04 Writing

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Writing Chapter Opener

Start-Up Activity

You probably have some talkative students. Challenge a volunteer to talk nonstop for a full minute about a subject of his or her choosing. The person may say any school-appropriate thing but must keep talking.

After your volunteer crosses the one-minute mark, applaud the nonstop chattiness. Then tell your class this is what you want them to do when they write a first draft of anything. You want them just to rapidly pour out their ideas on the topic. If they've done their prewriting work, they will have plenty to say. The key is to say it fluently and rapidly. A first draft doesn't have to be perfect: It just has to be.

This chapter gives your students help with writing openings, middles, and closings. Students should use whatever strategies work but should not obsess about using any given approach. Instead, they should get their ideas down. Afterward, they can work on improving them.

Think About It

“It's amazing, if you know what you want to say, how fast it is to write.”

—Evan Davis

Page 032 from Write for College

Writing the Opening

Essays, plays, meals, ceremonies, games, novels, classes, school years, doctor visits—anything that people experience sequentially has a beginning part. A successful opening must do a number of jobs:

  • Invite the person into the experience
  • Convince the person the experience will be worthwhile
  • Orient the person to what is going on
  • Launch the experience

The beginning of an essay or story must draw the reader into the mind of the writer, convincing the person to stay long enough to learn something. Teach students the opening strategies on this page (and those modeled throughout this book) to help them engage and orient readers.

The sample paragraph orients readers to a literary analysis that will play out over the next pages.

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Page 033 from Write for College

A Closer Look at Openings

Use this page as scaffolding for students who struggle with opening paragraphs. Walk them through each sentence strategy and example. Then have them craft a similar opening based upon a topic of their own choosing.

Also, point out the beginning strategies that students should avoid in their writing.

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Page 034 from Write for College

Developing the Middle

Just as the beginning orients the reader to the experience, the middle must deliver the experience. It supports the thesis statement with main points and key details. Use the top part of this page to outline the kinds of supporting details that writers can include. Use the bottom of the page to discuss how to arrange these details.

Remind students that the first draft isn't about getting everything right but about getting everything down. Tell them to relax as they write. Instead of obsessing about exact wording or perfect sentences, they should just rapidly and honestly write what they want about the topic. They can return later to make improvements, big and small.

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Page 035 from Write for College

Sample Middle Paragraphs

The three sample paragraphs on this page support the thesis of the sample opening on page 32. Help students see that each paragraph focuses on a different main point and includes different types of supporting details. Point out that organization includes how sentences form a paragraph and how paragraphs form an essay.

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Page 036 from Write for College

Bringing Your Writing to a Close

A strong opening has oriented the reader to the experience, and an effective middle has delivered the experience. Now the closing needs to help the reader take the experience along. In that way, the closing does the opposite of the opening: It sums up the ideas and connects them to everyday life, helping them remain with the reader.

Use this page to teach effective closing strategies. The sample closing sums up the literary analysis presented on the previous pages.

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Page 037 from Write for College

A Closer Look at Closings

Use this page as scaffolding for students who struggle to bring their writing to a close. Lead them through each sentence of the closing paragraph with examples, and then have them use the same approach to write their closings.

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Page 038 from Write for College

Integrating Quotations

Quotations can hook readers in the opening, support ideas in the middle, and leave readers with a final interesting thought in the closing. Help students understand effective strategies for using quotations in their writing.

At the bottom of the page, point out the common misuses of quotations.

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