Writing

Process
"I don't know where my ideas come from. ... The idea for any cartoon (my
experience, anyway) is rarely spontaneous. Good ideas usually evolve out of
pretty lame ones, and vice versa.... Some cartoons spring forth from just
staring stupidly at a blank sheet of paper and thinking about aardvarks or
toaster ovens or cemeteries or just about anything, and others come out of
doodles' that I continually enter into a sketchbook."
-Gary Larson,
The Prehistory of The Far Side

Proceed with a Process

Writing, like drawing, is a creative process that begins with an idea.

How do you turn an idea into a piece of writing? Do you start off with one idea
and then replace it with something better? Maybe you stay with the same idea
and gradually craft it into something special. In any case, at some point you
must put your idea on paper. Having a good system for getting ideas from
brain to paper will make your life as a writer much easier.
Write Away: Putting the Plan into Action
Use the strategies in this chapter to complete your next writing assignment.
These strategies work for any type of writing.

Prewriting
Prewriting is the stage during which you explore key aspects of writing- why
you are writing, whom you are writing for, what you need to say, and how you
need to say it. Where do you start?

1. Asking Questions

"I always know the ending that's where I start” - Toni Morrison
You can use the following questions to help you get started. Don't worry; you
don't have to know all of the answers before you begin to develop a topic. As
you work through the writing process, you'll probably change mind about
some things. You can always revisit these questions to see whether your
writing is accomplishing what you want it to
Questions to Ask Yourself
Purpose Why am I writing this piece?
Am I writing to entertain, inform, or persuade?
What personal need does it fulfill?
What effect do I want to have on my readers?
Topic Is my topic assigned, or can I choose it?
What would be interested in writing about?
What do I already know about my topic?
Audience Who is my audience?
What might they already know about my topic?
What do they need to know?
What about the topic might interest them?
What approach and language might they respond to be
Form What form will work best?
Which of the following forms would be most suited to my
purpose, topic, and audience
• essay letter poem research paper script
short story
speech review news article
“Many of my story ideas come from my life, but in many cases I use something
interesting that has happened to me as a trigger for my imagination.” --Judith
Ortiz Coler
2. Exploring a Topic

Sometimes you're assigned a topic to write about. Sometimes you choose your
own, in either case, explore your topic to find a fresh, unique way to write
about it. You might use one of these methods

 Freewriting

Freewriting is a way of discovering what you know or think about a topic by

writing rapidly, without stopping
Here's How Freewriting
• Focus on a topic
• Set a time limit-for example, ten minutes
•Write as quickly and continuously as you can. Then read what you wrote
• Circle the best ideas, and freewrite about them for a few more minutes

 Listing
If you find yourself with a lot of ideas about a topic, the fastest way to get
them down is by fisting them. Jot down phrases or even just words. When you
are done, see which item on the list strikes you as the most interesting. You can
then make a second list of ideas related to the item you selected
 Clustering
If you like to use graphic organizers to explore ideas, try clustering. Write your
idea in the center of a piece of paper and circle it. Outside the circle, write
related ideas. Circle these and draw lines connecting them to your topic.

3. Refining a Topic

Once you’ve explored your topic, you’ll want to see if it’s a manageable size.
Choose from the following options when you need to refine your topic.
 Create a rough outline about your topic to get an idea of how much
information you will need to cover. If there is too much material, look for
a narrower topic within your outline.
 Ask yourself what aspect of your topic your readers would be most
interested in.
 Check books about your topic to see how information is arranged in the
tables of contents. See if there is a subheading that fits your topic.
4. Gathering and Organizing Ideas

Before you start writing, you'll need to spend some time gathering and
organizing ideas. Your search for information may lead you to an interview
with an expert or to a magazine article that raises new questions about your
topic.
5. Developing Research Questions
Suppose you decided to write about Sherpas, guides for mountain climbers in
Nepal and Tibet. To help focus your search for information, make a list of
questions that you want answered.
1. Who are Sherpas?
2. What do they do?
3. Why are they important?
 6. Finding and Organizing Ideas

You can find ideas about your topic in a number of ways. You can draw on any
of your personal experiences that are related to the topic, or you can do
research. Your research can include personal observations or secondary
sources such as books and magazines. When you have finished gathering ideas,
you can organize them by using such graphic devices as Venn diagrams flow
charts, or outlines.
“When I'm in the field on assignment… I assiduously record my thoughts and
observations in notebooks, and sometimes on tape” -Jon Krakauer
Getting the Message Across
What makes New York City "great"? After reading the first postcard, would you
know? What additional details does the second postcard give? The postcards
show that although you can express an idea in a single sentence, you usually
need a paragraph to develop your idea.
Write Away: An Extraordinary Place
Write a paragraph about a place you have visited (for example, a museum, a
park, or an interesting city). Describe why you think this place is amazing. What
details would interest your readers?
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Building Effective Sentences
1) Expressing Thoughts Effectively

Before you can write effective paragraphs, you need to know how to write
effective sentences. A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete
thought. An effective sentence doesn’t confuse the reader with incomplete
information

STUDENT MODEL

DRAFT

Children once worked a lot. Many even held full-time

Without context, these sentences do not give the reader enough information.

REVISION

Between 1990 and boys and girls under the of 15 held full-time

Notice how the missing information answers questions a reader might have.
Don't think that an effective sentence has to be long! Short sentences can also
give the right amount of information.
This morning I awoke to the sound of sirens instead of the blare of my alarm
clock. I had overslept again!

2)Making Your Words Picture Perfect

Specific details and effective word choice can replace boring, lifeless words and
make your sentences more interesting. Notice how this sentence changes as
more details are added.

The smell woke people up.

- Use more specific verbs and nouns.
The scent rose to stir the household.
- Add adjectives and replace household with specific nouns.
The warm scent rose to stir the boarders, the aunts, the uncles, the visiting
cousins.
- Add prepositional phrases.
The warm scent of batter rose in the drafty halls to stir the boarders, the aunts,
the uncles .... in their rooms.

3)Cutting Out the Fluff

When you add details, make sure they relate to your sentence and provide
necessary information. Unnecessary details can make your sentences lengthy
and complicated.
*Look what happens when a sentence has too many details
STUDENT MODEL

DRAFT
I believe that in order for teenagers to become responsible at home they
should have several duties although too many duties Wouldn't be fair, either
*Unnecessary details clutter the sentence

REVISION
In order for teenagers to become responsible at home, they should have
several duties.

Here's How Revising for Unnecessary Details

1. Determine what information your readers need to know.
2. Eliminate any unimportant or related details.
3. Delete empty sentences that repeat ideas.

PRACTICE: Writing Effective Sentences

Revise the following sentences by following the directions in parentheses

1. The girl drives a car. Describe the girl. How does she drive? What kind of
car does she drive?
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 2. We will plant a tree. (Who will plant a tree? Where will the tree be
planted? What kind of tree is it?
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3. Everyday I walk to school and see the 100-year-old church when I walk in
the morning and afternoon. (Remove repetitive ideas)
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4. During the month of August. we visit my cousins in California because we

enjoy visiting them. (Remove unimportant details)
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Writing Effective Paragraphs

What Is a Paragraph?

A paragraph is a group of sentences that work together to develop a single

main idea. A paragraph may stand alone, as in a one-paragraph answer to a test
question, or it may be part longer piece of writing. A well-organized, well-
developed paragraph has the following characteristics
• Unity -Each sentence supports the main idea

· Coherence - All sentences relate to one another.

The four main kinds of paragraphs are descriptive, narrative, informative (or
expository), and persuasive.
Descriptive Paragraphs

When you write a descriptive paragraph, you create a picture of a person,

place, event, or object. You want your reader to experience- see, hear, feel,
taste, and smell-whatever you are describing.
Notice how the narrator describes a childhood memory of her hometown

PRACTICE A: Writing a Descriptive Paragraph

Write a descriptive paragraph about the picture shown here. You might want
to describe the setting (for example the soccer game, the players. the location,
and so forth) using sensory details.
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Narrative Paragraphs

A narrative paragraph tells a story or relates an event. It may be based on fact,

on imagination, or on both. It has a clear sequence - a beginning, a middle, and
an end. The following paragraph tells how the narrator forces her mother to
give up the idea that her daughter will become a child genius.

PRACTICE B Writing a Narrative Paragraph

Write a narrative paragraph telling the events in a scene from your favorite
movie, story, music video, novel, or television show.
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Informative Paragraphs
An informative paragraph, also called an expository paragraph, presents facts
or examples, explains ideas, or defines terms. For example, you can use an
informative paragraph to answer an essay question, write a research paper, or
explain how something works.
PRACTICE C Writing an Informative Paragraph
Look at the diagram shown here of a simplified grazing food chain. Then write
an informative paragraph that explains the process of this food.

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Persuasive Paragraphs

A persuasive paragraph gives logical reasons to support an opinion. You can

use this type of paragraph to convince the reader to hold a certain opinion or
to act in a particular way. Once you have clearly defined your opinion, consider
who you are writing for and then choose appropriate language and details that
will appeal to your audience.

PRACTICE D Writing a Persuasive Paragraph

Choose one of the topics below and write a persuasive paragraph that either
defends or opposes the statement.
1. Air pollution is/is not a serious issue.

2. The school year should be/should not be extended

3. Television has a beneficial/harmful effect on young children.

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