Final Review

What you need to know for Thursday!

Your final will consist of three sections:

A short answer section that will review major course concepts

A section that will address common grammatical mistakes

A short essay section letting you choose between 3 possible prompts based on the writing strategies covered in class (persuasion, cause and effect, problem solving)

Short Answer SectionThis section will cover major

course concepts from our textYou will be expected to answer

the questions in two to three sentences

Partial credit will be given

The Star ApproachSubjectAudiencePurpose Strategy Design

SubjectConsider the message you want

to convey.Select a subject that matches the

guidelines of the assignment.Narrow your subject if necessary.Always consider your audience

and purpose.

AudienceConsider your audience and what they may

or may not already know.Be aware of relevant discourse communities.Consider both your primary and secondary

audience.Always consider your audience and purpose.Determine relevant audience characteristics. If online, use netiquette when addressing

both instructor and classmates.

PurposesWriting to inform

◦ Provide useful information about a subject.◦ Teach your audience how to do something.

Writing to persuade ◦ You may argue a point.◦ You may persuade your audience to do

something.Writing to interpret

◦ Help your audience better understand something.

◦ Your opinion is important.

Purpose continuedWriting to entertain

◦Entertain the audience.◦Many times you address another

purpose.Writing to express feelings

◦You may communicate positive feelings.

◦You may express dissatisfaction about something.

Combined purposes◦You may use more than one purpose.◦The purposes may overlap.

StrategyNarratingDescribingExplaining a processComparing or ContrastingExplaining causes or effectsPersuadingEvaluatingSolving a problem

DesignGenre

◦ The writing style (e.g., essay, story, paper, memo, letter, etc.)

◦ Consider your task.Length

◦ Know the instructor’s requirement.◦ Make sure all points are clearly supported.

Format◦ The structure of your writing (e.g., typed,

hand-written, documentation style, etc.)◦ Follow the instructor’s guidelines closely.

Design continuedAppearance

◦Show similarities or differences between two people, places, or objects.

◦Make a worthwhile point.

Visual aids◦The pictures, charts, or graphs used

to enhance your paper.◦Determine if a point would be more

effective with a visual image.

Seven Steps of the Writing Process

1. Discovering

2. Planning3. Composing4. Getting feedback

•5. Revising•6. Editing•7.Proofreading

1. DiscoveringBrainstorming

ListingFreewritingQuestioning Journaling

SketchingTalkingReadingViewing

2. PlanningNarrowing your focusClusteringCreating a graphic organizerDetermining main pointsOrdering ideasOutlining (informal and formal)

3. ComposingUse your discovery and planning stage ideas to

create a rough draft.Use your cluster or outline as a guide.Focus on the first four points of the rhetorical star.Concentrate on getting your ideas on paper and

not on the presentation.Write the easiest part first to build your

confidence.Don’t expect perfection.Write until you’ve covered all of the main points

you’ve planned to address.Save your rough draft or place it in a safe

location.Take a break.

4. Getting FeedbackConferences

◦Meet with your instructor for feedback.

◦Don’t expect your instructor to correct your paper for you.

◦Learn to revise and edit your own papers.

Peer review◦Provide and accept constructive

criticism.◦Utilize peer review with writing on

the job.

5. RevisingAdding and deleting ideas

◦Determine if all of the main points are covered.

◦Remove points that are unnecessary.◦Watch for unneeded repetition.◦Choose your main points carefully.

5. Revising (contd.)

Developing◦Check to make sure you have enough

details and examples to support your main points.

◦Try additional discovery techniques.◦Make sure you have enough support to

prove your thesis.

5. Revising (contd.)Arranging

◦Determine if the order of your ideas makes sense.

◦Move sentences or paragraphs around to create the best flow.

◦Consider saving different versions of your draft if you’re working on a computer.

6. EditingSentence Structure

◦ Determine if sentences sound awkward.◦ Check for sentences of varying length.◦ Watch for choppy sentences.◦ Clarify long, unclear sentences.

Grammar◦ Check for subject/verb agreement.◦ Look for the proper use of pronouns.◦ Determine if the adjectives selected provide

enough description.◦ Watch for correct adverb usage.

6. Editing (contd.) Punctuation

◦ Check for ending punctuation.◦ Make sure quotation marks are used correctly.◦ Look for semicolon, colon, and comma usage.◦ Determine if special punctuation marks are

appropriate for the writing. Spelling

◦ Use a spelling check tool.◦ Make sure to watch for spelling issues that would

not be caught with the spelling check tool.

Mechanics◦ Check capitalization.◦ Look for abbreviated words.◦ Make sure numbers are spelled out if needed.

7. ProofreadingCheck the smallest details.Read your paper aloud.Consider reading from the last

sentence to the first sentence.Get an additional peer review for

further feedback.Review the paper guidelines provided

by your instructor.

Steps for Writing an Analyzing Causes and Effects EssayBegin by identifying the cause or

effect you are analyzingExplain the cause and effect

relationship convincinglyOrganize the causes and/effects

effectively (three patterns)Use sound logicConclude effectively (don’t over

generalize)

Steps for Writing PersuasivelyIntroduce the issue you are

debating.Make a claim about your subject.Support your claim with evidence

that appeals to your audience.Use your supporting evidence

logically and ethically.Organize your supporting

evidence effectively.End your essay effectively.

Steps for Writing an Evaluative EssayBegin by describing the subject you

are evaluating.Make a claim about the subject you

are evaluating.Choose several criteria for your

evaluation.Make a judgment about each criterion.Support your judgments with specific

evidence.Be fair with your judgments.End with a final claim about your

subject.

Writing a Proposal to Solve a ProblemIdentify a problem and

demonstrate that it exists.Appeal to your audience.State your claim.Propose a solution to the

problem.Organize your solution(s)

effectively.Persuade your audience that your

solution is feasible and worthwhile.

End with a call to action.

VocabularyThesis statements clearly and

concisely state what you will show in your essay

Sentence variety (writing sentences with various lengths and patterns) is more effective

Unity is achieved when all ideas in a paragraph relate to the main idea and all paragraphs relate to the thesis

Topic Sentences make the main idea of a paragraph clearer

Transitions connect ideas, sentences, and paragraphs

Vocabulary continued

Research papers must be carefully researched and documented

Plagiarism occurs anytime a quote, paraphrase, or summary occurs without citation.

Critical reading requires careful reading and analysis of the material

Evaluating sources requires careful analysis of the author and their credibility

Grammar section

This section will cover three sections:

Editing sentences (396-400)Editing Grammar (406-414)Editing punctuation (415-423)

Grammar continuedCommon questions will deal with the following:

fragments and run on sentencesfaulty parallelism pronoun usage dangling and misplaced

modifiers subject verb agreement pronoun usage commas, semicolons and colons

Essay sectionYou will be asked to turn in a

typed response of 300-400 words on one of three possible topics.

The topics will be based upon using your strategies from chapters 9,10, and 12 (pick one)

You will begin this section once you have turned in the completion and grammar sections

Good luck on your Final

To do your best:• Review your writing strategies

and the major steps involved in them

• Review the rhetorical star• Review the writing process• Review the pages mentioned in

the grammar section