Introduction to Writing

1
Introduction to Writing

• Marylee Colvin
• CI 350
• Marshall University

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Why do we write?

• We write to inform
• We write to express thoughts
• We write to be creative

3
What do you like to write?

• Stories?
• Poems?
• Articles?
• Journals/Diaries?
• Essays?

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If you write something, like a story or an essay,
you want it to be written correctly. You should
always check for punctuation, grammar, and
spelling errors before you are finished. Check
these sentences and find the mistakes in each one.

• my dog scooter likes two runn and play in our
  Yard.
• What time should we meat at the mall.
• Her mothers name is betty and she is very nise.
• My favorite foods is pizza chicken and mashed
  potatos.
• jimmy my brother is very smart he makes good
  grades

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What are paragraphs for?

• Paragraphs help us distinguish when one topic
  stops, and another one begins. We indent the
  beginning of the new paragraph to show that we
  are writing about a new topic or idea, or adding
  on to the idea before. So instead of running on
  without stopping, we can chop our ideas up into
  sections that play off of each other.

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You try it!

• Okay, I want you to write a story about yourself,
  using paragraph form. Use at least 3 paragraphs
  in your story. Dont forget to check for errors!

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Common errors to watch for

• Spelling
• Punctuation in the middle and at the end of a
  sentence
• Capitalization of proper nouns
• Run-on sentences
• Run-on paragraphs