re-read your quickwriting and circle the ideas you might want to use in your writing.
- 4. Prewriting Techniques QUICKWRITING Example fortopic “Televisions”: I don’t know what my opinions about television are. I watch a little TV but I don’t like to watch TV a lot. I really hate it when I go to someone’s house and they leave the TV on while we are trying to hang out. I don’t know what to write. I don’t know what to write. It makes me feel like they don’t want to talk. I think a lot of TV shows are dumb. They are really a waste of time. It’s one thing if a TV show is really funny. I mean, I’m not against watching TV just for the laughs, but most of the programs aren’t even funny. There are some…
- 5. Prewriting Techniques QUESTIONING Forming questionscan help you come up with ideas for writing. Just think about your topic and write down any questions that come to mind. Afterward you can go back and underline the questions that you would like to explore further.
- 6. Prewriting Techniques QUESTIONING GENERAL TOPIC: TELEVISION WHO? O? WHAT? O? WHEN? O? WHY? O?HOW? O? WHERE? O? Why isthere so much violence on TV? Why do people watch TV? What makes a successful program?
- 7. Prewriting Techniques MAKING ACLUSTER DIAGRAM Making a cluster diagram is a useful way to collect ideas and details to use in your writing. Step 1: Write your topic in the center of the paper and circle it. Step 2: Think about your topic and write down any words that come to mind. Circle each word and connect it to the closest related word in your cluster diagram. Step 3: Study your cluster diagram to find ideas to use in your writing.
- 8. Prewriting Techniques MAKING ACLUSTER DIAGRAM TELEVISION Shows Popular Shows Shows I like to watch Shows I don’t like to watch Advertising TV celebrities News Channels Local channels Satellite TV
- 9. Prewriting Techniques BRAINSTORMING Brainstorming isa good way to collect ideas for writing. To brainstorm, think about your topic and write down every idea that comes to mind. Don’t evaluate your ideas. Just write.
- 10. Prewriting Techniques BRAINSTORMING Things todo when you feel sad or depressed go visit a friend get some exercise eat sleep do something for someone else read a book watch a funny movie buy some flowers buy some new clothes go for a walk
- 11. Outline I. Introduction Paragraph II. Body/Supporting Paragraphs III. Conclusion Paragraph
- 12. Outline I. Introduction Paragraph Agood Introduction Paragraph will include: a. A few sentences that grab the reader’s attention and make them interested in your essay. b. A clear Thesis Statement
- 13. Outline II. Body/Supporting Paragraphs Themajority of your essay will comprise of the several paragraphs in which you will provide plenty of evidence and details that will help support your thesis statement. It is important in these paragraphs to separate and organize your ideas in a logical way.
- 14. III. Conclusion Paragraph Acomplete Conclusion Paragraph will include: a. A brief summary of the main supporting points b. A re-stated Thesis Statement c. A few closing remarks
- 15. THINK ABOUT YOURAUDIENCE Before you begin writing your first draft, it is important to consider the people who will potentially be reading your writing. The way your write and the information you provide depends on your audience. As you write, keep these questions in mind: ¨ Who is going to read my writing? ¨ What does my reader already know about the topic? ¨ What will be interesting to my reader? ¨ What questions will my reader have?
- 16. THINK ABOUT YOURPURPOSE It helps to have a purpose for writing other than simply completing a class assignment. As you write, keep in mind that you are also trying to accomplish one or more of these goals: ¤ to inform ¤ to entertain ¤ to persuade
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- 18. It is NOTHINGwithout a THESIS ¨ The most important element of an essay, is a clear and strong thesis statement. ¨ You must discover what point you want to make and to write that point out as a SINGLE SENTENCE. ¨ You will then support your point (thesis) with specific evidence.
- 19. Understanding Thesis Statements Agood thesis statement does 2 things: 1. It tells the reader an essay’s topic. 2. It presents the writer’s attitude, opinion, idea, or point about that topic.
- 20. Owning a pethas several important benefits. In this thesis statement, the topic is owning a pet. The writer’s opinion is that owning a pet has several important benefits.
- 21. In the followingthesis statement, what is the topic and what is the main point/opinion/attitude/idea? The Internet has made life easier for many people. The Internet has made life easier for many people.
- 22. Writing a GoodThesis 1. Write Statements, Not Announcements The subject of this paper will be my parents. I want to talk about the recent economic growth. Addiction to the Internet is the topic of this essay. These sentences are NOT thesis statements but just announcements of a topic. Remember, a thesis statement must make a point about a limited subject.
- 23. X The subjectof this paper will be my parents. My parents are the most important people in my life. X I want to talk about the recent economic growth. China is currently in an important stage of economic growth. X Addiction to the Internet is the topic of this essay. Addiction to the Internet is one of the biggest problems facing university students today.
- 24. 2. Avoid StatementsThat Are Too Broad Men and women are very different. Insects are fascinating creatures. In these examples, each statement is too broad to be supported adequately in a student essay.
- 25. X Men andwomen are very different. Men and women are often treated very differently in the workplace. X Insects are fascinating creatures. Strength, organization, and communication make ants one of nature’s most successful insects.
- 26. 3. Avoid StatementsThat Are Too Narrow The speed limit near my home is 65 miles per hour. A person must be at least 35 years old in order to be elected president of the United States. In these examples, there is no room in any of the statements for support to be given. It is sometimes called a “dead-end statement.” There is no place to go with it.
- 27. X The speedlimit near my home is 65 miles per hour. The speed limit near my home should be lowered to 55 miles per hour for several reasons. X A person must be at least 35 years old in order to be elected president of the United States. The requirement that a U.S. president must be at least 35 years old is unfair and unreasonable.
- 28. 4. Make SureStatements Develop Only One Idea Studying with others has several benefits, but it also has drawbacks and can be difficult to schedule. Teachers have played an important role in my life, but they were not as important as my parents. Each statement above contains more than one idea. But remember, the point of an essay is to communicate a SINGLE main idea to readers.
- 29. X Studying withothers has several benefits, but it also has drawbacks and can be difficult to schedule. Studying with others has several benefits. X Teachers have played an important role in my life, but they were not as important as my parents. Teachers have played an important role in my life.
- 30. Assignment – dueThursday, 6/13/13 ¨ The following slide has 10 different example Thesis Statements. Please review each and determine if it is a good or bad Thesis Statement according to the criteria that you just covered. You should briefly explain why you came to that conclusion.
- 31. Example Thesis Statements 1. In my paper, I will be exploring whether Mathematics can actually replace other human languages as a uniform mode of communication. 2. But despite the wide acceptance of this myth, I still firmly believe that long distance relationships are definitely not impossible due to several reasons. 3. However, the production of genetically modified food should not be encouraged given the existing human health risk concerns and some fundamental ethical objections. 4. In my opinion, meats are much needed and are equally important as vegetables in our daily diet. There are many reasons why this is the case. 5. Thus, everyone should have Facebook. 6. Every aspect of this nation is rapidly changing, and it is poised to be one of the economic superpowers of the future. 7. To retain the strong bonds, men should contact their mothers more often. 8. In the following paragraphs I will discuss this situation from 2 perspectives, which are why Americans should work harder and why Chinese should improve social abilities. 9. I will verify this from several different perspectives; current Taiwanese economy from an outsider perspective, the current economic situation from the inside, and my personal experience living on the island. 10. People should exercise instead taking sleeping pills in order to overcome insomnia.