Expository Writing Test 1 Notes PDF

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Huge note sheet with all information learned in the first half of the semester. Great study guide and information for the first test. ...

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Expository Writing, I 100 Test 1 Notes writing strategies 1. Analyze your writing situation 2. Limit your writing topic 3. Lay out a plan of organization Analyzing situation 1. Purpose? 2. Audience? 3. Constraints? Precepts to apply 1. If allowed, write on a subject of your choice 2. Don't overstate your case 3. Support your claims 4. Argue logically, avoid highly emotional language 5. choose a title that accurately reflects content 6. Cite sources 7. Make it look good good writing  says something of consequence to a specific audience for a specific purpose communicates the writer's ideas effectively to the audience for whom it is intended working writing 1. says something of consequence 2. clear 3. well organized 4. economical 5. grammatically acceptable 6. no spelling errors significant content  clear assertions w/ adequate detail, research for pertinent examples, show learned info clear writing  intended readers can grasp meaning with careful reading well organized  controlling pattern: definition, cause/effect, comparison, assertion/support, process, or narration; thesis sentence; transitional terms economical  eliminates wordiness vigor

 shows action through vivid verbs, clear images, specific examples, striking metaphors, concrete, direct, efficient writing authentic voice  refer to personal experience, use colorful examples, concrete, personal writing

professional writers 1. don't wait for inspiration 2. have a schedule/place/tools 3. don't panic at delay 4. constantly gather material 5. work best under a deadline 6. expect to discover new ideas as they write 7. plan flexibly 8. keep audience in mind 9. work slowly 10. 2-3 drafts 11. procrastinate knowledgeably explanatory writing  explains something (clear, true, useful?) exploratory writing  begin with idea/question, not much plan (clear, thoughtful, interesting?) writing stages 1. prepare and plan: identify topic, research, brainstorm, outline 2. draft 3. incubate: take a break, let ideas percolate in subconscious 4. revise 5. edit & proofread preparation planning 1. stock idea bank (carry notebook, ask questions, read books) 2. work: brainstorm, narrow topic, free write, computer search, talk to people 3. identify audience, purpose; research; outline; title; thesis drafting 1. place/time 2. writer's block: reread, take a break 3. pace: sprinters, plodders, bleeders 4. postpone corrections till the end incubating 1. be ready to seize the idea when it comes 2. don't wait too long for inspiration

writing situation  audience, purpose, persona? audience analysis  who, why are they reading this, what will interest them, how much do they know, what info do they need/want, what questions will they have purpose 1. inform, entertain, persuade 2. major points 3. change something? 4. reader response

persona  language, tone, authenticity >Logos, Pathos, Ethos (good sense, benevolence, moral character) language  depends on audience; vocabulary tone  feeling or attitude projected in writing authenticity  an impression of competence, integrity, and authority; research & document findings, quote authoritative sources, respect readers, acknowledge other viewpoints, avoid extreme claims, sound confident drafting: getting started 1. illustrative example 2. quotation 3. anecdote (short interesting story about person/incident) 4. description 5. thesis paragraph drafting: organization 1. reasoning from evidence 2. assertion/support 3. definition 4. cause/effect 5. comparison/contrast 6. classification 7. narration reasoning from evidence  like scientific method; evidence-->generalization OR (main point/thesis)->evidence

1. give enough evidence to warrant conclusion 2. representative sample of evidence 3. accurate facts, cite sources assertion and support  main point-->evidence ; strong but don't over assert; tailor evidence to readers definition 1. attributing characteristics 2. analyzing components 3. giving examples 4. stating function 5. defining negatively cause/effect explanations or arguments comparison/contrast analogies: metaphors (is) or similes (like) classification organized into system narration  story holding the reader 1. good title 2. strong lead 3. tight/unified writing 4. sentences & paragraphs reasonable length 5. manageable units 6. avoid antagonizing readers 7. use figurate & connotative language sparingly 8. avoid stereotypes & offensive labeling a good title 1. predicts content 2. catches reader's interest 3. reflects tone of writing 4. contains keywords strong leads 1. engages reader's attention 2. promises what is to come 3. sets tone 4. gives reason to continue reading tight and unified writing

1. links and nudges 2. repeated words 3. conjunctions at the beginnings of sentences links  words and phrases that signal connections nudges  move readers from one point to the next chunking  breaking up long stretches of writing into separate units so they're easier to process avoid antagonizing 1. show respect 2. use moderate language 3. write provisionally, not dogmatically avoid stereotypes & offensive language 1. sexist language (he/she) 2. racial & ethnic terms 3. age 4. physical condition 5. sexual orientation goals of revision 1. generate additional ideas 2. focus ideas 3. polish/tighten writing revising stages 1. large scale/global 2. small scale large scale 1. shift/narrow focus 2. redirect writing to better suit audience 3. modify purpose 4. cut 5. expand 6. reorganize large scale plan 1. stick with large scale 2. print draft and read slowly 3. look at central idea 4. define audience/purpose

5. review claims/assertions 6. review organization small scale 1. add examples, anecdotes, details 2. cut excess words/phrases 3. add graphics/illustrations 4. stronger verbs 5. transitions 6. rearrange words/phrases to improve style 7. rewrite opening/closing pars small scale plan 1. read quickly 2. read par by par 3. look @ words 4. check unity 5. reread opening/closing pars to spend less time revising 1. start sentence w/ subject that is a concrete noun 2. put people in sentence 3. avoid passive verbs 4. avoid long introductory clauses 5. avoid strung-out noun phrases 6. break into readable chunks & short pars editing 1. review specifications (length, title pg) 2. check for accuracy/consistency (dates, names) 3. check for awkwardly repeated words (variety...various) 4. check for common errors (grammar errors) 5. check for spelling errors (accept, except) 6. improve appearance (pars, graphs) 7. proofread (punctuation, omissions, titles/quotations, citations) relative clause  replaces a noun or noun phrase with which, that, who, whom, whose to modify a subject  use which, that to modify an object  use who, whom, whose essential/restrictive  no commas non-essential/nonrestrictive

 commas participles  past, -ed, -d present, -ing participial phrases  >animate sentences, show time or cause/result relationship >can be before, in the middle, or after main clause dangling participle/modifier  misplaced participial phrase appositive phrases  >noun or adjective phrase that comes after a noun >replace a subject and be verb >define, summarize, explain >can show negative qualities >can be before, middle, or after noun modified >focus pars, link sentences >punctuate w/ commas, colons, or dashes special appositives  noun repetition, pronoun (one, that, something), connective (including, especially, for example) absolute phrases  >constructed by deleting the be verb or changing the verb into -ing >suggest cause/effect, before/after relationships >description of the part (vs the whole) >type will determine placement >in a series, general-->specific >commas or dashes prepositional phrases  >show adverbial relationships (time, place, method) >comes before noun/noun phrase >balanced phrases: from...to, with...without, before...against infinitive phrases  >verbal’s [participles, gerunds] >always begin w/ to or in order to >adverbial infinitives >commas or dashes >placement varies...