let's write: WRITING STRONG ESSAYS: MACRO-MESO-MICRO ORGANIZATION + REVISION/EDITING

WRITING STRONG ESSAYS ON TEST DAY

PART 1: THE WRITING PROCESS

Your writing will come out stronger when you start with a plan, write out your ideas, and then revise and edit your work.

PLANNING STAGE IS ESSENTIAL

Prewriting - 5-7 minutes.

- UNDERSTAND THE SCENARIO.

EITHER CHOICE CAN BE SUPPORTED BASED ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED. EVALUATE THE CRITERIA.

- BRAINSTORM IDEAS.

BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUES:

A.     LISTING. LIST PROS AND CONS OF EACH CHOICE.
B.     FREE WRITING. FREE NARRATIVE RESPONSE.

- NEXT, OUTLINE YOUR ESSAY. 2 GOALS:

(1) PLACE THEM INTO A LOGICAL ORDER AND (2) ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE ENOUGH SUPPORT FOR THE COURSE OF ACTION YOU PLAN TO SUPPORT IN YOUR ESSAY.

A WELL-ORGANIZED OUTLINE = WELL-ORGANIZED ESSAY.

The essay must have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

In the middle, your supporting ideas must be arranged in some logical sequence, even if there is no logical necessity to that sequence.

2 OF THE MOST COMMON FORMATS FOR THE WRITING SAMPLE:

1)   “WINNER/LOSER” FORMAT (intro – why winner – why loser – conclusion)
2)   “ACCORDING TO THE CRITERIA” FORMAT (intro – 1st criteria both winner and loser discussion – 2nd criteria both winner and loser discussion – conclusion)

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE “WINNER/LOSER” FORMAT:

1.     Intro: Bloom Ct is the better location for the Peters.
a.     Minimal moving expenses.
b.     Uninterrupted business for customers.
c.      Low initial rent.
d.     Long term growth when needed – Peters can save money for expansion at later date.

2.     Town and Country Mall not ideal.
a.     High traffic from prime location might seem better for long term growth.
b.     High rent could off-set any growth making short term survival difficult.
c.      The space may initially be too large.
d.     Need to court new customers because location is not easily accessible from downtown.

3.     Conclusion: reaffirm position.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY

INTRODUCTIONS: GET OFF TO A STRONG START.

TWO PURPOSES:

1.     GRAB THE READER’S ATTENTION.
2.     STATE CLEARLY YOUR THESIS OR POSITION.

THE FIRST SENTENCE SHOULD IMMEDIATELY OFFER A STATEMENT OF YOUR POSITION.

DO NOT DESCRIBE THE SCENARIO: ASSUME THAT READERS ARE FAMLIAR WITH THE SITUATION.

WRITING STONG PARAGRAPHS:

A GROUP OF SENTENCES ABOUT A SINGLE IDEA.

-  BE AS CLEAR AND OBVIOUS AS POSSIBLE.

DEVELOPING IDEAS: AIM FOR THREE-TO-FIVE SENTENCE PARAGRAPHS THROUGHOUT YOUR ESSAY:

1 – TOPIC SENTENCE
2 OR 3 – EVIDENCE OR SPECIFIC EXAMPLE
1 OR 2 – REFUTING COUNTERARGUMENTS OR PROVIDING A TRANSITION INTO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH.

THE ONLY EXCEPTION IS THE CONCLUSION: NO NEW IDEAS, LESS SENTENCES.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY LEVELS:

I. MACRO-ORGANIZATION (OVERALL ORGANZING PRINCIPLE OF YOUR ESSAY)
II. MESO-ORGANIZATION (INTERMEDIATE, PARAGRAPH LEVEL)
III. MICRO- ORGANIZATION (SENTENCE LEVEL)

MESO-ORGANIZATION LEVEL:

1.     Paragraph unity = SINGLE COHERENT IDEA.
2.     Topic sentence.
3.     Transitional Phrases BETWEEN and WITHIN the paragraph.

CONCLUSION:

1.     Restate your main idea.
2.     Briefly summarize your main support.

REVISING AND EDITING YOUR ESSAY

LEAVE 3 TO 5 MINUTES AT THE END.

MACRO-ORGANIZATION, I.E., BIG PICTURE CHECK LIST:

-       STATE IDEAS ASSERTIVELY AND CLEALY
-       DEVELOP YOUR IDEAS FULLY
-       ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS LOGICALLY
-       STAY FOCUSED
-       SIGNPOST CONSTANTLY

MICRO-ORGANIZATION:

MAXIMS I - VIII