Agenda:

Today: Review of writing concepts

Peer editing in small groups

What do today’s illustrations have in common?

Tomorrow: Papers due. Vocab Test over 9 and 10. We begin Macbeth.

Please bring Genius and your outside reading books

Some Writing Reminders

Avoid Contractions

avoid using them. Instead of didn’t, use did not; instead of couldn’t, use could not, etc.

Clichés and Slang

Avoid both. Examples of clichés:

“busy as a bee,” “bury the hatchet,” “the early bird gets the worm.”

Overall, any expression which you have heard repeatedly should be avoided.

Avoid Beginning or Ending on a Quote

Beginning body paragraphs with quotes is a flawed strategy because you force your reader to wait for the reason for the quote.

Better:begin body paragraph with a topic sentence

Use quotes later to support your ideas.

Avoid Beginning or Ending on a Quote (cont.)

Avoid ending on a quote (usually) because it weakens your point in the paragraph.

Aim to always close your paragraph with a closing comment.

Yes, there are exceptions, but in general, close your paragraph with your own brilliance.

Fluid Quoting:

Why is this a weak quote?

Amir realized the distance between them. “Baba was impossible to ignore, even in his sleep” (13).

Fluid Quoting

A better quote: Amir always acknowledged the distance

between he and his father. “Baba was impossible to ignore, even in his sleep” (13).

Quote Weaving

An even better strategy is to weave: When Amir says, “Baba was impossible to ignore, even in his sleep” (13), the author reveals the loneliness that he experiences in relation to his father. Attempt to weave your quote into your commentary sentence.

Why is this a better strategy?

Commentary

If your quote only demands 1 or 2 sentences of commentary and this is the entirety of your paragraph, you have not done your job.

Several short quotes and 2-4 commentary sentences for each quote is a good average to consider for body paragraphs.

Conclusions

Avoid simply summarizing everything you have just covered in your paper.

A good way to conclude is to comment on the importance of the theme.

You might make connections between the theme during the time the novel was written and the present.

Simply re-stating is not enough. Consider also beginning with a modern connection hook,

and return to this idea in your conclusion.

Transitions

Transitions are needed at the beginning of paragraphs 3-5, in between commentary ideas, and before quotes.

Example of Transition

In addition to demonstrating her concern as a mother, Celia also shows further evidence of her nurturing qualities in the concern that she exhibits for her sister, Dorothea.

Citation

Cite your quotes correctly: for prose, include the page number: (5). For

poetry, include the line number. When you are only writing about one play

include the act/scene/line number: (III.iv.3-5). If writing about more than one play, cite passages with title of play, page number, line number.

Power Verbs

Avoid repetition and flat verbs. Flat verbs include the following: to be (is/are), shows, uses, says, and has.

Some examples of Power Verbs

accomplishes/conveys asserts /

alludes/advocates/suggests/advances (the theme…)

represents/ embodies/signifies

emphasizes / implements enhances/delineates reflects / reveals/ resembles contributes / creates

illustrates / depicts foreshadows/intimates contrasts / distinguishes marks (the beginning of…) implies (know the difference

between imply and infer) exemplifies/employs permeates (=spread

throughout)

Now Make Use of What You’ve learned as you peer edit

and make it happen. Your papers are due in the format described on the handout.