Thinking Like a Writer

1
Thinking Like a Writer

• The Basics

2
Organizing Your Essay

• Paragraph One
• Introduction
• Attention getter
• Transitional sentence
• Clear statement of topic

3
Organizing Your Essay

• Paragraphs 2-?
• Body
• Paragraphs consist of
• Point
• Support
• As much as possible
• Text references

4
Organizing Your Essay

• Final Paragraph
• Conclusion
• Two or three sentences
• Basic restatement of introduction
• Make it feel like the end!!

5
How to Never be Wrong

• TEXT REFERENCES!!!!!
• Use quotes!!!
• Talk about the text
• Use specific page numbers

6
How to Never be Wrong

• Examples
• In Animal Farm, on page 17, Old Major begins
  talking about the revolution.
• On page 17, Old Major says, Lets start a
  revolution.
• In one important part, Old Major says, Lets
  start a revolution. (p. 17)

7
Some Important Rules

• Punctuate quotes correctly!!!
• Book titles are always underlined or italicized!!
• No first person!! (I, me, my, we, our, ours, us,
  etc)
• No second person (you)

8
Some Important Rules

• No referring to yourself at all!! (This reader,
  this student, one student etc)
• No announcing introduction or conclusion (This
  paper will be about, This paper was about)
• PROOFREAD AND SPELLCHECK!!!!!