WRITING MADE BETTERGreat hooks, fantastic transitions and phenomenal endings!

HOW TO BEGIN…

When some one wants to come and rob you, they don’t hand you a note…

ACTION, NOT TELLING

To focus on the main idea and show your audience, organize and produce.

Use an organizer to write down your topic and the points you want to make.

Select the most important point of the three. Now close your eyes and take a picture.

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

PRACTICE

Main Idea and Supporting Details

Main Idea •Smoking is not healthy and can take years off of your life.•Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer in the U. S. A.•Smoking causes heart attacks•Smoking causes respiratory problems

Main Idea •Smoking is not cool•People who smoke look filthy•People who smoke stink•People who smoke pollute the air we breathe•smoking stains your teeth, your fingers and your hair.•walking around with a cigarette in your hand or mouth does not really look cool.

© Scott Foresman-Addison 2

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

NOW, WRITE WHAT YOU SEE

Practice…

THE THESIS STATEMENT:

The thesis statement is very important since it tells the audience what to expect from your paper. You want to “hook” them in right away, so you need to draw that word picture to do that. Then SHOW them what you will discuss…do NOT tell them!

Let’s Practice on the whiteboard.

TRANSITIONS…

There are ways to link ideas in sentences & paragraphs together effectively. There are specific ways…

One way is called Addition & sequence… Use these words when adding information:

In addition, also, again, furthermore, then, next, first, second, third, last, finally, moreover, and further.

ADDITION & SEQUENCE PRACTICE

Smoking is a very disgusting habit. It makes your health suffer in many ways. It causes lung cancer It causes heart disease It causes other diseases too. It makes you smell bad

CAUSE AND EFFECT

Words to show cause and effect include: As a result, because, consequently, for, for this

reason, hence, so , then, therefore, thus.

PRACTICE…

Smoking is a dangerous habit that many people take for granted.

Many people eventually suffer from lung cancer, heart disease and other health problems.

People should not smoke.

COMPARE OF CONTRAST…

When you compare (similarities), you should use words like: Also, in the same way, likewise, or similarly.

When you use contrast (differences), use these: Although, at the same time, but, conversely, even so,

however, in contrast, nevertheless, on the contrary, otherwise, still, yet.

COMPARISON PRACTICE:

Lungs turn dirty brown rather than pink. The blood vessels become clogged with

plaque. The heart pumps harder to get oxygen into

the blood.

CONTRAST PRACTICE…

Teens think that the effects of smoking will not harm them now.

That does not mean they will not be harmed later on in life.

They are being harmed now whether they realize it or not.

EXAMPLE…

So we want to add an example to help support our points. Use the following: For example, for instance, in fact, indeed, of

course, specifically, that is, to illustrate

Let’s tie the sentence from the previous slide to some facts by example.

PRACTICE

They are being harmed now whether they realize it or not.

Sexual function is affected by smokingBreathing is affected by smokingPlaying sports is not as easyThey need a job to support their habit

SUMMARY OR CONCLUSION:

You will need to write a strong conclusion that leaves your audience thinking, challenged, afraid. You want them to act on what you said. There are techniques for doing this and we will look at those next, but to lead into the conclusion use these: As I have said, consequently, in any event, to

summarize, in brief, in conclusion, in other words, to sum up, on the whole, that is, therefore.

PRACTICE

Final paragraph: Too many teens think that smoking looks

cool. Conclusion:

Smoking causes health related issues and affects young people in many negative ways. Why would any one want to start this filthy habit when they know all of this? Think about it before you try it.

WRITING A STRONG CONCLUSION:

Good endings grow from good beginnings. You take what you said in the first sentence or thesis and draw a conclusion based on that.

Let’s say this was your thesis… Imagine waking up one day and gasping for

breath because you have had bronchitis every winter for the past few years. Perhaps that is because you are a smoker and this never happened before.

HOW TO BUILD OFF OF THE THESIS…

You want to conclude, so draw a conclusion based on the beginning of your essay. Picture some one waking up coughing and hacking away.

Now, what conclusions can you draw?

TRY IT OUT…

SO WHAT?

With the proper techniques for writing, you can make your work shine even if you don’t think you are the best writer. You need to draw pictures for your audience, not be a robber who hands the audience a note telling them he’s going to rob their house.