ENGL-2333RTechnical Writing I

Guide to College Writing - 4th Edition, Dial-Driver, Emily

Pages 5 - 58

Writing Process

1. Pre-Writing
   1.  Free-Writing
      1. Let ideas flow from brain to paper on a subject, if you cannot think of anything write you cannot think of anything
      2. Give self time limit
      3. Pick out meaty topics from what you wrote
      4. If necessary repeat process with meaty topic
   2. Brainstorming
      1. Make a list of ideas that occur to you on a subject
      2. words or phrases
      3. self or group
      4. Repeat to narrow down topic
   3. Mapping
      1. Similar to brainstorming
      2. Center of paper has topic
      3. from there connect it to subtopics
      4. Subtopics can be broken to smaller topics
      5. Repeat till you have exhausted topic
   4. Journalists' Questions
      1. Who
      2. What
      3. When
      4. Where
      5. How
      6. Why
   5. Reading for Writing
      1. Read to critically learn about the subject
      2. Not all assignments will let you do this
2. Planning
   1. Writing for a Purpose
      1. Inform
      2. Explain
      3. Persuade
      4. Entertain
      5. Explore
      6. Some writing will combine these
      7. Mostly you will write to inform (as a college student)
   2. Writing for an Audience
      1. How much does the audience know about your subject
      2. What vocabulary should you use
      3. What preconceptions do you have to work against
3. Organization
   1. The College Essay
      1. An essay is brief
      2. Essay is non-fiction
      3. An essay makes a point
      4. An essay is meant to be engaging
      1. Formal Essay Organization
         1. There are various types
         2. Easiest is the three-section essay
            1. Introduction
               1. Get readers attention
               2. Move from general topic to specific topic
            2. Body
               1. Each paragraph will have a topic sentence
               2. Develop that topic in paragraph
            3. Conclusion
               1. Unify theme
               2. summarize main points
      2. Writing Hints
         1. Plan
         2. Choose an audience and write to that audience
      3. Stylistic Hints
         1. underline names of Books and TV shows. Titles of TV shows, titles of short stories, poems etc. Should be in quotation marks
         2. Avoid the use of the word you
         3. Do not use contractions
         4. Do not use "This paper will show..." or similar terms
         5. Do not use there at beginning of sentence. Do not use it as subject of sentence
         6. Avoid absolutes (Everyone, always, etc.)
         7. Use great care in the mechanics of writing (spelling, punctuation, etc.)
         8. Use active voice
         9. Use present tense consistently
         10. Do not refer to people by first name , last name only, and avoid Mr., Mrs. and other titles of honor
      4. The Organizing Page - helps you organize your thoughts
         1. Step 1 General Topic - What is your topic
         2. Step 2 Restricted Topic - Parameters of assignment
            1. Audience
            2. Purpose
            3. time
            4. length
         3. Step 3 Subject Segments - two or three thoughts that will become paragraphs
         4. Step 4Title - Develop a working title
         5. Step 5 Thesis Statement - Expresses the main idea of the essay
         6. Step 6 Topic Sentences - develop main topic sentences that will your paragraph topics
      5. Outlines
    
   2. Paragraphs
      1. Development
         1. Topic sentence is usually first sentence in paragraph
         2. Sentences after this should support the main sentence
         3. There should be at least two supporting points.
      2. Coherence and Unity
         1. Unity - all the sentences work together as a whole
         2. Coherence - consistency and logical progression
            1. Types of organization
               1. Spatial order
               2. Work through a pattern (like a house)
               3. Start at one location and go to the next, not jump around from one to the other
               4. Chronological Order - order things in the order that they happen
               5. Order of importance - arrange things in the order of importance from most to least
   3. Patterns of Development for Paragraphs and Essays
      1. Narration - telling a story
      2. Description - describe sensory experiences or describe a person or persons
      3. Example - one long or a series of short samples of information
      4. Definition -
         1. Explain what a word or phrase means
         2. form is: Word = general class + differentiating characteristics (Discophile is a collector of records)
         3. Kind of example development
      5. Process - tells us to do something - series of steps
         1. Remember the audience
         2. Introduce the subject early in the paragraph
         3. Tell all the steps
         4. Tell all the steps in order
         5. In this type of essay you may use the word "you"
      6. Comparison (and Contrast)
         1. Contrast - to emphasize differences
         2. Compare - delineate their similarities and differences
         3. Patterns that can be done
            1. Grouping by similarity and difference
            2. Grouping by subject
            3. Grouping by point
      7. Analogy - comparison between things that are not usually consider similar
      8. Division and Classification - Division divides things, classification groups things
      9. Analysis/Cause and Effect - begin with fact and goes backwards to find out what happened.
      10. Argumentation/Persuation - attempt to persuade the reader to your view
4. Revision - review or have someone review and then you revise according to:
   1. Essay Organization
   2. Introductory Section - clear and leads to Thesis statement
   3. Thesis Statement - clear and specific
   4. Body Paragraphs - each paragraph is clear and fully developed. Remove what does not support.
   5. Conclusion - does not introduce new material
   6. Editing - Checking spelling, sentence structure, grammar, usage and punctuation
5. Manuscript preparation - Follow example in the book for spacing (p. 58)