Example Prewriting Assignment

Exercise 5.1 Example Prewriting Assignment In a previous chapter, we examined six ways of exploring the mind, of preparing to write or of prewriting: telling a story, seeing the story, clustering ideas, listing details, using an artifact, and writing freely. Now select a topic or an idea and work through the example prewriting exercise below. Step One: Identify a Topic Isolate three topics: a topic about a person, a topic about a place, and a topic about a thing; for example, you might consider a friend's personality, a place such as a family vacation spot, or a certain thing that was very important in your life. Briefly explain each topic below. INDIVIDUAL, PLACE, OR EVENT: Topic 1 (an person):

Topic 2 (a place):

Topic 3 (a thing):

Step Two: Develop a Strategy The next step involves planning the organization of your ideas. The method of organizing the information in an exposition or theme is to focus on some aspect of the topic and to organize details according to the aspect I am emphasizing. As an illustration of an example strategy, I could select an historical situation from my own family background, specifically the time when one of my wife's ancestors spent a very difficult time in prison. The topic, his time in prison, is what we would have identified in the previous exercise; now I need to establish a strategy for presenting the details associated with my focus, in this case an example strategy of his difficult time in prison. Situation: In the late nineteenth century, William Grant spent twenty months in prison for polygamy. He suffered greatly from the difficult conditions, aggravated health problems, and separation from his family.

Topic: William Grant's prison sentence. Strategy: Give examples of William Grant's difficult prison term. Exercise: Looking back at the topics that you recorded in the exercise above, devise an example strategy or example method of organization for one of the three topics that appeals to you. Example Strategy for Topic from Step One:

Step Three: Focus on a Main Point--Construct a Thesis Now you must reconstruct the focus as a thesis, a statement which states what you plan to establish or prove about the subject. As we have chosen an example strategy, our thesis sentence will be an example thesis. A thesis always has an argumentative edge. Many teachers of basic composition courses ask their students to frame a thesis by completing the sentence "The purpose of this paper is to prove (to convince, show, or establish for the reader) that . . . ." The process consists of two steps: First, I complete the sentence, "The purpose of this paper is to prove to the reader that William Grant's prison term was difficult." Then I drop the first part of the sentence, resulting in a thesis: William Grant's prison term was difficult. It is best to think of a thesis as a complete sentence composed of two parts: the subject--"William Grant's prison term"--and the controlling idea or predicate--"was difficult." The predicate functions as the controlling idea. Thus when you actually write the paper, we are going to include only those details or facts that will establish one and only one idea: the difficulty of William Grant's prison term. We are not interested in whether or not Grant provided well for his family, was a dedicated member of his community, or sent his two wives identical roses on each of their birthdays. It is important to remember this one simple fact since it is normally on this and this point alone that most writers of exposition go astray. They assume that they can include whatever comes to mind about William Grant in the exposition, and as a result, the paper wanders and lacks basic unity. By the rules which the writer of the thesis has established, he is allowed only to present details that confirm that Grant's prison term was difficult. Exercise: Try your hand at writing theses by completing one or more of the three sentences below for one topic from the exercise above. TOPIC: The purpose of this paper is to . . . convince the reader that:

persuade the reader that:

establish for the reader that:

There are as many ways to write an exposition as there are authors. Once again, read widely, observe what others do, and glean techniques that you particularly like and with which you feel comfortable. All this brings us to the next step, sketching a rough outline. Step Four: Frame an Outline 1. First, sketch out a simple outline: Actually we have already begun this step. Let us assume that you want to establish that a certain person named Ted will accept no advice in electing a course of action, in other words that Ted is authoritarian. While the subject of the exposition is Ted, the writer will provide facts or details that deal only with establishing Ted's authoritarian nature. The simple example outline might look something as follows: Thesis: Ted is authoritarian. 1. Ted expects absolute obedience from his children. 2. Ted refuses to allow his wife to make decisions. 3. Ted expects unquestioning obedience from his employees. Conclusion: Ted is so authoritarian that living with him is difficult. Now complete a simple outline for the thesis you have developed. Thesis:

1.

2.

3.

Conclusion:

In the final essay, the thesis will appear normally as the last sentence in the opening paragraph; each supporting topic sentence will appear at the beginning of each succeeding support paragraph; and finally, the summary statement, which is a restatement of the thesis, will appear in the concluding paragraph. From the simple outline, it is clear why points 1, 2, and 3 relate to the thesis and the conclusion. Actually any of the above writing strategies would work. 2. Second, now develop a complete outline for the topic you have selected. In complete sentences, add three or four details under each of the subideas or topic sentences (or points 1, 2, and 3). For example, for the second subidea, "Ted refuses to allow his wife to make decisions," you might add details about how Ted expects his wife each Christmas to spend no more than $500, how Ted does not allow his wife to visit her parents without first seeking his permission, and how Ted demands that his wife get his approval each week for the meals she is planning. Subidea #2, with supporting detail, might then appear as follows: Subidea 2: Ted refuses to allow his wife to make decisions. a. Last Christmas, Ted told his wife that she could spend no more than$500 on presents, decorations for the house, and special dinners without his permission. b. Whenever Ted's wife wants to visit her parents, Ted expects her to get his approval before leaving the house. Once Ted's wife invited her parents for a visit, but Ted would not let them in the house because they had not called first to get his permission. c. Each week, Ted demands that his wife get his approval for the meals she is planning. Once she prepared a dinner for which she had not received his approval, and he refused to eat it. In the final essay, the thesis will appear normally as the last sentence in the opening paragraph; each subidea or topic sentence will appear at the beginning of each of the three support paragraphs; and finally, the summary statement, which is a restatement of the thesis, will appear in the concluding paragraph. From the simple outline, it should be clear why points 1, 2, and 3 relate back to the thesis and forward to the conclusion.

One could continue on with topic sentences or subideas #1 and #3, adding the necessary details in complete sentences that would support each topic sentence or subidea. Your task now is to complete and finish the outline for the thesis that you have written: thesis, subideas, the supporting details, and conclusion should be complete sentences and should total at least 250 words. For at least two of the details in your outline, conduct research and supply the parenthetical reference in the outline itself following the detail; at the end of the outline, in the works cited section, give the full citation for each parenthetical reference. The parenthetical reference for conventional references is (authors last name and page number): 335 households supplied the labor needs of the company at Bath in the 1680s (Neale 49). For electronic sources the proper form is also (authors last name and date of access); however, if no author is given, use (site and date of access). If you mention the authors name in the text, then omit the name in the parenthetical citation. R.S. Neale concludes that 335 households supplied the labor needs of the company at Bath in the 1680s (49). Essay thesis:

1. First topic sentence or subidea:

a. Supporting detail:

b. Supporting detail:

c. Supporting detail:

2. Second topic sentence or subidea:

a. Supporting detail:

b. Supporting detail:

c. Supporting detail:

3. Third topic sentence or subidea:

a. Supporting detail:

b. Supporting detail:

c. Supporting detail:

Essay conclusion: Works Cited: (Provide at least two citations that give the complete information for the parenthetical references in the outline above. Using the following model, include as many of the items as you can.) Last Name, First Name. The Title of the Article. The Name of the Site. The date of revision or publication. The URL or address (the date that you downloaded the information or accessed the URL).