welcome to ku121 unit 3 seminar intro to writing skills and strategies instructor – carrie jantz...

Welcome to KU121

Unit 3 Seminar

Intro to Writing Skills and Strategies

Instructor – Carrie Jantz

You are in the right place :).

Seminar Agenda1. Welcome!

2. The Writing Process

3. WSS Project

4. Tools for Brainstorming

5. Parts of Speech

6. Writing Rascals

7. Unit 3 Assignments

8. Questions

Quick Review: Friends and Enemies

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. “

~ Sun-tzu, Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)

Friends Enemies

• Complete Sentences• Understanding of the different types of clauses• Writing Center ‘ s Live Tutors• Writing Center ‘s Q & A Center• Writing Center ‘s Writing Reference Library• Writing Center’s Paper Review Service

• Fragments• Run-On Sentences• Comma Splices

Which enemy did you encounter this past week?

Which friend did you rely on?

Course Map

Get to know WSS, the sylla-bus, each other, and the writing

process

Review sentence develop-ment and

learn about the Writing

Center

Unit 1 Unit 2 Units 3-8 Unit 9 Unit 10

Explore writing

process steps and create bio essay.

Review basic grammar.

Discuss how to

evaluate and apply feedback to polish

work

Reflect on course

concepts. Plan for future writing

success.

Welcome!

“The fixation on the finished article causes writers a lot of trouble….

It’s a very American kind of trouble. We are a culture that worships the winning result: the league championship, the high test score. Coaches are paid to win….

Less glamorous gains along the way – learning, wisdom, growth, confidence, dealing with failure – aren’t given the same respect because they can’t be given a grade.”

Zinsser, W. (1998). On writing well. NY: HarperCollins.

Many times, our troubles with writing result from the fact that we expect it to be an

event rather than a process.

Sculpture and the

Writing Process

Let’s start with a quick question …

The writing process makes me want to:

a) Pull my hair out

b) Scream

c) Give up

d) All of the above

If you answered a, b, c, or d, it may be because you experience writer’s block.

Writer’s block is really frustrating –

if you experience writer’s block you may feel like you know your stuff, but just can’t get

it on paper. It might feel like something is

standing in your way

and preventing you from

moving forward.

If you answered the question with a, b, c, or d, it may also be because you’re

not sure where to start!

During times like this it can be helpful to remember that writing is a process – and

each of the steps in the process is needed in order to have solid results.

In this way, writing is like sculpting -- neither happens in a flash. Each takes

time, care, and multiple steps.

Steps in the Writing Process

1. Prewriting – Getting ideas flowing

2. Drafting – Creating a rough draft

3. Revising – Tweaking content

4. Editing – Tweaking mechanics and formatting

Each of these steps corresponds with a step in the process a sculptor uses when he works.

Think of a beautiful marble sculpture…

How was it created?

Step 1: Sculptor Chooses Stone

First, a sculptor chooses his stone. This step of sculpting is like prewriting – the stage where we plan ideas and come up with a general sense of what we want to write about and put it into outline form. Like with sculpture, we can’t expect perfection at this stage – all we aim for is a basic shape.

If you get stuck at this stage …

1. Brainstorm on paper

2. Brainstorm aloud

3. Free write about related topics in a journal

4. Discuss the project with someone else

WSS Project

• We will be working on this for the rest of the term

• Final Draft due in Unit 9

• This week, we will begin the pre-writing stage of generating ideas

• We will do part of this process in this week’s discussion

… More details about the project are on the next two slides

WSS ProjectProject Description:

Imagine that it is five years in the future. You have completed your educational program at Kaplan University and have been offered your dream job! The company or organization you will be working for wants to issue a biographical essay about you to announce that you are joining them and in what capacity. In order to do so, they need a minimum 500-word background essay from you.

WSS ProjectMore Details:1. One introductory paragraph that identifies who you are, where you live, the company or organization that has hired you and your new job title.

2. One body paragraph that gives appropriate personal details about you and your life—your age, family, hobbies, etc. (NOTE: this is a professional biography so you need to limit personal details to only what is appropriate in the professional environment).

3. One body paragraph that talks about your education. You should include high school or your GED, any previous college experience and your Kaplan program.

4. One paragraph that details professional experiences, including past job experiences, honors and awards and other related professional details.

5. One concluding paragraph that reinforces where you will be working, your job title and what you will be doing.

Tools for Brainstorming

#1 – Lists

• jot down ideas in a simple list• don’t think or judge, write!

Tools for Brainstorming

#1 – ListsWhat is your dream job?

• Idea

• Idea

• Idea

• Idea

• Idea

.

At this point, try to generate as

many ideas as possible. Don’t worry about how good they are. Don’t worry about spelling,

formatting, or grammar, just write!

Tools for Brainstorming

#1 – ListsWhat is your dream job?

• Idea

• Idea

• Idea

• Idea

• Idea

.

Later, when you

review your list, youcan sort the useful ideas from those that are not useful. However, don’t

reject ideas until after you finish your list. Sometimes a fantastic idea is just a

hair away from a crazy one!

Tools for Brainstorming

#2 – Freewriting

• writ

e any ideas th

at come to

you

• don’t w

orry about q

uality

• don’t t

hink, writ

e!

Tools for Brainstorming

#2 – FreewritingWhat makes it a job?

I want to do this job because I want XXX, XXX, and XXX. Also, I like XXX and that reminds me of XXX which I don’t want. A dream job means XXX to me and it would change my life by XXX if I achieved this it would XXX. And XXX too..

Again, try to generate as

many ideas as possible. This is the time to write, not to judge. Later, you

can sort ideas and deal with spelling, grammar,

and formatting.

Tools for Brainstorming

#3 – Mapping

• create a “mind map” of ideas• let one idea lead into the next

• also called “branching”

Tools for Brainstorming

#3 – Mapping

What type of workdo you do?

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

IdeaIdea

Idea

Idea Idea

Idea

Idea

Tools for Brainstorming

#4 – Talking

• think out loud• listen to yourself• listen to another

It’s often helpful to talk

to another person. Their ideas, questions, and

suggestions might help you think more clearly, deeply, or

broadly. However, simply talking aloud can also be helpful.

Sometimes we don’t know we have an idea until we

hear ourselves say it aloud!

Tools for Brainstorming

#4 – TalkingWhat are your co-workers like?

Talk to:

• classmates

• yourself

• friends or family

• children

• pets

• plants.

Parts of Speech - NounsNoun = a person place or thing

“A noun just is – or isn’t…. That’s the pure, simple beauty of a noun: utter the word and you have company on your hands, however abstract (apathy, hypothesis, dissent), palpable (balsa wood, marzipan), or specific (the Loch Ness Monster, Elvis Presley).”

Find the nouns:

1.He had a collection of homemade toothbrushes.2.My son is a horse thief.3.I gave her a piece of my mind.

Quote and sentence examples from: Gordon, K. (1993). The deluxe transitive vampire: The ultimate handbook of grammar for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Pantheon.

Parts of Speech - PronounsPronoun = substitutes for a noun

“Columbine combed the snarls out of Columbine’s hair and scrubbed Columbines’ body with the loofah Columbine’s paramour (lover) had given the paramour’s true love.”

v.s.

“Columbine combed the snarls out of her hard and scrubbed her body with the loofah her paramour had given his true love.”

How does the use of pronouns change this sentence?Quotes from: Gordon, K. (1993). The deluxe transitive vampire: The ultimate handbook of grammar for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Pantheon.

Parts of Speech - Verbs

Verb = a word that expresses action or state of being

“The verb gives the subject something to do.”

Find the verbs:

1.She missed the midnight train.2.I prefer foreign gentlemen.3.She looked into his eyes and blinked.4.He was determined to dazzle her.

Quote and sentence examples from: Gordon, K. (1993). The deluxe transitive vampire: The ultimate handbook of grammar for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Pantheon.

Parts of Speech - PrepositionPreposition = a word that links the object (noun or pronoun) to the rest of the sentence. Prepositions often show relationships of time, place, direction, and manner.

Examples: Along, among, around, after, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond, by, despite … (see page 569 of text for more).

Fill in the blanks:

1.She called __________ our meeting.2.We decided to make the trip _______ the snowstorm.3.I walked _________ the block.Sentence examples modified from: McWhorter, K. (2010). Pathways writing scenarios: Sentences and paragraphs. NY: Pearson.

Writing Rascals

What is a Writing Rascal?

• An issue with language that prevents clear communication

• Can include grammar, spelling, punctuation, or sentence structure

• Can be found and fixed with review and editing (like Whack-a-Mole!)

Writing Rascal #1

There are one lonely mummy in the tomb.

Sentence example modified from: Gordon, K. (1993). The deluxe transitive vampire: The ultimate handbook of grammar for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Pantheon.

Writing Rascal #2

The four rats up on the roof is unarmed.

Sentence example modified from: Gordon, K. (1993). The deluxe transitive vampire: The ultimate handbook of grammar for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Pantheon.

Writing Rascal #3

Here is the horseshoes.

Sentence example modified from: Gordon, K. (1993). The deluxe transitive vampire: The ultimate handbook of grammar for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Pantheon.

Writing Rascal #4

There were my runaway son!

Sentence example modified from: Gordon, K. (1993). The deluxe transitive vampire: The ultimate handbook of grammar for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed . NY: Pantheon.

Unit 3 To Do

Reading Discussion (20) Seminar (5) MWL Exercises (10) Quiz (5)

What other questions do you have?

Thanks for coming!

Works Cited

Gordon, K. (1993). The deluxe transitive vampire: The ultimate handbook of grammar for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY:

Pantheon.

McWhorter, K. (2010). Pathways writing scenarios: Sentences and paragraphs. NY: Pearson.

Zinsser, W. (1998). On writing well. NY: HarperCollins.