Sample 2 Tips for student – the way to a good composition/essay

Mechanics: Involved in Punctuation and Spelling.

Paragraph: A group of sentences supporting one idea; central idea is located in topic sentence; all sentences are relevant.

4 Ways to Support a Topic Sentence:

Anecdote: Short, entertaining account of some happening, usually personal.

Details: Particular part or characteristic of a whole thing, frequently used in description.

Example: Specific instance that explains an idea.

Statistic: Numerical fact.

Definition: Term to be defined, class to which it belongs, distinguishing characteristics (A rainbow is phenomenon of the atmosphere in which light is refracted through drops of moisture, creating a display of the colors of the spectrum).

Voice: Personal style of writer.

Diction: Word choice (Concrete: The smell of the old man was like a piece of meat left out on a warm counter. Abstract: Love is pain).

Connotation/Denotation: Literal meanings (We saw a great actor at the theater last night). Understood meanings (He's a great actor when it comes to courting women).

Literal language: Speaking of something as it actually is (The dog had only three legs, a few missing teeth, and fur that was bald in several places).

Figurative Language: Speaking of something as if it were different from what it actually is (The dog was a great victorious warrior, standing guard over the bone it had stolen from its little fiend).

Stages of the Writing Process

Prewriting: Thinking, research, considering the рифове of your writing and your audience.

Drafting: Getting ideas on paper, not worrying about mistakes, freewriting, learning what you haven't thought about before.

Revising and Proofreading: Evaluating the content, structure and mechanics of your writing, and then making any necessary changes.

Presenting and Publishing: Sharing your completed piece of writing with others.

Aspects of Prewriting:

Choosing a topic (What to write about).

Finding a purpose and audience (Why am I writing about this? Who will read it?).

Choosing a form (Story, poem, play, letter, essay, article, report, speech).

Gathering information/research (What kind of information do I need, and where can I find it?).

Revising and Proofreading

Content, the information presented (Is it true, is it real?).

Structure (Is it clearly written and explained in a logical way?).

Mechanics (Punctuation, capitalization, spelling, grammar).

Ways to Prewrite a Personal Memory

Listing (People, places and things).

Recalling (The time I lost.. .The time I found.. .The time I broke up with my girlfriend...).

Special Days (Birthdays, New Year's, Women's Day).

When Drafting, it is interesting to consider

Narration: Plot, character, setting Description: Sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing.

Dialogue: Show what people are like, rather than tell (Avoid telling; show aspects of a character through dialogue).

Defining Abstract Ideas:

Explore the subject in many ways/provide examples

If you are describing or defining courage, choose some particular actions that show courage

Did the man risk his life to save his friends?

Did the woman help the person everyone hated?

Did the boy not do what all his friends wanted him to do?

Other ways to define what you are writing about:

Elaborate on the characteristics, provide more information for the reader—specific, familiar, unfamiliar—vivid details, anecdotes, comparisons

Write an Introduction that makes your reader want to read more, leant more

Introduction: If we didn't have dictionaries, how could we learn what new words mean when we hear or read them?

Elaboration with Vivid Detail: Dictionaries are books with lists of words and their definitions. The words in a dictionary are listed alphabetically so that the reader may find the word he or she needs quickly.

Anecdote: When I first learned how to use a dictionary, I discovered a new world of knowledge. Finally, I could learn how to pronounce those long and difficult words, and what they really meant.

Comparison: A dictionary is similar to an encyclopedia, except that it does not concern itself primarily with geography, history, and culture; rather, it presents the technical meanings of individual words.

Conclusion of definition can be a summary or generalization.

Conclusion: The dictionary is one of the most helpful tools for one learning his own or a foreign language.

Analogies

Analogy: A comparison that uses two essentially different subjects in order to make a point; an analogy can be used to add humor or call attention to an otherwise ordinary topic: “A cup of coffee is like a brief visit from a good friend. When we have coffee, we have a chance to reflect and organize out thoughts, as if we were speaking to someone close to us. Hot coffee warms us as a friend's kind words would warm our hearts. And when we finish our coffee we feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to continue our daily activities”.

The Use of Analogies: Putting difficult or abstract ideas into familiar words.

• Love is like a carnival ride...

• People are like animals...

• Music is like the kiss of a lover...

When writing your analogy, what point are you trying to make?

Myths

Myth: Story that explains natural phenomenon; represents universal need and gives shape to the world around us; story of cause and effect.

Basic Story Elements of the Myth: Characters, plot, conflict, setting, dialogue, theme.

When Writing a Myth:

Introduce the Hero (Physical characteristics, non-physical characteristics).

Establish the Setting (Desert? Jungle? Forest? Sea?).

Develop the Situation (Problems, conflict).

Dialogue (Shows how characters are rather than telling).

Create an Ending (The effect of the cause — this is why the sky is blue, or why people don’t have tails).

Myths ask why

Hypotheses

Hypothesis: An educated guess; in writing, hypotheses are addressed as the possible solutions to a variety of questions

Question

Why do people enjoy dessert after a meal? Possible Hypotheses:

• Sweet foods like cakes and candy provide a refreshing contrast to a normally salty meal.

• Some people just aren't satisfied after eating meals.

• The body requires more sugar than a meal can provide.

• For most people, the meal is simply an appetizer before the real meal, the dessert.

The writer must test hypotheses—may research studies, articles, reports; may also set up formal experiments or interviews; may also closely observe human behavior.

After the hypotheses have been addressed, the writer looks for conclusions and determines whether his hypotheses were correct.

Synthesizing Information

Synthesize: Combining different elements into a new whole.

Masterpieces, inventions, solutions to problems come from the ability to take experiences, prior knowledge, and new information and then analyze and combine (or synthesize) all the factors. We synthesize many factors in order to address problems and find solutions.

Exploring Problems

1. What is the problem?

2. Why should the reader care about the problem?

3. What is the extent of the problem?

5. What are the effects of the problem?

6. Is the problem getting worse? How do I know?

Exploring Solutions

1. Is there an ideal solution?

2. Is this solution feasible?

3. What are other possible solutions?

4. What are the merits and drawbacks of these solutions?

Strategies for Writing Problem/Solution Papers

1. Description and Definition: Identify the specific characteristics of the problem.

2. Narration: Use a story to illustrate the specific characteristics of the problem.

3. Cause and Effect: Identify the source of the problem—how would the effects change if a solution was found?

Persuasion:

Writing a convincing paper; we usually persuade in order to make someone take action

Planning a Persuasive Speech

1. Choose a subject; pick an issue about which you have strong feelings.

2. Research your subject; find information that will support your position.

3. List as many reasons as possible; hard facts and specific examples are usually most effective.

4. Consider the arguments on the other side; you must address opposing concerns and defeat them before they hurt your argument.

Writing a Persuasive Speech

1. Open with a clear statement of the issue (anecdotes, statistics, quotations); you can state the issue in a question, or as a direct statement: “Should murderers have punishment by death?” or “Murderers should have punishment by death”.

2. Organize—Cause and effect or order of importance?

3. Present your points clearly and logically; don't get caught up in emotions.

4. Summarize your position; add a “call to action”: “We must do something—what? Educate? Police? Monitor? Write?”

5. Rework ideas for oral presentation; pronouns like you or we make listeners feel they should respond to the persuasive speech in some way.

Research Report

In order to be interested in a research report, ask question about which you would like the answers.

“How do dogs communicate with one another?”

“What is the economy of Malta like?”

“Do lions eat other animals of the feline family?”

1. List what you already know about the question, then you will have a better idea of what you need to learn.

2. Settle on a thesis statement; explain the purpose of your report—“Perhaps Justin Timberlake is the most popular member of the band N-Sync”. What kind of information is needed to support this thesis statement?

3. Include Bibliography.

4. When recording information, paraphrase (put information in your own words); when taking words from another source in direct quotation, use “”.

5. Avoid plagiarism; document all your sources of information.

An Effective Research Report

1. Begins with a clear introduction that clearly states the topic and purpose of the report.

2. Develops the topic logically, using SPECIFIC details.

3. Contains only accurate and relevant facts.

4. Synthesizes information from a variety of sources into a single, coherent whole.

5. Documents sources clearly and correctly.

6. Uses direct quotations clearly and sparingly, and indicates clearly that they are quotations.

7. Reads smoothly from beginning to end; transitions among different ideas.

Statement of Controlling Purpose

The statement of controlling purpose can help to focus your writing.

Writing that Defines: The purpose of this paper is define the word “fame” and give examples of the various manifestations of fame throughout history and reasons why people from different historical eras were famous.

Writing that Shows Cause and Effect: The purpose of this paper is to explore reasons why a great number of Americans are overweight—the potential causes being fast food, television, the overabundance of cars, videogames.

Writing that Describes: The purpose of this paper is to describe the places of interest in Nikolaev, including its museums, restaurants, and night clubs, for a tourist magazine.

Writing that Persuades: The purpose of this speech is to explain why everyone should wear seat belts when riding in an automobile.

Writing that Analyzes: The purpose of this essay is to analyze American policy concerning Mexican immigration.