This document discusses several essential elements of writing, including thesis statements, open and closed form writing, audience, tone, style, and support. [1] Thesis statements should be interesting, significant, and problematic; indicate what questions are being answered; and imply "because." [2] Open form writing uses descriptions, scenes, dialogue and character development while closed form uses a single declarative sentence. [3] Writers must know their audience by considering factors like age, education, and reactions. [4] Tone and style contribute to voice and consistency. [5] Essays require contextual support through history, culture and building empathy.

1. Essential
Elements
of Writing

2. Thesis statements

3. Should be…
Interesting Significant Problematic

4. Open-form
Writing
A series of
well-supported
descriptions,
including
scenes,
dialogue,
character
development,
etc.

5. Closed-form Writing
Single declarative sentence that summarizes
the entire essay.

6. Example:
That rates of skin cancer have increased
steadily since the 1920s reveals the
danger of the American obsession with
getting a „healthy‟ tan.

7. A thesis statement should
indicate what questions are
being answered in the
essay.

8. For example…
How can this… …help
these?
MS
Lupus
Crohn‟s Disease
Ulcerative Colitis
Sjogren‟s Disease
Asthma/Allergies

9. Thesis: Hookworms are proven to
have a beneficial effect on a
number of autoimmune diseases
and may be considered a viable
treatment protocol in the near
future.

10. Should state/imply the word “BECAUSE…”

11. In-Class Activity

12. Purpose

13. Reflect Analyze
Express Persuade Educate

14. All essays have two purposes.

15. For the Writer

16. For the Reader

17. …But who is your reader?

18. YOUR
AUDIENCE!
KNOW

19. The writer CHOOSES her audience.

20. You are
never your
own
audience.

21. Narrow down your audience

22. Ask personal questions about your
audience…
Age?
Religion?
Sense of humor?
Money?
Formal education?

23. What do they want and how will
they react to what you’ve
written?

24. In-class activity
Write a text message
to a friend telling
him/her that you‟re
too sick to go out.
Also write a short
email to an employer
or professor
explaining an
absence from work or
school.
How are these
different?

25. Tone: the
emotional
quality of
writing

26. Consistency in tone

27. Contrasting Tones
informal formal
light, humorous, comic serious, grave, decorous
personal, subjective objective, impersonal
casual, offhanded impassioned
"loose," rambunctious reasoned, reasonable
zany, experimental controlled, reserved
plainspoken, simple ornate, elaborate

28. Apathy is not an option!
Meh.

29. STYLE
…is your
voice
coming
through
How you dress your essay
up

30. Sentence variety
use of
figurative
active verb
language
choice
(similes and
metaphors)
use of
punctuation use of voice
(dashes, (1st person or
semicolons, 3rd)
parenthesis)

31. Support
How?

32. Put everything… in context
Contemporary
Cultural
Context
Historical
Context

33. Building context with empathy
There is more about us that is alike than different.

34. In-Class activity
Write about the most exciting night of your life
from your own perspective

35. In-Class Activity
Take that same experience and write about it
from another person’s perspective.
How does it change?