Class notes for Writing Task #1 and Bashing the 5 paragraph essay

Here are the class notes on what students remembered from class discussion on writing from Thursday
(Thank you for writing them down, Jodi!):

1. Content should dictate your form (organization).  Your topic and thesis and supporting claims should determine how you write your piece.

2. Although the 5 paragraph essay is useful for young writers and for on-demand writing, it has its drawbacks:

•         it can limit development and keep your writing superficial. (Think "training wheels"...eventually, once you have outgrown their usefulness, they can hold you back.)
•         paragraphs can become separate islands, when they should "hook" together as you build your argument.
•         Although a closed thesis is useful, an open thesis shows more sophistication and allows you to develop meaning as you write, leading the writer to unexpected insights.

3.  AUDIENCE:  write to a HUMAN audience, using those appeals to logos, ethos and PATHOS.  When you write, try to always write with emotion and human connection (balanced with the logos part).  This can be tricky with formal writing, where the use of 1st person is supposed to somewhat limited.  That being said, stay away from using "YOU" in your writing; remember the 2nd person can alienate your audience.

4. Be creative.  Use your imagination in your revising to craft sentences that will appeal to the reader, using effective and colorful diction, figurative language, and powerful syntax.  This will get easier as we practice this in class.

5. A good thesis always answers the question "How?" or "Why?"  With this particular essay, it is too obvious to state, "Rebecca Skloot uses logos, ethos, and pathos to achieve her purpose."  You MUST (this is the part that requires you to show me YOUR thinking) say something more explicit and specific about HOW she uses those appeals.  See my models.

 Your paragraphs and conclusion should answer the question "so what?"  Go beneath the surface!

6.  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is NOT a novel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (also use italics when you mention the book, no underlining or quotation marks!)

7.  HOOKS:  Use a quotation from another source, or the book itself, but wait until your body paragraphs to start getting into the nitty-gritty of your argument. 

8. Remember the FUNNEL for your opening paragraph.  This is where you draw on what you came up with for SOAPS...Start with the subject, the occasion and context, along with speaker intro and audience.  This should all lead to the statement of purpose.

9. On google docs, please try to use your real name so I can easily identify you.  If you can't change your screen name, then be sure to include your name at the front of the title of your piece.  (maybe my dropbox will help with this for final drafts?)

10. 10,000 hours!  Becoming a good writer will require a lot from you, but most of all TIME.  http://rapgenius.com/Macklemore-and-ryan-lewis-ten-thousand-hours-lyrics#note-1122617