Chapter 10: Writing Process Flashcards
Essays
- Typically short piece of text written from an author’s point of view.
- Depending on purpose, form of: literary criticism, political manifesto, argument, observation of or reflections on actions, events, or ideas.
Common Essay Styles:
1) Descriptive Essays
2) Narrative Essays
3) Compare-and-contrast essays
4) Cause-and-effect Essays
5) Definition Essays
6) Persuasive Essays
Descriptive Essays
- Characterized by sensory details, which appeal to a reader’s physical senses (taste, touch, feel, etc.) and details that appeal to a reader’s emotions and intellect.
- Rhetorical Strategies: determining purpose, considering the audience, organizing the description, creating a dominant impression, and using descriptive or metaphorical language.
Narrative Essays
Rhetorical Tools:
-flashbakcs, flash-forwards, and transitions that build to the writer’s climactic scene. Events in narrative essays are often arranged in chronological order.
Compare-and-contrast Essays
Identify similarities between events, instances, objects, or ideas.
-Students first need to determine the purpose or reason for comparing the similar (or different) objects.
Cause-and-effect Essays
- Must always consider the subject, determine the purpose, consider the audience, and think critically about the chain of events or questions that ideas, situations, or objects bring to one another.
- Must be aware that, because one event precedes another, that event did not necessarily (cause) the second event.
Definition Essays
- Purpose is to examine a terms’ (or idea’s) meaning.
- Some definition essays can be written about concrete terms (like buildings or schools), while others can be written about more abstract or hard-to-define terms (like happiness or love).
Persuasive Essays
- Takes a position or makes a claim about one or more events or ideas and supports that claim iwth the evidence, statistics, anecdotes, citations, and references.
- In a persuasive essay, the text makes it clear to the reader why the author is arguing a point or claim and attempts to convince readers to agree with that argument.
Research Reports (Types)
- Exploratory research writing
- Predictive research writing
- Evaluative research
Exploratory Research Writing
- May investigate an area or issue on which little or no previous work has been done.
- Students might have a difficult time writing this type of research because it involves a more serious approach to research which can include survey collection, observation, interviews, or focus groups.
Predictive Research
- Writing to develop and write about the likely course of events in a given situation or circumstance.
- For example, students might make predictions and conduct research on whether studying with headphones increases the likelihood of getting a higher grade in class.
Evaluative Research
- Attempts to evaluate the impact that something has, like a new policy, event, law, or treatment regime.
- Consider the following school mandate: “All students are required to wear headphones in areas set aside for study.” An evaluative research report might cover the impact of this policy on improving student grades.
Editorial Writing
- Article that presents a newspaper’s (or magazines) opinion of an issue, develops that idea in the body of the writing, and offers a solid and concise conclusion that summarizes the writer’s opinion.
- May offer an objective explanation of some issue, a timely news angle, or opinions from opposing viewpoints that directly refute the same issue(s) the writer is addressing.
- Often include opinions of the writer, good writing with commentary that is engaging to readers, and alternative solutions to the problem or issues being criticized.
TYPICALLY 4 PURPOSES:
1) Explain or interpret.
- Explain the way the newspaper has covered a sensitive or controversial subject. For example, a school newspaper may explain or interpret new school rules.
2) Criticize
- Editorials may present constructive criticism of actions, decision, or situations.
3) Persuade
- Readers will be encouraged to take a specific, positive action. Political endorsements are good examples of editorials written to persuade.
4) Praise
- May be written to commend people or organizations for something done well.
Short Stories
- Traditionally short work of fiction, usually written in prose.
- Often narrative.
Wide range of genre and styles that mirror those of longer texts. - Actual length determined by author’s preference.
- Provides a good opportunity for teachers to identify more closely with their students’ interests and preferences.
Magazine Articles
- Variety of purposes, but meant to entertain, inform, arouse the reader’s attention, or provide a brief, interesting information.
- Includes introduction which tells readers what will be discusses; the body of the article which is filled with entertaining facts, opinions, or ideas; and a conclusion that includes a summary of what was told in the body of the paragraph.
- Often carry with them images or format layouts that quickly capture the attention of the reader.
Marketing Brochures
- Market a product
- Can break many traditional rules
- Creativity is key component (in order to sell)
- Traditionally include a table of contents (for multi-page brochures only), motivational content or language, description of the product or idea being sold or conveyed, and specific contact information where readers can learn more or do more.
