An Introduction to Writing

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An Introduction to Writing
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WELCOME!

• This is English-1101.
• I am Rebekah Mattox.

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WRITING The Process

• A writers best writing is done as a PROCESS!
• College papers, especially, are best when written
  as a process over a period of time.

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• When students sit up all night to write a paper
  that is due the next day,
• it is never a representation of their best work!

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Writing is

• a PROCESS
• that is best accomplished
• over
• an extended period of time!

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Step 1 To discover ideas

• What is the subject?
• Has your topic been assigned, or must you select
  your own topic?
• What is your purpose?
• Who is your audience?

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Step 2 To pre-write

• To brainstorm
• To cluster or mind-map
• To free-write

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Mind Mapping in Brainstorming

• One of the best ways to begin the brainstorming
  process
• is working with images.

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• The brains functions are
• non-linear
• and
• multi-dimensional
• Using color, images, and relationships
• helps the brain to make creative
• connections.

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Phases of Creativity

• Preparation gathering ideas and making
  associations
• Incubation time for the subconscious to do
  under-cover-work
• Illumination Aha! and relaxation
• Implementation the solution and product

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When Albert Einstein was once asked how he began
his writings,

• he explained that
• he constructed pictures in his mind,
• images that moved around one another.

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By constructing mind-pictures,

• Einstein
• crystallized
• his ideas
• and later
• wrote them down.

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When brainstorming on your own,

• it can be helpful to use mind maps to arrange and
  develop ideas.
• This type of brainstorming helps your thinking
  with visuals by building trees of ideas.

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http//www.mind-mapping.co.uk/mind-maps-examples.h
tm
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HOMEWORK!

• Please examine and experiment
• with
• clustering
• and
• mind mapping!

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Step 3 To organize

• To write an outline
• To select your best or most interesting ideas

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One outline exampleThe Five Paragraph Essay

• I.  Introduction
• Introductory statements
• Thesis statement
• Introduce supporting ideas (optional)
• II. Body
• First supporting idea
•                     Transition, topic sentence
•                     Discussion, examples, and
  analysis
•                     Conclusion (optional)
• Second supporting idea
•                     Transition, topic sentence
•                     Discussion, examples, and
  analysis
•                     Conclusion (optional)
• Third supporting idea
•                     Transition, topic sentence
•                     Discussion, examples, and
  analysis
•                     Conclusion (optional)
• III. Conclusion
• Transition, statement reflecting back on thesis

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Step 4 To write the first draft

• To expand on the selected ideas
• To discover new ideas

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Step 5 To revise the draft

• To read the draft out loud more than once
• To add or subtract details of the previous draft

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Step 6 To generate the final draft

• To read the draft out loud again and again
  before submission
• To edit and pay additional attention to the
  feedback you received from teachers and peers

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5-W questions

• During the writing process, it is helpful to ask
  yourself the 5-W questions
• Why?
• What?
• Which?
• Who? and
• How?

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For example

• You can ask why you are writing, what the subject
  is, which subject has the most potential to
  attract your readers, who your audience is, and
  how you can persuade your readers.
• Keeping these questions in mind while you are
  writing will help you to develop and produce your
  ideas efficiently.

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A helpful web site to preview

• http//www.delmar.edu/engl/instruct/stomlin/1301in
  t/lessons/process/intro.htm
• (We will be discussing this more in-depth in
  later classes.)

This will be posted on your class calendar.
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Incubation http//www.delmar.edu/engl/instruct/st
omlin/1301int/lessons/process/incubate.htm

• Suppose you have three weeks to write a
  1000-word paper on a political issue. Suppose
  also that you already know all the facts you
  need.
• Within a day or two of the time you are given the
  assignment, you sit down to get started and you
  maybe do a little free-writing to get settled
  down and warmed up.

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Then you start writing.

• You say lots of things, but they aren't adding up
  to an organized paper. You stop to try making a
  list of items to include and you get frustrated
  because every order you try for the ideas has
  some kind of problem. You decide you aren't
  getting anywhere, so you go get a couple of
  cookies and decide to fold the clothes which have
  just come out of the dryer.

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Later that day, you have to study for an algebra
exam, so you don't get back to working on the
paper for a couple of days.

• When you return, the order the ideas should be in
  seems obvious and natural.
• Your sub-conscious mind has been working on the
  problem all that time!

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Ease in writing,

• when you return to a project, is the most usual
  way the subconscious "reports" to you when it has
  been busy arranging things in your mind--
• so that when you return to the project,
• the solution seems to make itself!

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The other way the subconscious "reports" is in
flashes.

• I worked on my homework one night and was very
  frustrated by it.
• I decided to go to bed and try again in the
  morning.

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I had been asleep about two hours when suddenly--

• I woke up knowing exactly how to do the problems!
• I was happy about that and went on back to sleep.
  
• The next morning, I had completely forgotten the
  solutions.

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Now I understand that the subconscious mind has
nothing to do with memory.

• We remember only what was once in the conscious
  mind.
• In college, I had roughly the same experience
  with the same kind of problem, but I got out of
  bed and worked one of each kind before going back
  to sleep.

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• The next morning I could figure out what I had
  done!
• And I could work the rest of the problems.

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Moral

• If you have been frustrated by some project, keep
  paper nearby because if you have a flash, you
  have about 90 seconds to write it down before it
  is gone forever.
• Every professional writer has a story about the
  writing idea that got away because he got a flash
  from the subconscious and had nothing to write
  with handy.

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Plan writing projects so that you work intensely
on them early in the time allowed.

• And then take frequent breaks to do other things,
  returning to the writing project many times.
• Even if your personality type leads to
  procrastination, work on the project early in the
  allowed time so that your subconscious can be
  "cooking" the problem and you will not have to
  write cold under pressure at the last minute.

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Two main aspects of writing

• Content the creative process
• and
• Mechanics effective expression

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Diagnostic

• http//www.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/app/troykade
  mo_rb/content/tests/diagnostic.html
• To make the most of your time in this class,
• it will be important to diagnose your writing
  strengths and weaknesses.
• The above link will be posted on your class
  calendar with more directions so that you can get
  started on your DIAGNOSTIC TEST soon.

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Most Common Writing Errors

• We will be examining the most common writing
  errors throughout the entire course.
• http//bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/easywriter3e/20err
  ors/default.asp
• (The Twenty Most Common Writing Errors)

This will be posted on your class calendar.
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TO PREVIEWConquering the CommaThis will be
posted on your class calendar.We will be
discussing it soon.

• PowerPoint
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/comma.P
  PT
• FOR OPTIONAL PRACTICE, GO TO
• http//www.prenhall.com/troyka/
• CLICK ON
• Companion Website (open access)
• Then CLICK ON
• Punctuation
• Then CLICK ON
• Commas

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Be encouraged!

• Writing is a BEHAVIOR!
• To change a behavior, break a habit, or establish
  a new behavior takes TIME!
• Practice and study must pervade the time!
• And THATS what this class is for!

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In Closing

• We have begun to examine just a few aspects of
  writing which we will review, practice, and build
  upon.
• It is important to remember that writing is a
  process.
• We will be examining the various components that
  contribute to writing being a successful process
  for you!

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Our main topics for this class

• Writing as process
• Paragraphs
• Grammar
• Sentence Variety
• ESSAYS

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I am here to

• FACILITATE YOUR SUCCESS!

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SO

• Lets have FUN on this learning journey!

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IMPORTANT

• Calendar
• http//www.tutorpal.com/ccsuengl1101am/
• MY EMAIL
• RebekahMattox_at_mail.clayton.edu
• RebekahMattox_at_hotmail.com

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WELCOME!

• Let the learning begin!

Rebekah Mattox, M.Ed.