Welcome to English Composition

Instructor: Suzanne Ryan

Freewriting Warmup

• The SPCA of Wake County received a very cordial email from Sweden, from the original songwriter’s legal team, telling us that the song was being used commercially and would be removed from YouTube. Despite our assurances that the video was not a commercial and was similar to hundreds of other user-created YouTube videos using the same song and we would never air the video on TV, they

still maintained it was too commercial.

Agenda

• Review the tools for avoiding Writer’s Block• Discuss procrastination• Discuss time management tools• Look at 2 case studies• Discuss your challenges• Look at ways to document your project plan• Practice with thesis statements and project plans• Group feedback on thesis statements

Review: the tools to avoid writer’s block

Procrastination

• Overcoming procrastination (mind tools video)

Procrastination

• What are your challenges to writing?

Procrastination

• Making to-do lists (mind tools video)• Ideas from Franklin

Procrastination

• Prioritization (mind tools video)

Procrastination

• Analyze two case studies in small groups

Steps of the Research Writing Process

Choose a topic

Plan and schedule time to research and write

Conduct research

Organize research and ideas

Draft your paper

Revise and edit your paper 11-10

Sources

• Primary sources: Research sources that provide raw information or data without commentary or interpretation, such as surveys, interviews, and historical documents

• Secondary sources: Research sources that provide information and include some analysis or interpretation of the information

11-11

Steps in Developing a project plan

11-12

Choose a Topic

• Identifying Potential Topics

• Narrowing Your Topic

• Exploring Your Topic in Writing

• Conducting Preliminary Research

A Plan for Research

• Formulating a Research Question

• Constructing a Working Thesis

Your project plan

• Research phase: The first phase of a research project in which the writer gathers and organizes information A good rule of thumb is to allot 1/3

the available time for research• Writing phase: The second phase of a

research project in which the writer drafts, revises, and edits the paper Plan to spend half the time available

on this phase11-13

Managing Your project plan

• Planning your project Set up a project schedule

• Project schedule: A document outlining the tasks involved in each step of the research project with a target date for completing each step

Think about how you will complete each step and what project resources you will use• Project resources: The documents, tools, or

people that a writer relies on to complete a research project

Examples of project resources include library databases, personal computers, style guides, and tutors

Break down major steps into smaller tasks if necessary

11-14

Managing Your project plan

• Writers stay focused by using organizational tools that suit their needs (Word, Excel, Calendars, Project, etc.)

• Anticipating and planning for potential setbacks can help writers avoid those setbacks or minimize their effect on the project schedule

11-15

Timeline

• http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/timeline/index.html

• List tasks you want to do• Tie the tasks to start and completion dates• Add in other obligations• Re-evaluate the points on your timeline that

you can adjust

Tasks for your Project Plan

• Write thesis statement• Develop project plan• Turn in thesis statement & project

plan 11/16• Begin research• Complete research• Create outline• Turn in outline 11/30• Update outline from instructor

feedback• Write 1st draft from updated outline• Read 1st draft aloud• Hold peer review• Revise 1st draft from peer review• Turn in 1st draft 12/07

• Write 2nd draft (use instructor feedback)

• Read 2nd draft aloud• Hold peer review• Revise 2nd draft from peer review to

create final draft• Turn in 2nd draft 12/14• Update 2nd draft to create final draft• Read final draft aloud• Edit final draft• Hold peer review• Update final draft from peer review• Proof final draft• Finalize final draft• Turn in final essay 12/20

Thesis Statement Rubric (5 pts)

Your thesis statement• contains a topic (main idea of what you are writing about)• contains an opinion about the topic (what your attitude is

toward the topic, something arguable)• Is a complete sentence with correct grammar and

punctuation• Is not a fact• Is not a title• Is not too broad, too narrow, too general, or too wordy

©Suzanne Ryan 18

Rubric for the project plan (5 points)

• Timeline showing tasks and deliverable dates

What to turn in Friday

• Clearly titled• Labeled with your name and period

Brainstorming Questioning Mind-mapping Free writing Thesis statement (Times New Roman, 12 pt) Project plan (neat and professional)

Work on Thesis Sentences and Project Plans

Writing Lab: Small Groups

Small Groups• Read your statements aloud• Swap thesis statements• Is it an announcement, fact,

or title?• Identify the opinion words

• Identify the subject & verb• Check for subject-verb

agreement• Check for 3rd person point of

view• Return statements. Make

changes.• Read your statements aloud

Writing Lab: Small Groups

Small Groups

• Read your statements aloud• Swap statements• Check for pronoun reference• Check for pronoun case• Consider simple vs. compound vs. complex sentence

structure• Return statements.• Make changes as desired• Read your statements aloud again

Wrap-Up

• Reviewed the tools to avoid Writer’s Block• Discuss procrastination• Practiced with thesis statements and project

plans