Writing II (Week 6): Narrowing down a topic

Posted on by Benjamin L. Stewart
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2024-03-04

  • In-class writing assignment
    • Cell phones face down on your desk and any other devices turned off.
    • With a pencil and paper, recreate your essay beginning with an introduction paragraph followed by three body paragraphs (conclusion not required)
    • You do not need to include any citations or references and the accuracy of your ideas will not be assessed.
    • A good writing assignment includes the following:
      • A well-structured introduction paragraph, body paragraphs, and sentences. ### Instructions for turning in Unit I essay (final draft)
  • Complete the title page.
  • Format text. See Text formatting in Word.
    • For the essay not including the references: double spaced (no extra space between paragraphs and between headings and paragraphs)
    • For the References page
      • page break to create a separate references page
      • single space within each and double space between each reference
      • no extra spacing between references and between the heading, “References” and the first reference
      • check each reference for APA. See APA Guide.
  • Include five paragraphs (five-to-eight sentences for each).
  • Create a title of the paper (8-12 words) as a level I heading. See format headings according to APA.
  • Remove all comments from the Word document and any other notes, extra headings, etc.
  • Begin each body paragraph with ME and conclude with AL. See MEAL Plan.
  • Use one of the acceptable fonts throughout entire essay. See Acceptable fonts (APA, 7th edition).
  • Include a 0.5 inch indentation for each of the five paragraphs

2024-03-05

2024-03-06

  • Complete the Using AI writing & feedback task (in Teams) by attaching a Word document.
  • Review again Writing II_Unit II to see a comparison between a persuasive essay and argumentative essay. For Unit II, we’ll focus on writing a persuasive essay.
  • Check your grammar, punctation, capitalization, etc. of your essay questions in the Unit II essays file in Teams.
  • Add the target audience and purpose for writing your essay to the Unit II essays file in Teams.
  • Add your problem statement to the Unit II essays file in Teams and compare the indirect question you have with the direct question you have in column C. Are you using the same words?
    • Prompt: I wish to learn more about {topic}… because I want to find out why {indirect question}… in order to {significance}…
  • Check your spelling.
  • Review Good and poor examples of thesis statements for writing a persuasive essay.

2024-03-07

  • Target audience: Try to be specific. If you say, “men”, what kind men? If you say, “teenagers”, which teenagers exactly? One way to be more specific is to use relative clauses: Men who like sports, men who are chauvinists, teenagers who enjoy playing video games, etc.
  • Align indirect question with direct question in the Unit II essays file in Teams. Review how to structure a Problem statement.
    • Example: Does modern music lack the depth of earlier genres?
      • Indirect question: … because I want to find out…
    • Example: Why children shouldn’t play violent video games?
      • Indirect question… because
    • Example: why is important to know that life is for satisfaction and not a purpose?
      • Indirect question… because

2024-03-08

  • Review instructions on submitting the Problem and thesis statements assignment in Teams – due today.
  • Example of aligning the direct question, the indirect question from the problem statement and the topic and claim from the thesis statement.
    • Indirect question (from the problem statement): I wish to learn more about the history of videogames because I want to find out why videogames help youth with anxiety in order to persuade Mexican parents how to lower anxiety of their children. let Mexican parents know videogames are a way to relieve stress.
    • Topic and claim from the thesis statement: To teach why videogames help youth with anxiety, Mexican parents should help youth learn the history of videogames to calm anxiety by learning the origin of videogames, educating about the main purpose of videogames, and showing real cases where videogames aid young people.
  • Create the significance portion of your problem statement based on the purpose of your essay.
    • Example 1
      • Purpose: To persuade/convince/sway/suggest to/urge/ask/assure/advise, etc. Formula One fans to rank Ayrton Senna as the greatest driver of all time|
      • Significance: … in order to convince Formula One fans to vote Ayrton Senna as the greatest driver of all time.
    • Example 2
      • Purpose: To persuade/convince/sway/suggest to/urge/ask/assure/advise, etc. high school students to meditate and connect with spirituality
      • Significance: … in order to urge students to meditate to relieve stress
    • Example 3
      • Purpose: To persuade/convince/sway/suggest to/urge/ask/assure/advise, etc. music fans to be more open to different kinds of music and art
      • Significance: … in order to persuade music fans to be more open to different kinds of music and art.
  • Review how to structure a one-sentence thesis statement. See Thesis Statement And Skeleton Outline.
    • Followed by the topic. The topic is the subject (i.e., a noun phrase – not a pronoun) of your thesis statement. See Types Of Phrases.
    • Finally, list three key points or reasons after the connector that will be the basis for each of the three body paragraphs of a five-paragraph essay.

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