Keys for Writers and Ch. 1-2 Notes

Ch. 1
Writing:
-Is critical thinking
-Helps develop questioning, analyzing, and arguing skills which are transferable to vast areas of life
-Exercises your curiosity, creativity, and problem solving ability
-Connects you to others and helps you express ideas you may otherwise never think or say
-Gives you time to think deep and long about an idea
-Isn't just a way to express a thought but a way to do the thinking itself
-Stimulates, challenges, and strengthens your mental powers, and when done well, is extremely satisfying

Good writers are question askers and problem posers rather than followers or rigidly prescribed rules and must work out answers to two sorts of questions: questions about their subject matter and questions about their audience and purpose.

Closed vs. Open Form

Ch.
Rhetoric: the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing
"Wallow in Complexity"
--to wrestle with problems by applying concepts, data, and thought processes
Critical thinking skills need for "wallowing in complexity"
--the ability to pose problematic questions
--the ability to analyze a problem in all its dimensions-to define its key terms, determine its causes, understand its history, appreciate its human dimension and its connection to one's own personal experience, and appreciate what makes it problematic or complex
--the ability (and determination) to find, gather, and interpret facts, data, and other information relevant to the problem (often involving library, Internet, or field research)
--the ability to imagine alternative solutions to the problem, to see different ways in which the question might be answered and different perspectives for viewing it
--the ability to analyze competing approaches and answers, to construct arguments for and against alternatives, and to choose the best solution in light of values, objectives, and other criteria that you determine and articulate.
--the ability to write an effective argument justifying your choice while acknowledging counterarguments

"Critical thinkers are actively engaged with life...they appreciate creativity, they are innovators, and they exude a sense that life is full of possibilities."

Good writers use exploratory strategies to think critically about subject-matter questions
--freewriting
--focused freewriting
--idea mapping
--dialectic talk
--playing the Believing and Doubting Game (Ch. 2 p. 37)

What is a good argument?
What is a good thesis?

A strong thesis statement surprises readers with something new or challenging

You're trying to change your readers' view of your subject

New: Don't tell us something we already know: if it's commonly agree upon, why are you writing about it?
True: Can you prove it?
Important: Why is this topic worth writing about?
"So what?"
One sentence
Clear
Concise

Use because clauses to help revise your thesis

Notes from Keys for Writers
PLANNING
Critical thinking and reading
Determining purpose, audience, voice, and media
Prewriting: Generating a topic and ideas
Establishing a focus and a thesis
Considering multimedia

DRAFTING/READING and FEEDBACK

REVISING and EDITING
Working on style
Revising for clarity, coherence, and unity
Editing
Proofreading
Designing the document

Level 1: Broad subject area
Level 2: Topic for exploration within that subject area
Level 3: Key question that concerns you
Level 4: Your thesis. Often you need to do a great deal of reading and writing before you get to this point.


Thesis Checklist
--Your thesis is worth presenting and is the answer to a question that could be debated (is not an obvious truism or vague generalization).
--Your thesis narrows your topic to the main idea that you want to communicate.
--Your thesis makes a claim or states your view about your topic.
--Your thesis can be supported by details, facts, and examples within the assigned limitations of time and space.
--Your thesis stimulates curiosity and interest in readers and prompts them to think, "Why do ou say that?" and then to read on and be convinced by what you have written.
--Your thesis forecasts and unifies all that follows in your essay; it does not include ideas or points that you do not intend to discuss in your essay.
--Your thesis is expressed concisely in one or two complete sentences (though you will come across many variations as you read).


-Always consider your audience and your purpose. These are key elements in how you design your writing.

-Use outlines; they are a great way to organize your thoughts and research

-Revise, revise, revise; always allow time to walk away from a draft so you can come back with fresh eyes

How to Write a Good Introduction
Options
-Make sure your first sentence stands alone and does not depend on readers' being aware of the essay title or an assigned question. For instance, avoid beginning with "This story has a complex plot."
-Provide context and background information to set up the thesis.
-Indicate what claim you will make in your essay, or at least indicate the issue on which you will state your claim.
-Define any key terms that are pertinent to the discussion.
-Establish the tone of the paper: informative, persuasive, serious, humorous, personal, impersonal, formal, informal.
-Engage the interest of your readers to make them want to explore your topic with them.

What to Avoid
-Avoid being overly general and telling readers the obvious such as "Crime is a big problem" or "In this fast-paced world, TV is a popular form of entertainment" or "Since the beginning of time, the sexes have been in conflict."
-Do not refer to your writing intentions, such as "In this essay, I will..." Do not make extravagant claims, such as "This essay will prove that bilingual education works for every student."
-Do not restate the assigned essay question.


How to Write a Good Conclusion
Options
-Frame your essay by reminding readers of something you referred to in your introduction and by reminding readers of your thesis.
-End on a strong note: a quotation, a question, a suggestion, a reference to an anecdote in the introduction, a humorous insightful comment, a call to action, or a look to the future.
-Leave readers with a sense of completion of the point you are making.

What to Avoid
-Do not use the obvious "In conclusion."
-Do not apologize for the inadequacy of your argument ("I do not know much about this problem") or for holding your opinions ("I am sorry if you do not agree with me but...").
-Do not use the identical wording you used in your introduction.
-Do not introduce a totally new direction. If you raise a new point at the end, readers might expect more details.
-Do not contradict what you said previously.
-Do not be too sweeping in your conclusions. Do not condemn the whole medical profession, for example, because one person you know had a bad time in one hospital.

Field Trip?

Remind me to discuss with you your availability for a trip to the HCC library.

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