Writing Workshop 2011

introducing

Better Writing!

Enhancing Your Presentation

We have features for every step of the way

1Steps of the Writing Process

3Responding to

the Prompt 2Deciphering the Prompt

Steps of the writing process

Prewrite, Draft, Share, Revise, Edit, Publish

1

Focus

• Writing is a recursive process and not merely a set of stages to follow when composing a text. Successful writers are flexible in how they approach a writing situation. They use a variety of strategies to carry out and manage the task of composing. This workshop is designed to help you understand the stages of the writing process and the strategies that will help you develop your own writing process.

Quickwrite

• On a sheet of paper, respond to the following:– What is your writing process? Describe the stages

you go through, from beginning to end, to publish a piece of writing.

• Define the traditional stages of the writing process represented in the chart and placed in random order. Work with a partner to brainstorm the role of the writer within each stage of the writing process.

Writer’s Role

Sharing and Responding

Prewriting

Editing Publishing

Revising Drafting

Writing Process Graphic

Create a graphic of the writing process to show its stages and their recursive nature.

Goals

• Use elements of the writing process to compose a text in which you:

• Plan a first draft by selecting a genre to convey meaning to multiple audiences, determine an appropriate topic, and develop a thesis.

• Structure ideas in a sustained, persuasive way.• Revise drafts to improve style, sentence variety, and rhetorical

strategies, and to clarify meaning to enhance intended effect on purpose, audience, and genre.

• Edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling.• Revise the final draft in response to feedback from readers and

publish work for appropriate audiences

Reading Like a Writer

Get out your SOAPSTone notes from “Shakespeare’s Sister.”• SOAPSTone

– Who is the Speaker? What can you infer about the speaker based on references in the text?

– What is the Occasion? What are some of the circumstances, issues, or contexts (social, geographical, cultural, or historical) that might have prompted the writer to craft this text?

– Who is the target Audience? To whom is this text designed to appeal or reach? Explain. What references from the text support your assertion?

– What is the Purpose? Why did the author write this text? How might the writer want the audience to think or respond as a result of reading this text?

– What is the Subject? What is the writer’s central idea, position, or main message about life? What references from the text support your assertions?

– What is the Tone? What is the writer’s attitude toward his or her subject? Choose a few specific words or phrases from the text, and explain how they support your opinion.

2 Deconstructing the Prompt

What are they really asking you to do?

What is most important in the following: Through tatter'd clothes small vices do appear; Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks; Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw does pierce it.

Shakespeare, King Lear. The lines above are from King Lear. Write a carefully reasoned essay in which you briefly paraphrase Lear's statement and then defend, challenge, or qualify his view of the relationship between wealth and justice. Support your argument with specific references to your reading, observation, or experience.

Speaker: What connects you to this prompt?

Occasion: What is your motivation for creating a response to this text? Consider any social, historical, or geographical contexts that might have influenced your decision to respond.

Audience: Who will be interested in reading your text? Who do you want to read it?

Purpose: What is your position? How do you want readers to feel after reading your text?

Subject: What is your topic, and why do you want to explore it? What do you need to know in order to guide the exploration of this topic?

Tone: What is your attitude toward the subject or audience? How will you use language to convey that tone?

SOAPSTone as Prewriting

S O A P S TONE

3 Responding to the prompt

Drafting and Revising

“When you first start writing—and I think it’s true for a lot of beginning writers— you’re scared to death that if you don’t get that sentence right that minute it’s never going to show up again. And it isn’t. But it doesn’t matter—another one will, and it’ll probably be better. And I don’t mind writing badly for a couple of days because I know I can fix it—and fix it

Write your response: What does this quote mean to you?

Toni Morrison.

Draft your response! Through tatter'd clothes small vices do appear; Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks; Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw does pierce it.

Shakespeare, King Lear.

The lines above are from King Lear. Write a carefully reasoned essay in which you briefly paraphrase Lear's statement and then defend, challenge, or qualify his view of the relationship between wealth and justice. Support your argument with specific references to your reading, observation, or experience.

? But wait… There’s More!

Time to Share/Revise/Edit/Publish

“Anyone who can improve a sentence of mine by the omission or placing of a key detail is a friend of mine.”

Write your response: Do you agree with what George Moore is saying about writing?

George Moore

Get our your work from last wek when you finish your response!

Look at your essay: Read through your draft and look for areas of your writing that you can refine on your own:• Mark your draft to identify areas that warrant revision for coherence, clarity of ideas, organizational structure, and style (e.g., word choice, rhetorical devices, sentence variety, etc).

-Mark at least four areas you feel need improvement.• Consider the areas of your draft where you would like peer support and annotate them, noting appropriate questions to ask or comments to share in a writing group.

-Include at least two questions and one-three comments

“Politeness is the poison of collaboration.”

Write your response: Do you agree? How does this apply to the editing process?

Edwin Land

Get our your work from yesterday when you finish your response!

Writing Groups: Experienced writers realize that effective reader response encourages the writer to reflect upon the questions asked and comments suggested, enabling meaningful revision to occur.In a writing group, all members work collaboratively to assist the writer through the revision process and to develop a quality piece of writing.

Identify two to three writing group norms of behavior, or guiding principles that help group members communicate effectively while performing a task.

Now that we have our norms: 1. Offer to revise & edit the paper of someone near you.2. READ THE PAPER all the way through without making any notes or comments.3. Look at the areas the author marked as needing improvement. What can you suggest that might help them improve each of those areas?4. Read their questions: can you answer any of them?5. Read their comments: offer your response to their comments.

Remember to keep your criticism constructive.

Revising-Wednesday

• Now that you have your original draft back, with comments from your editor, it’s time to create your second draft.

• Before you do, look at your writing process graphic organizer:– Which stage of the process should you return to?

Self-evaluation- Thursday

NameMrs. SefcikEngl III AP, PeriodDate

Lear Essay Self- Evaluation1. What do you think you did particularly well in this piece of writing?

2. Locate a “golden line,” the best sentence in your draft, and explain why this line is so powerful.

3. If you had more time to spend on your draft, what would you do to make it better?

4. What did you learn from this writing experience that you could use in the future?

5. What did you learn about yourself as a writer?

In his autobiographical essay, Once More to the Lake, E.B. White

explores a childhood memory from an adult perspective. Using E.B. White’s essay as a point of reference, argue that differences in age (or gender)

affect the way people remember a certain place or event.

Weekend Essay

Write this as an 8.2 essay: 4.1 Introduction

1. Topic sentence2. Concrete Detail3. Commentary4. Thesis

2-3 8.2 Body paragraphsConclusion

5. Transition sentence6. Commentary that wraps

up ideas and/or refers to thesis

7. Closing Commentary 18. Closing Commentary 2

Get out your weekend essay!!

1. Offer to revise & edit the paper of someone near you.Remember our Group Norms: <INSERT HERE>

2. READ THE PAPER all the way through without making any notes or comments.

3. Using the rubric you have been given: score each section. For each category (Focus, Thesis, Evidence, etc.) highlight and label one example of an area that needs improvement which is directly related to the rubric score they received.

4. If you have commentary that might help them when they revise, feel free to write it down.

Remember to keep your criticism constructive.

Self-evaluation- Weekend Essay

NameMrs. SefcikEngl III AP, PeriodDate

<insert topic> Weekend Essay Self- Evaluation1. What do you think you did particularly well in this piece of writing?

2. Locate a “golden line,” the best sentence in your draft, and explain why this line is so powerful.

3. If you had more time to spend on your draft, what would you do to make it better?

4. What did you learn from this writing experience that you could use in the future?

5. What did you learn about yourself as a writer?

1. Revise your paper according to the suggestions of your reviewer and your self-evaluation.

2. On Friday turn in:1. Your revised essay2. Your original essay3. Your peer-rubric4. Your Self-Evaluation

Now What?