Getting started means getting organized:
Analyze the assignment; determine what is required.
With a highlighter, note important words that define the topic.
Then organize your plan
For example, you have been given this writing prompt:
You have a present that was really memorable. It could have been given for an important occasion or just for no reason at all. Tell us about the present and why it was memorable. Include the reason it was given, a description of it, and how you felt when you got it.
The objective is to write a narrative essay about a present you were given
The subject is a memorable present
The three main subtopics are:
the reason it was given
a description of it
and how you felt when you got it
Outline your five paragraph essay; include these elements:Introductory Paragraph
General Topic Sentence: memorable present
Subtopic One: the reason it was given
Subtopic Two: a description of it
Subtopic Three: how you felt when you got it
(Transition)
First Supporting Paragraph
Restate Subtopic One
Supporting Details or Examples
Transition Second Supporting Paragraph
Restate Subtopic Two
Supporting Details or Examples
Transition Third Supporting Paragraph
Restate Subtopic Three
Supporting Details or Examples
Transition
Closing or Summary Paragraph
Synthesis and conclusion of the thesis
rephrasing main topic and subtopics.
Write the essay!
Think small; build the full essay gradually.
Divide your essay into sections and develop each piece separately and incrementally.
The Introductory Paragraph
The opening paragraph sets the tone
It not only introduces the topic, but where you are going with it (the thesis). If you do a good job in the opening, you will draw your reader into your "experience." Put effort up front, and you will reap rewards.
Write in the active voice
It is much more powerful. Do that for each sentence in the introductory essay. Unless you are writing a personal narrative, do not use the pronoun "I."
Varying sentence structure
Review to avoid the same dull pattern of always starting with the subject of the sentence.
Brainstorm to find the best supporting ideas
The best supporting ideas are the ones about which you have some knowledge. If you do not know about them, you cannot do a good job writing about them. Don't weaken the essay with ineffective argument.
Practice writing introductory paragraphs on various topics
Even if you do not use them, they can be compared with the type of writing you are doing now. It is rewarding to see a pattern of progress.
Supporting Paragraphs
Write a transition to establish the sub-topic
Each paragraph has to flow, one to the next.
Write the topic sentence
The transition can be included in the topic sentence.
Supporting ideas, examples, details must be specific to the sub-topic
The tendency in supporting paragraphs is to put in just about anything.
Avoid this: the work you have made above with details and examples will help you keep focused.
Vary sentence structure
Avoid repetitious pronouns and lists
Avoid beginning sentences the same way (subject + verb + direct object).
The Ending or Summary Paragraph
This is a difficult paragraph to write effectively.
You cannot assume that the reader sees your point
Restate the introductory thesis/paragraph with originality
Do not simply copy the first paragraph
Summarize your argument with some degree of authority
this paragraph should leave your reader with no doubt as to your position or conclusion of logic
Be powerful as this is the last thought that you are leaving with the reader.
Edit and revise your essay
Check your spelling and grammar
Subjects and verbs agree, and verb tenses are consistent
Examine your whole essay for logic
Thought builds and flows?
Avoid gaps in logic, or too much detail.
Review individual sentences
Use active verbs to be more descriptive
Avoid passive constructions and the verb "to be"
Use transitional words and phrases
Avoid sentences beginning with pronouns, constructions as "There are....,"
Example: "There is a need to proofread all works" becomes "Proofreading is a must."
Be concise
though vary the length and structure of sentences
Ask a knowledgeable friend to review and comment on your essay
and to repeat back what you are trying to say. You may be surprised.
Taking notes during leactures
You can develop your own note taking system and study strategy
with the five "R's" of note-taking:
Record * Reduce * Recite * Reflect * Review
Get a good loose-leaf notebook:
This will enable you to add, delete, and re-sequence pages and materials.
Begin each session's notes with a cover page for later summaries and test preparation.
A typical notes page:
Heading
Date
Class/subject or title or number (e.g. 3/34) Heading, continued
Guest speakers' names,
including your fellow students' contributions
2. Reduce; after the class summarize:
key/cue words
phrases
questions
Link to information from your textbook, Websites or other sources that helps you understand or study the material 1. Record/take notes in class here:
identify the main points
capture the main ideas
Use outlines or concept maps
Use words and pictures and graphs or whatever it takes to get the information down quickly. Avoid quoting unless it is very necessary.
Place for notes when reviewing/studying
(see 5 below)
3. Recite: Talk aloud!
Review from memory what you have learned
Using the left hand margin's key words and questions, talk through, or illustrate definitions, concepts, etc.
Create your own examples
4. Reflect: Think over!
How does this relate to what you knew before?
Note the essay terms and find the best ones that refer to your studies: Apply, Compare, Diagram, Evaluate, etc...
5. Review the notes you took
At your next study session
Before reading new material
When studying for tests
Make notes on your "notes page"
Multiple pages of notes for one lecture:
summarize each page at its bottom,
summarize the lecture on a cover or end page
with the five "R's" of note-taking:
Record * Reduce * Recite * Reflect * Review
Get a good loose-leaf notebook:
This will enable you to add, delete, and re-sequence pages and materials.
Begin each session's notes with a cover page for later summaries and test preparation.
A typical notes page:
Heading
Date
Class/subject or title or number (e.g. 3/34) Heading, continued
Guest speakers' names,
including your fellow students' contributions
2. Reduce; after the class summarize:
key/cue words
phrases
questions
Link to information from your textbook, Websites or other sources that helps you understand or study the material 1. Record/take notes in class here:
identify the main points
capture the main ideas
Use outlines or concept maps
Use words and pictures and graphs or whatever it takes to get the information down quickly. Avoid quoting unless it is very necessary.
Place for notes when reviewing/studying
(see 5 below)
3. Recite: Talk aloud!
Review from memory what you have learned
Using the left hand margin's key words and questions, talk through, or illustrate definitions, concepts, etc.
Create your own examples
4. Reflect: Think over!
How does this relate to what you knew before?
Note the essay terms and find the best ones that refer to your studies: Apply, Compare, Diagram, Evaluate, etc...
5. Review the notes you took
At your next study session
Before reading new material
When studying for tests
Make notes on your "notes page"
Multiple pages of notes for one lecture:
summarize each page at its bottom,
summarize the lecture on a cover or end page
Anticipating test content
Pay particular attention to any study guides
that the instructor hands out in class before the exam, or even at the beginning of the course! For example: key points, particular chapters or parts of chapters, handouts, etc.
Ask the instructor what to anticipate on the test
if he/she does not volunteer the information
Pay particular attention--just prior to the exam--
to points the instructor brings up during class lectures
Generate a list of possible questions
you would ask if you were making the exam, then see if you can answer the questions
Review previous tests
graded by the instructor
Confer with other students
to predict what will be on the test
Pay particular attention to clues
that indicate an instructor might test for a particular idea, as when an instructor:
says something more than once
writes material on the board
pauses to review notes
asks questions of the class
says, "This will be on the test!
that the instructor hands out in class before the exam, or even at the beginning of the course! For example: key points, particular chapters or parts of chapters, handouts, etc.
Ask the instructor what to anticipate on the test
if he/she does not volunteer the information
Pay particular attention--just prior to the exam--
to points the instructor brings up during class lectures
Generate a list of possible questions
you would ask if you were making the exam, then see if you can answer the questions
Review previous tests
graded by the instructor
Confer with other students
to predict what will be on the test
Pay particular attention to clues
that indicate an instructor might test for a particular idea, as when an instructor:
says something more than once
writes material on the board
pauses to review notes
asks questions of the class
says, "This will be on the test!
Writing under Deadline
Don't panic: organize!
Whether you are meeting a publication deadline, over-booked, or procrastinating
Step 1: Get in the zone
Think about it
Mentally organize and think about developing your "story"
Turn off the cell phone when driving, walking, waiting, etc.
Keep a notebook to jot down
thoughts on development and good phrases
Talk about the topic
Your approach can benefit from having a live person react to your ?story? or project
If the feedback is unclear, ask for clarification
Don?t get defensive, don?t argue?make a note and move on
(you don?t have time to debate: it?s a writing project!)
Designate a distraction-free area to help you write
Organize all you will need
to avoid hunting and disrupting your process
Make a rough schedule working backwards from the deadline
Highlight major steps: due date, revision, draft, workspace organization, resource and information gathering
If dependent on others, make your timeframe clear
Step 2: Write It's as simple as that
Don?t interrupt your writing process to edit or research
Avoid over-working a problem area and leave it to the revision
Don't get distracted by minor points--keep focus on the whole
Draw up a quick outline or concept map
Write out your thesis to be developed
Specific and suitable to the assignment
Introduce your topic sentence in the first paragraph
Build it up with basic, relevant facts and context: who, what, when, where, why, how
Appeal to and involve your readers
Development:
Anchor your paper and each paragraph with a topic sentence. Revise later?
As you write, note in bold, or color what you are unsure of
Revisit all comments when you revise
Keep the ?navigation? clear
In the introduction, tell your audience what you are going to do,
then do it
Revising
Take the place of your editor or teacher: critique your own writing.
Treat your assignment as someone else's product for review
Spell check.
Use ?search? to find words you overuse
Print and read your project aloud
Printed text is easier to edit.
Does it sound right?
Highlight problem areas to revise after you finish.
(If you run out of breath reading a sentence, it is probably too long)
Review sentences:
Focus on one idea in each
Short, focused sentences are clearer and reduce the need for commas
Ideal structure: subject ? verb ? object.
Avoid too many prepositional phrases
Convert negatives to positives
Keep your voice active and verbs strong
Control/limit your vocabulary
Beware acronyms, slang, jargon
Special vocabulary should be kept limited, introduced early, defined, used consistently
Limit the use of numbers in each sentence
Double check numbers!
Add graphics, illustrations, etc. with captions.
Visual information should reinforce verbal information, and vice versa
Whether you are meeting a publication deadline, over-booked, or procrastinating
Step 1: Get in the zone
Think about it
Mentally organize and think about developing your "story"
Turn off the cell phone when driving, walking, waiting, etc.
Keep a notebook to jot down
thoughts on development and good phrases
Talk about the topic
Your approach can benefit from having a live person react to your ?story? or project
If the feedback is unclear, ask for clarification
Don?t get defensive, don?t argue?make a note and move on
(you don?t have time to debate: it?s a writing project!)
Designate a distraction-free area to help you write
Organize all you will need
to avoid hunting and disrupting your process
Make a rough schedule working backwards from the deadline
Highlight major steps: due date, revision, draft, workspace organization, resource and information gathering
If dependent on others, make your timeframe clear
Step 2: Write It's as simple as that
Don?t interrupt your writing process to edit or research
Avoid over-working a problem area and leave it to the revision
Don't get distracted by minor points--keep focus on the whole
Draw up a quick outline or concept map
Write out your thesis to be developed
Specific and suitable to the assignment
Introduce your topic sentence in the first paragraph
Build it up with basic, relevant facts and context: who, what, when, where, why, how
Appeal to and involve your readers
Development:
Anchor your paper and each paragraph with a topic sentence. Revise later?
As you write, note in bold, or color what you are unsure of
Revisit all comments when you revise
Keep the ?navigation? clear
In the introduction, tell your audience what you are going to do,
then do it
Revising
Take the place of your editor or teacher: critique your own writing.
Treat your assignment as someone else's product for review
Spell check.
Use ?search? to find words you overuse
Print and read your project aloud
Printed text is easier to edit.
Does it sound right?
Highlight problem areas to revise after you finish.
(If you run out of breath reading a sentence, it is probably too long)
Review sentences:
Focus on one idea in each
Short, focused sentences are clearer and reduce the need for commas
Ideal structure: subject ? verb ? object.
Avoid too many prepositional phrases
Convert negatives to positives
Keep your voice active and verbs strong
Control/limit your vocabulary
Beware acronyms, slang, jargon
Special vocabulary should be kept limited, introduced early, defined, used consistently
Limit the use of numbers in each sentence
Double check numbers!
Add graphics, illustrations, etc. with captions.
Visual information should reinforce verbal information, and vice versa
proof reading
Intentionally separate "proofreading" from the "writing" and "revising" processes.
Writing and revising focus on content, message and style; proofreading focuses on "mechanics."
Work with another:
It is twice as hard to detect mistakes in your own work
as in someone else's!
Get a second opinion!
A fresh set of eyes may not only find errors, but also have suggestions for improvement
Professional editors proofread as many as ten times.
Publishing houses hire teams of readers to work in pairs, reading out loud.
And still errors occur.
Cultivate a sense of doubt
Take nothing for granted
If you know you repeat certain errors, double check for them.
Most errors in written work are made unconsciously.
These are sources of unconscious, repetitive error:
Misspellings:
a word like "accommodate" can be checked through a spellchecker in word processing
Keyboarding: "form" for "from"
A keyboarding error that is common and unthinkingly repeated
Usage error "which" for "that"
Word processors may locate the problem but it is left to you to decide and choose
Inattention
The mind works far faster than the pen or keyboarding
Read out loud, word for word:
Take advantage of two senses: hearing and seeing
It is often possible to hear a mistake, such as an omitted or repeated word that you have not seen
Slow down
Read what is actually on the page, not what you think is there
This is difficult, particularly if you wrote what you are reading
Why slow down?
When you read normally, you often see only the shells of words -- the first and last few letters, perhaps. You "fix your eyes" on the print only three or four times per line, or less. You take in the words between these points, and get less accurate the the more you stray from the point. The average reader can only take in six letters accurately with one fixation. This means you have to fix your eyes on almost every word you have written and do it twice in longer words, in order to proofread accurately. You have to look at the word, not slide over it
Writing and revising focus on content, message and style; proofreading focuses on "mechanics."
Work with another:
It is twice as hard to detect mistakes in your own work
as in someone else's!
Get a second opinion!
A fresh set of eyes may not only find errors, but also have suggestions for improvement
Professional editors proofread as many as ten times.
Publishing houses hire teams of readers to work in pairs, reading out loud.
And still errors occur.
Cultivate a sense of doubt
Take nothing for granted
If you know you repeat certain errors, double check for them.
Most errors in written work are made unconsciously.
These are sources of unconscious, repetitive error:
Misspellings:
a word like "accommodate" can be checked through a spellchecker in word processing
Keyboarding: "form" for "from"
A keyboarding error that is common and unthinkingly repeated
Usage error "which" for "that"
Word processors may locate the problem but it is left to you to decide and choose
Inattention
The mind works far faster than the pen or keyboarding
Read out loud, word for word:
Take advantage of two senses: hearing and seeing
It is often possible to hear a mistake, such as an omitted or repeated word that you have not seen
Slow down
Read what is actually on the page, not what you think is there
This is difficult, particularly if you wrote what you are reading
Why slow down?
When you read normally, you often see only the shells of words -- the first and last few letters, perhaps. You "fix your eyes" on the print only three or four times per line, or less. You take in the words between these points, and get less accurate the the more you stray from the point. The average reader can only take in six letters accurately with one fixation. This means you have to fix your eyes on almost every word you have written and do it twice in longer words, in order to proofread accurately. You have to look at the word, not slide over it
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