Organizing and Planning an Essay

Planning Your Essay:
Read the introduction
Underline the thesis. Don't have one? Oops! Work on it.

On a separate piece of paper:
Paragraph 1: Write the topic of the paragraph
-give examples
-give illustrations
-give description, or quotations
Anything that will support the ONE topic in that paragraph.
Do the same for the rest of the paragraphs.

**Remember 1 topic to a paragraph.
Look at your conclusion. Does it reflect the intro? Does it complete the essay or leave the reader hanging.

AFTER doing this process, go to the ADC. Ask for help with focus.

Proofread:
Did you develop each idea in each paragraph?
Did you use examples, description, quotes etc to support the main idea of the paragraph & develop the thesis. ?
Is there one topic to a paragraph?

November 5 Assignment

Proposing a Solution. Time for some real research. Please ask the research librarians for help.

Have a fully developed outline with full explanation of problem and fully developed solutions and source information. Would like you to have an introductory paragraph with a clear thesis.

Remember that in this paper - which will be 5-7 pages - can have an introduction that is two paragraphs. Just make sure all the information is pointed and direct to set up your thesis.

CLASS CANCELLED

Hi,
I did my best to contact everyone by email that I have to cancel classes Tuesday 10/27. I expect to be well enough to have class on Thursday. See you then.

Ms. Capra

Individual Meetings

Reading, research, assignments due; responsibilities at home, hours working at a job, bills to pay. Result: Our lives are spent putting out fires: tending to only those responsibilities that have become the hot priority just as we've extinguished the last priority. Help has arrived.

This Thursday, October 29, I will be meeting with you during class to discuss how you're doing and what you can do to improve your situation.

Be sure to have questions prepared for me, so I an address any of your needs and concerns.

Don't let the picture below be a metaphor for your life!

How Clever Are You???

Welcome our Virtual Panda to the our site; quite a sight to see, isn't it?? Okay, I apologize for the corny line, but I had to get it out of me. Sound like a process of writing I've mentioned before? Sometimes you have to purge yourself of the words and thoughts that don't work and, that in this case, digress from the focus: our Panda!

So, how clever are you?? Come up with a great name for our Panda.

By the way, you might want to feed the l'il guy/gal while your at it. Click on "more" at the bottom of the screen and see what happens...

Chapter 6 and our latest assignment --
--Refer to notes from 10/22 entry --
Need new inspiration? You read O'Malley's piece on 165, discussed his techniques. Review the chapter.

Are you a good problem solver? Think about the problems you've encountered in your own life. Have your solutions worked out better for some than others? Why do you think it works out that way? Were you too tired and/or stressed to think clearly and just jumped in blindly? Did you need advice and fail to seek it? Did you get advice and fail to take it? We all do that sometimes.

As you work on your topic Proposing a Solution remember, as we discussed in class, find a need. Maybe a niche need-- an activity for which a person or thing is best fitted. Think close to home ....

Know your Audience
Be Decisive
Be certain of your purpose

Go ahead, take a virtual bike ride, or bake at the beach, but then it's off to thoughtful writing, research and the creation of a torrent of words that will sway your reader to your point of view!!


We've had discussions on Focus, Organization, and the Development needed to make any story of interest to the reader.

Deveolpment is the result of providing details and examples of the point you want to prove.

This is true whether you are writing a personal essay or a research paper. Following these guidelines will be a big help when writing anything.