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THEWRITINGPROCESS:Thebestwritingisdone,notlastminute,butthroughaprocessusingthesestages:

• Freewriting:writingcontinuously lettingthoughtsunselfconsciouslyflow(oftenforabout10to20mins)withoutregardtospelling,grammar,styleetc.,andnocorrections aremade. An excellent technique to push through writer’s blockandtoexploreagiventopic.

• Brainstorming: is like freewriting in thatyouwritedownwhatcomes tomind,but it is different because it is a list ofwords andphrases andnot a string ofsentences.

• Journalistquestions: creatingquestionsusing:Who?,What?,When?,Where?,Why?,andHow?Then,writingoutsentencesorphrases inanswer,astheyfityourparticulartopic.

• Clustering/listing:methodsusedtoorganize ideas.Clustering involvescreatinganinformalmapwithyourmainideainacentercirclewiththesupportingideasandevidenceincirclesconnectedtothemainideaatthecenter. Listing isthemost informal kind of outline in which you jot down your main points andpossiblesupportingpointsandevidence.

• Outlining:aformalized,logicaloverviewofanessayin“skeletal”formconsistingof the thesis, the main supporting points, and the specific evidence used toillustrateandprovethesupportingpoints.

• Drafting: using an outline and focusing on proving amain idea, compose theessayandincludeanintroduction,bodyparagraphsandaconclusion.Therewillbemultipleversionsinthedraftingstageasyougetyourideasintheshapeyouwantthemtobe.

• Revising: the larger elements of writing generally receive attention first—thefocus,organization,paragraphing,content,andoverallstrategy.Revisingusuallydealswith chunksof text longer thana sentence, and frequently canbequitedramatic.Wholeparagraphsmightbedropped,othersadded.Eventhecontentmightchangedramatically,fortheprocessofrevisingstimulatesthought.

• Editing/Proofreading:checkingsuchthingsasgrammar,mechanics,andspelling.Don'tedityourwritinguntiltheotherstepsinthewritingprocessarecomplete.

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WRITINGASAPROCESSNOTAPRODUCT

Theicebergdiagramabovegivesavisualimageofthewritingprocess.Unfortunately,many“wreck”themselvesbyjustfocusingonthefinalproductratherthanprocess.Thiscangiveyouwriter'sblockandnon‐processwritingisnotgoingtobeyourstrongestorbesteffort.Pre‐verbal,subconsciousstage:Thewritingprocessdoesn'tstartwhenyoubegintypingupyourpaper.Thewritingprocessbeginsasyoustartexaminingyourfeelings,thoughts,andideasonatopic.Invention:Youmoveonnexttoinventionasyoustartfocusingyourtopicinyourmind,gatheringinformationasyoudiscussthetopicwithothers,doingresearch,andbrainstormingyourthoughtsusingwordsandphrases.Composing/Drafting:Then,youmoveontocomposing/drafting.Atthisstage,youstartgettingideasdownonpaper,extendingsomeideas,limitingothersthataren'tpanningout.Manywriterssaythattheydidn'tknowwhattheythoughtuntiltheysawwhattheythought.Youmightdiscoverwhatyouthinkasyouwriteonatopicandyourfocusandargumentmightchangeandevolveasyouwrite.Revising:Onceyouhaveadraftofapaper,thewritingprocessisn'tover.Themostimportantstepisnext:revising.Askanyprofessionalwriterands/hewilltellyouthat"thebestwritingisrewriting"(E.BWhite).Inrevising,yougettoreworktheideasintoalogical,clear,andcreativepaper.Revisinginvolvesglobalchangeslikemovingparagraphs,deletingwholesectionsoftextthataren’tworking,

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andrewritingideastoclarifythem.Editing:Thisisthefinalstep.Unfortunately,manystudentshavethefalseimpressionthatthisisthefirstandmostimportantstep.Editingiscorrectingsentence‐levelerrorslikespelling,punctuationandgrammar.Ifyoumakethemistakeandstartoutediting,you'llover‐correctwritingthatmayormaynotmakeitintothefinaldraft.Getyourpaperintotheshapeyouwantitandeditasalaststepbeforeyouturnitin.PLANNING:Agoodearlystepinthewritingprocessisplanning.Accessyourwritingsituationbyaskingquestions:Subject: Isyoursubjectworthwritingabout?Howbroadlycanyoucoverthesubject?Doyou

needtonarrowittoamorespecifictopic?Howdetailedshouldyoube?

Sources:Wherewillyourinformationcomefrom:Personalexperience?Directobservation? Interviews?Questionnaires?Research?Coursereadings?Purpose: Whyareyouwriting:Toinformreaders?Topersuadethem?Toentertainthem?To

callthemtoaction?Somecombinationofthese?

Audience: Howwellinformedareyourreadersaboutthesubject?Whatdoyouwantthemtolearnaboutthesubject?Howinterestedandattentivearetheylikelytobe?Willtheyresistanyofyourideas?Howsophisticatedareyourreaders?

Length: Areyouworkingwithanylengthspecifications?Ifnot,whatlengthseemsappropriategivenyoursubject,yourpurpose,andyouraudience?

Deadline: Whatisyourdeadline?Howmuchtimewillyouneedtoallowforthevariousstagesofwriting,includingtypingandproofreadingthefinaldraft?FREEWRITINGAgreatplacetobeginafteraccessingthewritingsituationisFreewriting.Freewritingiswritingcontinuouslylettingthoughtsunselfconsciouslyflow(oftenforabout10to20mins)withoutregardtospelling,grammar,styleetc.,andnocorrectionsaremade.Thisisanexcellenttechniquetopushthroughwriter’sblockandtoexploreagiventopic.Sincewriter’sblockmeansthatyouaren’twriting,oneofthequickestwaystogetarounditistowriteanythingatall.Youcanwritewhateveryouarethinking,feeling,wonderingabout,ortryingtogetoutofyourmind—juststartwriting.Theonlyrulehereisthatyoumustnotstoptocorrectspelling,grammar,orpunctuation,orotherpartsofyourwriting.Setatimelimitforyourselfandjust

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keepwriting.Let’ssayyouweregiventhefollowingwritingassignmentontheGaryLarsoncartoonbelow:ExplaintheintendedhumorofthisGaryLarsoncartoon.Whyisitfunny?FREEWRITINGEXAMPLETohelpyougetstarted,youmighttryfreewritingfirst.Hereishowsomefreewritingmightlook:Okay—timetostartwriting—butwhattowrite??Thecartoonissortoffunny,butsowhat?WhatcouldIpossiblywriteaboutthis?Ireallydon’tknow.HowamIgoingtowriteawholepaperonthis!Ithoughtitwasfunny,butIdon’treallyknowwhy.AndI’llbetsomepeoplethinkit’sstupid.WhatcouldIwrite?MaybeIcould—no.WhydoIthinkit’sfunny?Well,partlybecauseI’vebeenstuckjustliketheguyinthepicture.IguessIkindofrelatetohim.Butit’salsofunnybecauseofthecow.Imean,anyoneknowswhatacow’sheadlookslike,sowhyisthisguyconfused?Maybethat’swhyit’sfunny.Hereallyshouldn’tbeconfused.Hehasn’teventhoughtofacow’sheadyet.IknowsomeartistsaretormentedgeniuseslikeVanGoghbutobviouslynotthisguy.Also,Ithinktheguy’sappearancelooksprettystrange.ForartistsInormallythinkofMichelangeloorPicasso,notthisguy.He’sreallyfreakingout—bug‐eyes—andhe’sjustanoverallstrangelookingguy.Also,he’smakingabigdealoutofsomethingsosimpleandobvious.Iguesswealldothatatonetimeoranother.Whataboutthecaption?Howdoesthataddtothehumorofit?Inormallythinkofartassomethingmorecomplicatedthancows.Artisusuallysortofloftyandgrandandthiscartoonseemstobemakingfunofthat.

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FREEWRITINGPRACTICEUsingthemostrecentlyassignedreadinginthiscourse,freewriteonitfor10‐15minutes.Donotstoptocorrectgrammarorspelling;justwriteyourreactiontoandthoughtsonwhatyouhaveread:

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BRAINSTORMINGBrainstorming:Brainstormingislikefreewritinginthatyouwritedownwhatevercomestomindwithoutstopping,butitisdifferentbecauseitlooksmorelikealistofwordsandphrasesthanastringofsentences.Here’sanexampleusing“TheArtist’sBlock”GaryLarsoncartoon:BRAINSTORMINGEXAMPLEExplaintheintendedhumorofthisGaryLarsoncartoon.Whyisitfunny?‐‐cowwithnohead‐‐manstuck—can’tthinkofacow’shead‐‐bug‐eyes‐‐lookofpanic‐‐frustration—handsbyhead‐‐fatstomach—scragglybeard‐‐artistsastormentedgeniuses,likeVanGogh‐‐artistsoftenfacepersonalstruggles‐‐otheranimalheads‐‐obviouslynottheanswer‐‐worryingoversomethingsimple—funny‐‐“artist’sblock”—usually“art”ishigher‐minded‐‐makingfunofloftyandgrandideasofwhatartisBRAINSTORMINGPRACTICEFocusingontheassignedreadingyoujustdida10‐15minutefreewriteon,brainstormyourreactiontoit:

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JOURNALISTS’QUESTIONSAsking questions: Another method used to gather ideas on a topic is to ask the “Journalists’Questions”(who,what,when,where,whyandhow)whichcauseyouto lookatallaspectsofyoursubject.Throughanswering thesequestions,youcandiscover interesting information thatyoucanuse forwriting. One student, whose subjectwas the negative reaction in 1915 to D.W. Griffith’ssilentfilmTheBirthofaNation,beganexploringhertopicwiththissetofquestions:

Whoobjectedtothefilm? Wherewereprotestsmoststronglyexpressed?Whatweretheobjections? Whydidprotestersobjecttothefilm?Whenwereprotestsfirstvoiced? Howdidprotestersmaketheirviewsknown?

JOURNALISTS’QUESTIONSPRACTICE:Examineyourparticularwritingtopicandcreatequestionsusingthefollowingquestionwords.Onceyoubeginansweringyourquestions,youwillhaveevenmorematerialyoucanusetomakeyourargument.WhoWhatWhenWhereWhyHow

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CLUSTERINGAfteryougenerate ideasonyour topic (usingmethods like freewritingandbrainstorming)youwillwant toselectcertain ideasand thencategorizeandorganizeyour information. One technique tohelpyougroupyour ideas iscalledclustering. Itdiffers frombrainstormingandfreewriting inthatwhatyoucreateisaninformalmap.Tocreateacluster,firstwritedownyourwritingpromptoryouranswertotheprompt(yourroughthesis)anddrawacirclearound it. Thenwritedownideasthatrespond to thewriting prompt and draw a circle around each new idea and connect them to thecenter. Clustering provides amental picture organizing the ideas you generate and showing howthey connect to one another. Here’s an example using the material generated on Larson:

Why did I laugh?

Because Larson is making fun of art as being pretentious

Cow as “art” purposefully silly

Mockery of the tormented artist

Appearance of artist not typical

fat

Bug eyes

Holding head

Over silly thing

Look of panic

Pokes fun at artist struggles

Cow with no head

Can’t think of correct head

Van Gogh

Cows are dumb animals

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CLUSTERINGPRACTICE:Examinethe ideasyouhavegeneratedontheassignedreading. Now, lookforwaystogroupyourinformationintosharedcategoriestocreateacluster:

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LISTING:

Anothermethodusedtoorganizeyourideasiscalledlisting.Thisisthemostinformalkindofoutlineinwhichyoujotdownyourmainpointsandpossiblesupportingexamplesanddetails. Thiskindofoutlineisforyouonly,andyoudon’tneedtoworryaboutmakingitmorecomprehensiveifitdoesthejobforyou.Manystudentsfindthiskindofoutlinehelpfulintakingtimedessayexamsbecauseitisbriefenoughtooccupyaverysmallspace,anditdoesn’ttakemuchtimetoproduce.Ifwelistour ideas in regards to the Larson cartoon instead of clustering them, here is how it might look:WhydidIlaugh??BecauseLarsonismakingfunofartasbeingpretentious1.Cowas“art”purposefullysilly ‐‐Cowwithnohead ‐‐Can’tthinkofcorrecthead

‐‐Cowsaredumbanimalstobeginwith2.Appearanceofartistnottypical ‐‐frustration ‐‐bug‐eyes ‐‐lookofpanic ‐‐holdinghead ‐‐fat3.Mockeryofthetormentedartist ‐‐Oversillything ‐‐Pokesfunatartiststruggles ‐‐VanGogh

LISTINGPRACTICE:Lookatyourfreewritingandbrainstormandgroupyourmainideasintosharedcategoriestocreatealistbelow:

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OUTLINING:Whyoutline?Onceyouhavesettledonathesisstatementandyourmainsupportingideas,youcanwriteaformaloutline,creatingthe“skeleton”ofyouressay.Lookingatyourideasthiswaycanhelpensure:• Yourmainpointsareon‐topicanddirectlysupportyourthesis• Youorderyourmainpointslogically• Youemphasizemoreimportantideasandsubordinatelessimportantideas• YouhavesufficientevidenceforeachofyourmainpointsHowtowriteaformaloutline:Beforeyoubegin:• Double‐checkthatyourthesisstatementmakesaclearandspecificclaimaboutyourtopic,a

claimyouwillthenneedtosubstantiateinthebodyofyouressay.Formoreinformationonhowtowriteastrongthesisstatement,seethe“ThesisStatements”section.

• Writeouteachofyoursupportingpointsincompletesentencesorclear,unambiguousphrases.Onceyouhaveeverythingready,youcanstarttoarrangeyourideasintoaformaloutline.1) Writeyourthesisstatementatthetopofthepage.2) Grouprelatedideasandcategorizethemaccordingtotheirlevelofgenerality—howgeneralor

specifictheyare.Inaformaloutline,thismeans:

• UseRomannumerals(I,II,III,IVetc.)foryourmajorpoints• Usecapitalletters(A,B,C)forsub‐points• Useregularnumbers(1,2,3,4)formorespecificsupportingideas• Uselower‐caseletters(a,b,c)foryourmostspecificsupportingdetails

Eachtimeyoumovetoamorespecificlevel,indent.

3)Arrangeyourmainpointsinalogicalorder.4)Re‐readandrevise.Justlikewriting,constructinganoutlineisaprocess,andyourfirst“draft”mightneedsomeadjustmentstoyourideasandorganization.

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SampleoutlineThesis:Thedystopiapresentedin1984representsnotonlyadanger,butthepossibleoutcomeofthefateofmankind,asOrwellsawit,withtheriseofpower‐hungrysupernationsmarchingtowardstherealmoftotalitarianrule;apremonitionofthefuturewhichmustbeheededlestaworkoffictionbecomereality.

I. Introductiona. Definetheidealofutopianisminthepre‐WWIIerab. DemonstratehowWWIIshatteredtheutopianmindsetc. Definetotalitarianism/dystopiad. OutlinethepossibledangersenvisionedbyOrwellandstatethesis

II. Socialism,CapitalismandthepotentialforTotalitarianisma. Orwellasasocialist

1) Whywriteabookthatseemstodamnsocialism(Ingsoc)?2) FearofthecrueltieshewitnessedinSpainandtheUSSR

b. Applicabilityoftotalitarianismtoanyformofgovernment1) Hownotjustsocialismcanfallintototalitarianism2) Thedriveforpowerandcontrolispresentinanyseatofauthority

III. TheworldofWorldWarIIa. ThemajorpowersofWWIIandtheirrepresentationin1984

1) AmericaandUK‐Oceania2) Russia‐Eurasia3) ChinaandJapan–Eastasia

b. Thedangersoftotalitarianism1) FascisminGermany,Italy/SpainandtheUSSR2) Crueltiesemployedtomaintainpower

c.TheextenttowhichthesetotalitariangovernmentswenttomaintainpowerIV. Whatisatriskifweheaddownthispath? a.Agovernmentshouldbeforthepeople,bythepeopleWemustn’tbedupedbyfears/liesintosurrenderingtoourgovernments b.IfwelosesightofthatwebecomeslavesWegiveupourrights(privacy,press,eventhought)

c. Peoplemustbetheirownadvocates1) Demandtheirrightsandmaintainasystemofchecksandbalances2) Thegovernorsshouldfearthegoverned

‐ConclusionOrwell’swarning–makethewestwearyoftheriseofcommunismAdapthismessagetomodernday–howitisstillapplicablenow

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Organizingyouroutline:Whendecidinghowtoorderyourpoints,yourfirstconsiderationshouldbelogic:howdoesonepointleaduptoorbuilduponanother.Additionally,youmightalsoconsider:

• Climax:Presentyourideassotheybuildtoaclimax,endingwithyourmostdramaticexamples.• Complexity:Startwithsimplerideasandbuildtomorecomplexones.• Familiarity:Startwithmorefamiliaridesandmovetowardsnewerones.• Audienceappeal:Startwith“safe”ideasandmovetomorechallengingones.Comparison/ContrastoutlinesOrganizationally,essaysthataskyoutocompareand/orcontrasttwoitemscanbechallenging.Thefollowingtwoformatscanhelpyouorganizeyourideas:Blockstyle:lookfirstatoneitemandthenthenext,usingthesamecriteriaeachtime.Forexample:I.Mitchell’sIceCreamA.ValueB.QualityofingredientsC.Taste

II.CiaoBellaIceCreamA.ValueB.QualityofingredientsC.Taste

Point‐by‐point:Lookatthetwoitemssimultaneously,comparingthemonthesamecriteria.Forexample:I.ValueA.Mitchell’sIceCreamB.CiaoBellaIceCream

II.QualityofingredientsA.Mitchell’sIceCreamB.CiaoBellaIceCream

III.TasteA.Mitchell’sIceCreamB.CiaoBellaIceCream

Someotherhintsforusingoutlineseffectively:• Outliningisbetterfororganizingideasthangeneratingthem.Itwillbeeasierforyoutoconstruct

aformaloutlineifyou’vefirstthoroughlyexploredyourideasthroughfreewriting,brainstorming,clustering,etc.

• Printoutyouroutlineandhaveitnexttoyouasyourwritesothatyoucanreferenceiteasily.• Useyouroutlineasaguide,butdon’tbeafraidtodeviatefromitifyoufindyourideasare

changingasyouwrite.

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OutliningChecklist:“Bywritinganoutlineyoureallyarewritinginaway,becauseyou’recreatingthestructureofwhatyou’regoingtodo.OnceIreallyknowwhatI’mgoingtowrite,Idon’tfindtheactualwritingtakesallthatlong.”‐‐TomWolfe

Pleasewritefeedbackonyourclassmates’outlinesfocusingonthefollowingareas:(1) Thesis:Doesthethesismakeastatementthatcanbeargued?Askyourself,canIdisagree?If

youcannotdisagree(ifthethesisjuststatesafact),advisetheauthorhowtoaddopinion.Also,isthereaclear“sowhat?”Sowhatisimportantaboutthis?Sowhatisthesignificance?

(2) Organization:Doestheoutlinelistthesupportingpointsinaclearorder?Whatorganizational

patternisbeingused?Howcantheorderbeclearerorimproved?(3) Supportingpoints:Doeseachsupportingpointdirectlyprovethethesis?

Isthereaclearexampleillustratingeachofthesupportingpoints?Istheauthorusingexamplesfromthereading?Ifnot,suggestideastheauthorcouldusetobetterprovehis/herpoints.Couldtheauthorimproveorreplaceanyofthesupportingpointsortextualexamples?

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DRAFTING:(fromPurdueUniversity)

TheFirstDraft

Theprosetransformationascompositionfinallybegins

Beforeyoubeginwriting,youshouldhaveathesisorquestionthatyou'recomfortablewithandanoutlinethatgivesyoustructureonwhatyouneedtosayandwhere.Nowjusttakepentopaperorfingerstokeyboardandwrite."Sure,easiersaidthandone,"youmightbethinking.Fairenough,butyoudon’thave tocomeupwithpolishedprose. It canbeas roughasyouwant it tobe.Andwithpractice,itdoesgeteasierandfaster.

Believe it or not, drafting should be the least time‐consuming step in the research paper process.Inventionshouldtakelonger.Researchshouldtakelonger.Andrevisingshoulddefinitelytakelonger.If it's taking you a month of Sundays just to eke out a thousand words, two things could behappening:

1. youdon'thaveanycluewhatyoushouldbesaying(inwhichcasemeetwithatutororyourinstructor)or...

2. you'rerevisingwhileyoudraftsothatyouendupwithonesentenceanhour.

Ifit'sthelatter(asitoftenis),separateyourdutiesout.Withineverywriter,thereisaCreatorandaCritic.TellyourCritictogotosleepforthisstepandwakeupforthenextone.LetyourCreatorshinefornow.

Ifyouarestillhavingdifficultiesstartingthedraft,checkoutsomemorepointersbelow:SymptomsandCuresforWriter'sBlockBecausewritershavevariouswaysofwriting,avarietyofthingscancauseawritertoexperienceanxiety,andsometimesthisanxietyleadstowriter'sblock.Oftenasolutioncanbefoundbyspeakingwithyourinstructor.Therearesomecommoncausesofwriter'sblock,however,andwhenyouareblocked,considerthesecausesandtrythestrategiesthatsoundmostpromising:

SymptomYouhaveattemptedtobeginapaperwithoutdoinganypreliminaryworksuchasbrainstormingoroutlining...

PossibleCures

• Useinventionstrategieslikefreewriting,brainstorming,writingresponsestotheJournalists’questions

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• Writedownalltheprimaryideasyou'dliketoexpressandthenfillineachwiththesmallerideasthatmakeupeachprimaryidea.Thiscaneasilybeconvertedintoanoutline.

SymptomYouhavechosenorbeenassignedatopicwhichboresyou....

PossibleCures

• Chooseaparticularaspectofthetopicyouareinterestedin• Figureouthowyoucanpersonalizeatopictomakeitmoreinteresting

SymptomYoudon'twanttospendtimewritingordon'tunderstandtheassignment...

PossibleCures

• Resignyourselftothefactthatyouhavetowrite• Findoutwhatisexpectedofyou(consultateacher,textbook,student,tutor)• Lookatsomeofthestrategiesforwritinganxietylistedbelow

SymptomYouareanxiousaboutwritingthepaper...

PossibleCures

• Focusyourenergybyrehearsingthetaskinyourhead.• Consciouslystopthenon‐productivecommentsrunningthroughyourheadbyreplacingthem

withproductiveones.• Ifyouhavesome"rituals"forwritingsuccess(chewinggum,listeningtojazzetc.),usethem.

SymptomYouaresostressedoutyoucan'tseemtoputawordonthepage...

PossibleCures

• Stretch!Ifyoucan'tstandup,stretchasmanymusclegroupsaspossiblewhilestayingseated.

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• Trytensingandreleasingvariousmusclegroups.Startingfromyourtoes,tenseupforperhapsfivetotensecondsandthenletgo.Relaxandthengoontoanothermusclegroup.

• Breathedeeply.Closeyoureyes;then,fillyourchestcavityslowlybytakingfouroffiveshortdeepbreaths.Holdeachbreathuntilithurts,andthenletitoutslowly.

• Useacalmingwordormentalimagetofocusonwhilerelaxing.Ifyouchooseaword,becarefulnottouseanimperative.Don'tcommandyourselfto"Calmdown!"or"Relax!"

SymptomYou'reself‐consciousaboutyourwriting,youmayhavetroublegettingstarted.So,ifyou'repreoccupiedwiththeideathatyouhavetowriteaboutasubjectandfeelyouprobablywon'texpressyourselfwell...

PossibleCures

• Talkoverthesubjectwithafriendortutor.• Assureyourselfthatthefirstdraftdoesn'thavetobeaworkofgenius;itissomethingtowork

with.• Forceyourselftowritedownsomething,howeverpoorlyworded,thatapproximatesyour

thought(youcanrevisethislater)andgoonwiththenextidea.• Breakthetaskupintosteps.Meetthegeneralpurposefirst,andthenfleshoutthemore

specificaspectslater.

REVISING:“Thereisnosuchthingasgoodwriting,onlygoodrewriting”‐‐LouisBrandels

“Whenstudentscompletetheirfirstdraft,theyconsiderthejobofwritingdone.Whenprofessionalwriterscompleteafirstdraft,theyusuallyfeelthattheyareatthestartofthewritingprocess.Whenadraftiscompleted,thejobofwritingcanbegin.”‐‐DonaldMurray

Revising:Forexperiencedwriters,revisinginrarelyaone‐stepprocess.Whenyoureviseapaper,thelargerelementsofwritinggenerallyreceiveattentionfirst—thefocus,organization,paragraphing,content,andoverallstrategy.Improvementsinsentencestructure,wordchoice,grammar,punctuation,andmechanicscomelaterwhenyoueditthepaper.MakeGlobalRevisions:Globalrevisionsaddressthelargerelementsofwriting.Usuallytheyaffectchunksoftextlongerthanasentence,andfrequentlytheycanbequitedramatic.Wholeparagraphsmightbedropped,others

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added.Materialoncestretchedovertwoorthreeparagraphsmightbecondensedintoone.Entiresectionsmightberearranged.Eventhecontentmightchangedramatically,fortheprocessofrevisingstimulatesthought.

IMPORTANTREVISIONQUESTIONSTOASKYOURSELF...

• Doesyourtitlegivereadersagoodideaofwhat'stocome?(Haveyoucomeupwithoneyet?Remember,"Assignment#3"isnotatitle!)

• Isyourthesisstatementorresearchquestionclearlystated?• Isthereenoughlead‐inintheintroductiontoestablishtheimportanceofandcontextforthe

statement/question?Istheretoomuch?Toolittle?Bytheendoftheintroduction,isitcleartotheaudiencewhatkindofmaterialwillfollow?Ifso,aretheseexpectationsfulfilled,thatis,doyoufollowthrough?

• Isitclearwhereyourintroductionendsandbodybeginsandwherethebodyendsandtheconclusionbegins?Inotherwords,areyourparagraphindentsmeaningful?

• Atthesametime,aretheretransitionsbetweenallsectionsandparagraphstocreateflowandunity?

• Doeseachbodyparagraphhaveatopicsentence?Ifyoutookyourthesis/questionandallyourtopicsentences,wouldthatcorrespondtowhatyouwanttosayinyourpaper?Ifnot,doyouneedtoreviseyourthesis/questionorre‐examineyoursubpoints?

• Dothetopicsentences(1)makeaconnectionbackwiththethesis/question,(2)establishalinkwiththepreviousparagraph'scontent(perhapsthechronologicalrelationship,anycomparisons/contrasts?)and(3)giveenoughinformationthattheaudiencecouldguesswhereaparticularparagraph'sdevelopmentwouldlead?

• Withorwithoutaformalconcludingsentence,doyousomewhereneartheendofeachparagraphremindreaderswhyyouaresayingwhatyouaresayingbymovingbackuptoabstract,generalterms?

• Doestheorderofparagraphsmakesense?(e.g.,maybethetransitionsseemforcedbecausetheyaren'tintherightorder)

• Areyourparagraphstooshortortoolong?Istheresomecombiningorseparatingofissuesthatneedstotakeplace?Ordoyousimplyneedtogeneratemorecontentordeleteirrelevantmaterial?

• Areyourexamplesreliable,representative,andconvincing?Arethereenoughofthem(ortoomany)todevelopthemainideaoftheparagraphinthewordcountyouhaveavailable?

• Areyoursourcesconvincing?Isthereenoughbalancebetweenyourowninsightsandexpertopinions?

• Areallsourcesanddirectquotationsexplainedorhaveyouleftthemstandingontheirown?• Hasanythingthatgoesofftopicorisnotessentialbeencut?• Doestheconclusionsaysomethingdifferentfromyourintroduction?Doesitleaveagood

lastingimpression?Doesitendthepaperonastrongandinterestingnote?

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EDITING/PROOFREADING:(fromPurdueUniversity)

Thefinaltouches

Believeitornot,nowthatyou'vehopefullyfinishedmajorrevisions,thehardestpartisreallyover!Yourgoalatthispointisnotsomuchtofocusoncontentbutonsentencelevelissuesandcarelessmistakesthatdistractyourreadersfromyourmainideas.

Here'sachecklistforsomefinishingtouches:

• Checkoutyourverbtenses.Don'tfeelyouhavetocompletelyavoidthe"passive"tense(e.g.,"theballwascaught")butdefinitelytrytohaveMOREsubject‐verb"active"sentences;theyaddpowerandagencytoyourwriting(e.g.,"Billycaughttheball").

• Alsomakesureyourverbsareintherighttense.Ifyou'retalkingaboutliterature,keepthetenseinwhatiscalled"theliterarypresent."Soasentenceinyouressaytosetupanexamplewouldread"WhenHanatellsCaravaggioabouttheEnglishpatient..."Ifyou'rewritingahistoricalpaperthough,pasttenseismoresuitable.

• Readyouressayoutloudtolistenforeitherawkwardorlongsentencesthatcouldbeclarifiedorbrokenuptoreadbetter.

• Checkyourpunctuation.Fixanyerrorswithquotationmarks,commas,semicolons,colons,dashes,etc.

• Lookforgrammaticalflaws.Beespeciallyonthealertformistakesyoumakeoften.

• Checkyourdiction(wordchoice).Ifyou'relookingforabetterword,lookupsomepossibilitiesinathesaurusorifyou'rehavingusageproblems(affectvs.effectforexample),thencheckoutawriter’shandbook(therearemanyaccessibleonline).

• Nowyoucancheckyourspellingbothwithacomputerspell‐checkerandwithyourowneyestocatchthosewordsthatarespelledrightbutusedinthewrongcontext(liketherevs.theirvs.they're).Someoneelse'seyesaregreatatthispointbecauseyou'reprobablytooclosetoyourownwriting.Youcanalsocheckwordsouttheold‐fashionedway‐‐withadictionary.

• Workonthepresentationofyourpaper:usealaser‐printerifyoucan(orelseyourbestink‐jet)on8.5x11inchpaper,doublespaceyourlines,maintain1inchmargins,andprepareatitlepagewithanoriginaltitleandyourvitalstudentinfo.Alsomakesureyourfontisveryreadable(TimesNewRomanisthemostcommon)andin12point.

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EssayChecklist:Forastrong,unifiedessaythatalsofitsalltherequirementsforthecourse,checkoffallofthefollowing:

StudentName(s):

PAPERTOPIC:

____Theessayisfocusedonandanalyzesthereading____Theessayisanargumentnotasummary

PAPERFORMATTING:____Theessayisdoublespacedwith1inchmarginsatthetop,sidesandbottomofeachpage____Thereisnoextraspacingbetweenparagraphs;just10‐15spaceindentsatstartofeachparagraph____Theessaymeetstheminimumpagerequirements

MLAFORMAT:____ThereisaMLAformattedtitlepage____ThereisMLAstylenumberingoneachpageinthetoprightwithyourlastnameandpagenumber____Thenamesofthetextsareproperlyformatted(namesoflongerworkslikesbooksandplaysareitalicizedorunderlined,andtitlesofshorterworkslikechaptertitlesandshortstoriesareinquotes)

PAPERTITLES:____Thepapertitleisappropriate,creativeanddrawsinreaderinterest

PLAGIARISM:____Ihavenotplagiarizedinthispaper____Ihavecitedallborrowedideasandputallborrowedlanguageinquotes____IknowtherepercussionsifIhaveplagiarized

QUOTINGandPARAPHRASING:____Ihaveincludedquotesandparaphrasesfromthereading____Allquotesareconnectedtophrasesthatintroducethem—thereareno“dropped”quotes____Ihavefollowedallquoteswithpagenumbersinparenthesis(and/orauthordependingoncitation)____Allquotesfitinlogicallyandareaccompaniedwithanalysisthatexpressesthequote’ssignificance

RESEARCH,IN‐TEXTCITATIONS,ANDWORKSCITED:____IincludedaWorkCitedpage____Iusedcrediblesourcesinthepaper____Iincludedtherequiredminimumofsources____Iusedresearchtosupportmyargumentsnottotakeoverthepaper

INTRODUCTION:____Myintroductionnamesthetext(s)Iamanalyzing(title&author)____Myintroductioncontainsaclear,original,effectivethesisstatementfocusedonthereading____Myintroductionisengaging,drawsmyreaderin,andprovidesnecessarycontext

BODYPARAGRAPHS:____Eachparagraphhasacleartopicsentencestatingaclaimthatdirectlysupportsthethesis____Eachparagraphfocusesonprovingoneclearpoint____Eachparagraphcontainssupportinginformation(evidence)andexplanation(Sowhat?”)

CONCLUSION:____Theconclusionisengaginganddoesnotsimplysummarizethepointsalreadymadeinthepaper

GRAMMAR‐PUNCTUATION‐SPELLING:____Thepaperiscarefullyproofreadandthesentence‐levelerrorshavebeencorrected