Transcript The Crash Writing Course

The Crash Writing Course
Writing more effective essays
and examinations.
Essay Writing Basics – Process Writing
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The ’process writing’ approach we use with our
students works for more mature writers as well!
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Not all stages in the ’process’ take the same
amount of time
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Skipping the pre-writing stage can delay or stop
the writing process
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Skipping the editing stage can result in a
dramatically lower grade
Pre-Writing
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Think about what interests you.
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Identify a topic – write a whole English sentence
not just a few words down on paper. It is vital
that you begin producing English words as soon
as possible
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List some issues you want to address – in
English, of course.
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Compile a possible reading list – from 1 source to
100!
Sample Pre-Writing Page
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The assignment is:
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Investigate the use of a
metaphor in a newspaper
article of your own choosing.
How does the use of this
metaphor
alter/enhance/diminish the
meaning of the text?
What challenges might the
use of this/these metaphors
present for a translator?
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My metaphor, found in a newspaper
article, reports that parents who
educate their children at home have
been ’bruised’ by the public education
system.
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Topic: Guardian writer Tom O’Leary
uses the word ’bruised’ to mean
’having had bad experiences’ in his
article about parent home educators.
I want to write about the metaphorical
use of ’bruised’ in this context.
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A body metaphor is very powerful
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Bruised makes the parents’
experiences seem more painful and
physical
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Bruised is different from ’hurt’ or
’wounded’ how? Why?
Perfect Pre-Writing
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If you have drafted a pre-writing page like
the one I modelled, you will have:
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An identified topic
A clear expression of the topic
3 main areas of interest to explore in your
paper
An idea of what kind of sources you will need
to complete the paper
Writing
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The writing stage requires you to write.
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So…write. Set yourself a word count goal and write. I
begin on paper but you may begin on either paper or the
computer.
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Don’t set your word goal too high – writing a little each day
is better than tiring yourself out all at once.
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Do write in English.
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Don’t worry too much about errors but run a spell check
after each chunk of writing.
Thesis Statement – the next step
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A thesis statement describes the main point of
your paper.
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A thesis is not a topic statement.
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Thesis statements appear at the beginning of
your paper but may not be clear to you until after
you have done some writing first.
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Your thesis should be as specific as possible.
Thesis versus topic
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Thesis: Guardian writer
Tom O’Leary uses the word
’bruised’ to mean ’having
had bad experiences’ in his
article about parent home
educators. This paper will
examine the way the
choice of the word ’bruised’
highlights the painful
relationship between many
home educators and the
British public school
system.
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Topic: Guardian writer Tom
O’Leary uses the word
’bruised’ to mean ’having
had bad experiences’ in his
article about parent home
educators. I want to write
about the metaphorical use
of ’bruised’ in this context.
Using Sources
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Wikipedia Use – never write with wikipedia
open in front of you. Never quote from
wikipedia. Never copy sections of
wikipedia, hoping to alter the words
enough to make it original writing.
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Textbook Use
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Writing with the text in front of you
Using Sources
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Use sources to:
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Provide evidence for points you make in your
writing – facts, statistics, case studies.
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Provide expert support for arguments you
make (either supporting you or expressing
critical views for negation)
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Provide a punchy, poetic or arresting phrase to
give your writing added emphasis.
Using Sources – all these must be cited
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Quotation: use of language directly from the
source
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Paraphrase: a restatement of a sentence or
phrase in a source, should be approximately the
same length as the original
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Summary: a briefer, condensed version or a
passage containing only the important points
from the original
Direct Quotations
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Direct quotations should be used sparingly
and carefully.
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They must be introduced, in quotation
marks and with citations.
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Quotations often work better if you just
use part of the quoted sentence.
Direct Quotations MLA
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Human beings have been described by Kenneth Burke as
"symbol-using animals" (3).
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Note:
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The author name is in the sentence
Quotations are around the material directly from the source
Page numbers are in parenthesis
Parenthesis is before the period
Human beings have been described as ”symbol-using
animals” (Burke 3).
(examples are from OWL)
Direct Quotations APA
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According to Jones (1998), ”[S]tudents
experience high levels of stress when using APA
style" (p. 199).
Note:
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Publication date for quotation source appears
in parenthesis behind author name.
Quotation appears in quotation marks.
Page number appears in parenthesis at the
end of the sentence.
Poor Quotation Use
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Mr Collins on the other hand is
just plain foolish and does not
understand that the world can
exist in any other way. Mr Collins
is described by Austen like this:
“Mr. Collins was not a sensible
man, and the deficiency of nature
had been but little assisted by
education or society; the greatest
part of his life having been spent
under the guidance of a illiterate
and miserly father; and though
he belonged to one of the
universities, he had merely kept
the necessary terms, without
forming at it any useful
acquaintance” (Austen, Jane.
Pride and Prejudice. New York:
Oxford UP, 1980. 61).
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Note that the author uses a large
block of text from the original.
This is rarely a good strategy.
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Note that the quotation does not
add very much to what the
author has already said.
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Note that the in text citation does
not follow any particular style.
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Rewrite this text, using some of
the quotation appropriately.
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Put your revision into MLA style
Direct Quotations Summary
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Direct quotations should be used sparingly
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You do not have to use the whole sentence when
quoting directly
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Direct quotations should be used for a reason
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Direct quotations should always be introduced
first
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You should follow a consistent citation ’style’
Paraphrasing
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According to Jones (1998), using APA style
can make students very anxious.
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According to Emily Jones, using MLA style
produces tremendous anxiety among
students (199).
Summarizing
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http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resourc
e/563/03/
Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing
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All three of these techniques require citation (at a
minimum author and page number).
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A ’works cited’ list is required in addition to in
text citations. This should be at the end of the
essay.
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Quotations, paraphrases and summaries should
not make up more than 20% of your total essay
(less for shorter works).
Checking, Editing, Proofreading
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Google translate
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Spelling and grammar check
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Re-reading and re-writing
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Reading out loud. Slowly.
Sample draft writing – find the mistakes
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The Vikings sailed across the North Sea to Lindesfarne in
738, to raid the monastery which had been standing for
150 years and was lived in by monks. The Vikings were big
screaming warriors with no mercy, who desolated and killed
everyone to come in their way. In battles they fought with
swords, bows and arrows, axes, and used round shields for
protection. They stole crucifixes made by gold, jewellery
and all the treasures they could find. They also brought the
monks which they later sold as slaves (redaktørene for
time-life books, 1989). Many other violent raids like this
followed all over the coastal communities in Britain, taking
mostly monasteries and churches for their wealth, and
many people see this raid and date as the introduction to
what is known as the Viking Age.
General Editing Principles
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Use the tools available to you but don’t trust them.
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Check as you go and check several times after you finish
the document.
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Do not let careless mistakes remain in your document –
spelling authors or characters names incorrectly, forgetting
to capitalize the first person etc.
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Asking someone to proofread is often a good idea...but
don’t trust them either..
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Reading out loud helps many ESL writers.
Common Norwegian/English Errors
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’To be’ issues, particularly ’was’ and ’were’
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Third person verb endings - ’s’
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Progressive constructions
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Subordinant clause problems
Common Student Writing Errors –
essays and examinations
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Quotation Integration
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Paragraph development – topic sentences
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Paragraph integration – transitional devices
between paragraphs
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Weak thesis statements
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Essay organization – logical coherence
Examination Writing Reminders
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Exams test what you know.
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Give information – sneak in bits of knowledge.
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Exam essays need theses as well! Tell the read what you plan to discuss
in your essay.
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Write clearly, use names of characters, locations, authors to show that you
know the material.
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Refer to specifics – scenes in books, legislation passed, battles fought.
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Top grades go to those who can give the information AND an analysis of
the information. Don’t be afraid to offer your interpretations in a written
examination.
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Pace yourself and have a proof-reading plan.