Instructor's Guide Writings from Life

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Instructor's Guide Writings from Life Powered By Docstoc
					Instructor’s Guide


Writings from Life

With Supplemental Activities

       by Tom Tyner

     Breadan Publishing

Introduction 1
 Using Writing from Life 2
 Overview 2

Unit One                         Unit Two
Experiences                      Influences
Why Write? 4                     Prewriting 19
                                  Topic Selection 19
Writing Process 4                 Free Writing 19
                                  Making a List 20
Prewriting 4
 Free Writing 5                  First Drafts 21
                                  Providing Examples 21
First Drafts 6                    Drafting Guidelines 21
 First Draft Guidelines 6
                                 Revision 22
Revision 7                         Transitional Wording 22
 Providing Description 7           Revision Guidelines 23
 Sentence Wording 8
 Paragraphing 10                 Editing 26
                                  Sentence Fragments 26
Editing 12                        Comma Usage 27
 Run-on Sentences 12              Editing Review 27
 Irregular Verbs 13               Editing Guidelines 28

Writing Summary 14               Writing Summary 28

Readings 15                       Readings 29

Supplemental Materials 15        Supplemental Materials 29
 Using Descriptive Language 16    Transitional Wording 30
 Improving Sentence Wording 17    Transitional Wording 31
 Paragraphing Activity 18         Comma Usage 32

Unit Three                       Unit Four
Interests                        Beliefs and Values

Prewriting 33                    Prewriting 49
     Topic Selection 33            Topic Selection 49
     Thesis Statement 33            Brainstorming 49
     Making a List 35              Thesis Statement 50
                                   Thesis Support 50
First Drafts 36                     Opposing Arguments 51
     Opening Paragraph 36
     Middle Paragraphs 36        First Drafts 52
     Concluding Paragraph 37      Audience and Purpose 52
                                    Reading Audience 52
Revision 38                        Writing Purpose 52
     Organization 38              Drafting Guidelines 53
      Organizing Guidelines 38
     Revision Guidelines 39      Revision 54
                                  Substantiating Claims 54
Editing 41                        Revision Guidelines 55
     Subject-Verb Agreement 41
      Agreement Rules 41         Editing 57
     Editing Guidelines 42        Pronoun Usage 57
                                    Subject Pronouns 57
Writing Summary 43                  Pronoun Agreement 58
                                  Editing Review 58
Readings 43                       Editing Guidelines 59

Supplemental Materials 43        Writing Summary 59
     Thesis Statements 44
     Essay Organization 45       Readings 60
     Subject-Verb Agreement 47
                                 Supplemental Materials 60
                                   Analyzing an Issue-Oriented Essay 61
                                   Sentence Wording Revision 63
                                   Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement 64

Unit Five                           Unit Six
Problems and Solutions              Discoveries
Prewriting 65                       Prewriting 76
 Selecting a Topic 65                Selecting a Topic 76
 Analyzing the Problem 66            Researching Your Topic 77
 Finding Solutions 66                  Finding Sources 77
                                       Taking Research Notes 77
First Drafts 67                      Thesis, Audience, Purpose 77
 Audience and Purpose 67               Thesis 77
 Drafting Guidelines 67                Audience 78
                                        Purpose 78
Revision 68
 Varying Sentence Structures 68     First Drafts 79
 Revision Guidelines 69               Source Acknowledgment 79
                                      Paraphrasing, Quoting, Responding 79
Editing 70                              Paraphrasing 79
 Colons, Semi-Colons, Dashes 70         Quotations 80
 Comparative Adjectives 71              Responding 80
 Superlative Adjectives 71            Works Cited 80
 Editing Review 72                    Drafting Guidelines 81
 Editing Guidelines 72
                                    Revision 82
Readings 73                              Revision Guidelines 82

Student Writing 73                  Editing 83
                                      Punctuating Quotations 83
Supplemental Materials 73             Possessives 83
  Sentence Variety 74                 Similar Sounding Words 84
  Colons, Semi-Colons, Dashes 75      Editing Guidelines 84
  Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement 75
                                    Readings 84

                                    Supplemental Materials 84
                                     Paraphrasing, Quoting, and Responding 85
                                     Citing Variations for Books, Journals 86
Writings from Life is a process-oriented writing textbook that helps students continue to grow and
improve as writers. Students learn by writing, and the textbook provides a variety of writing
assignments that require students to develop and apply different writing and thinking skills as they
progress through the book.

In each unit, students use the writing process in the text to develop their papers. The basic process of
prewriting, drafting, revision, and editing is repeated in each unit, with new instructional elements
introduced in each section that apply to the type of writing the students are doing. The process is
repeated in each unit so that students become familiar and comfortable with the approach to use for any
writing they may do.

The title Writings from Life indicates the kind of writing students will do: writings based on their
personal experiences, interests, observations, knowledge, beliefs, and opinions. They write about aspects
of their lives, and the world around them, that they find most important, significant, and interesting.
They use the writing process in the textbook, along with the instructional guides, to help develop and
express their ideas most effectively.

The text also emphasizes writing as a form of communication. To that end, students write for different
reading audiences, such as their classmates, and for particular purposes: to inform, entertain, influence,
educate, or move readers to action. The writing assignments in the text are real in that they are written
for others and for a purpose, which is more meaningful than writing as a textbook exercise.

Writings for Life also strongly emphasizes the role of revision in the writing process. Throughout the
text, students work on revising and improving their writing in a number of areas: wording, organization,
content development, paragraphing, openings and conclusions, transitional wording, and so on. The text
provides specific revision guidelines fo the type of writing students do in each unit.

As the last step in the writing process in each unit, students proofread and edit their papers to eliminate
errors. Correct writing is emphasized as the best way to showcase a writer’s ideas, as a courtesy to
readers, and as a goal that all writers share. Within each unit, the text provides instruction in the areas of
punctuation, grammar usage, and spelling where writers have the most problems: run-on sentences and
comma splices, sentence fragments, comma usage, subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent
agreement, and so on. Students are also taught to proofread a paper several times, looking for a different
kind of error each time. In addition, the text provides an editing checklist in each unit for students to
apply to the paper they are working on.

Using Writings for Life
Writing instructors have their own ways of using a writing text, and Writings from Life is amenable to
either a unit-by-unit progression or a “pick and choose” approach. While it is presumptuous to tell any
writing instructor how to use a text, there are always instructors who welcome ideas and suggestions that
will help students use a text effectively. It is for those instructors that the Instructor’s Guide is written.

While Writings for Life may be used in different ways, it was written with the intent of students moving
through the text unit by unit. For example, in the earlier units, students begin with autobiographical and
biographical writing based on personal experiences and move towards expository writing in the later
units. In addition, instructional elements such as paragraphing, sentence wording, and run-on sentence

correction that appear in the earlier units are reviewed regularly in later units. The units are connected
by both the sequential writing progression and the regular review of instructional elements that have been

The Instructor’s Guide takes the instructor step by step through each section of each unit, providing
suggestions for guiding students through the text most effectively. The instructional suggestions are
equally helpful for instructors who use the text in less linear ways. However you choose to use the text,
you should find some ideas in the Instructor’s Guide that will be useful to you and your students.

It is worthwhile for students to preview a textbook before using it. It gives them a sense of what the
book is about, provides some understanding of what they will be doing, and increases their interest in the
text. An overview can also reduce students’ anxiety about what to expect in the class and bring some
sense of meaning to the two-hundred and sixty pages of uncharted territory that lie ahead.

In previewing the text, as well as in guiding students through the different sections and activities in each
unit, an interactive approach is recommended. As we know, most people learn best through interactive
learning as opposed to being lectured to. Writing instructors perhaps understand this better than most.
For example, it is important for students to understand the purpose behind the various activities they will
do in the text, and two learning approaches can help accomplish that. In one, the instructor could say,
“Irregular verbs are covered in the first unit because you will be writing your “experience” paper in the
past tense, where irregular verb forms cause some writers problems,” or you could ask students, “Why do
you think irregular verbs are covered in this first unit where you are writing about personal experience?”
With the latter approach, the students are engaged in thinking, interacting, and discovering things for
themselves rather than being told.

The Table of Contents is a good place to begin an overview, where students can clearly see the simple,
repetitive design of the units. The following types of questions will help provide an interactive dialogue.

Looking through the Table of Contents, what similarities do you see among the chapters? Why do you
think the text is set up in this way?

Looking through the Table of Contents, what are some of the kinds of writing that it appears you may be
doing you during the course? Do you see any type of a progression or “order” in the kinds of writing
you are doing? What do think the purpose of that progression is?

As you can see, each unit begins with a “Prewriting” section. What kinds of things do you think you will
be doing during those sections?

Notice in each unit that there is a section on “Revision” followed by a section on “Editing.” What do you
think the differences are between those sections? Why do you think the “Editing” section comes at the
end of the process in each unit?

Thumbing through the book, point out to students the wealth of writing samples throughout the units,
including the “Readings” section at the end of each unit. Ask students what they think the
purposes are for the sample writings. Tell them to feel free to read any of the samples that interest them
at any time. If you can get students to begin reading some of the writing, that will spur their interest in
the text, increase their familiarity with it, and give them an idea of the types of writing they will be doing.

There are a couple things about the text that are worth explaining to students. The first is that most of the
writing that they do for the course will be for other people to read, including their classmates. Ask them
why they think this is the case. Many students may be used to just their instructor reading their writing,
and writing for a broader audience, including their classmates, changes the writing considerations and
gets them thinking about audience, perhaps for the first time.

The second is that at different times, students will be working together to help each other improve their
writing. Ask them how it might help writers have someone else read their writing at some point in the
process. In addition, ask them how reading and evaluating someone else’s writing might help the person
doing the evaluating. Tell them they will be exchanging papers with classmates at different times both to
receive input on what they have written and to provide input to others. Explain to them that such
“critiquing” is an important part of the writing process even for professional writers, whose writing is
frequently evaluated, and consequently revised, before a final book or article is published.

Finally, point out the index in the back of the text and how students can use it to look up particular
writing topics. With that conclusion, you have provided students with a good overview of the text and
an interactive learning experience which will lay the groundwork for future discussions.

Before you begin Unit One, a final suggestion is to ask students some questions about their writing
experience such the following:

Currently, how often do you write, and what kinds of writing do you do?

How familiar are you with process writing, and when do you use it? What aspects of the writing process
do you find most useful?

What if anything would you like to improve about your writing?

How would you finish this sentence, “For me, writing is __________________________.”

The purposes in asking students such questions is to get them thinking and talking about writing and to
learn what you can about their previous writing experiences and attitudes towards writing. The more you
know about what your students bring to class as writers, the better you can meet their needs.

Unit One: Experiences

Since this is a writing course, you don’t want to wait too long to get students writing. They need to
understand that this is what they are going to be doing, and everything else is supplemental to the writing
experience. Explain to students briefly the kind of writing they will be doing for Unit One - a paper
based on a memorable personal experience - and tell them to start thinking of possible experiences they
may want to write on. In addition, ask them why they think that writing about a personal experience is
their first writing assignment.

Next, have them read over the “Why Write” section, and then ask them, “Which point or points on the
list strike you as the most important personally? Which point or points don’t you necessarily agree with
or find valid?” The second question focuses on an important consideration: the need for writers/readers
to develop their critical faculties and not take everything they read as gospel, whether from the
newspaper or a textbook.

Writing Process
Tell students that Writing from Life is a process-oriented writing textbook and ask them what they think
that means. Put the terms prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing on the board, explaining that
students will use these process steps to help write their papers. Ask them if they have used a similar
writing process previously and the kinds of things they have done at each step. Finally, tell them that this
is a basic process used by most writers that has proven a most natural and effective way for writers to
to express themselves.

In addition, tell students that all writers don’t do exactly the same things at each step in the process or
use it in the same linear way, and as they progress through the book, they will also individualize the
writing process to suit their writing needs.

Ask students what they think prewriting is, its purpose(s), and the kinds of things writers may do during
this part of the process. Ask students about their own prewriting experiences and the most useful kinds
of things they do to help get started. Explain to students that prewriting can involve anything writers do
before putting pen to paper from taking a meditative walk to making an outline to tapping their heads
with a pencil. Explain that the text offers some ideas that will help them prepare to write, and that what
they find most useful can be used for future writing.

There may be some students who have used a particular type of prewriting activity such as brainstorming
or clustering exclusively and show little interest in trying anything else. At this stage in their writing life,
it is a bit early to close off other prewriting options. If this situation arises, you might address it by
saying, “It is great that you have found some prewriting strategies that work for you and I want you to
keep using them. At the same time, I want you to try out some of the other options that the text provides
to see how they might work for you. The more prewriting options you have the better, and I’d be
interested in your opinion on the different prewriting activities in the text and how they compare to what
you have been doing.”

Writing Assignment 1

Explain to students that what they choose to write about - in this case the experience they select out of
the many possible choices - is one of the most important prewriting decisions they make. Ask them why
they think this is the case. Also point out that one of the most important criteria in deciding on a writing
topic is, “What do you most want to write about?” Ask them why this is an important criterion and they
will probably give good answers, knowing too well what it is like to write about things they’re not
interested in.

Free Writing

Ask students if they have had experience free writing and what purposes they have put it to. Explain
exactly what free writing is for this particular prewriting activity - writing anything that comes to mind
about two or three different experiences - and the purpose for the activity - to help them decide what to
write about, get some thoughts on the experience on paper, get in some writing practice, and write within
concern for correctness, order, or evaluation. Later in the course free writing activities can be done
outside of class, but make the first free writing an in-class activity.

Prewriting Activity 1.1

Give students a few minutes to think of different experiences, emphasizing that they will be writing about
a single experience as opposed to a topic like “The worst summer of my young life,” which could
involved many experiences. Have them take a look at the free writing samples in the text to get a
general idea of how to proceed, pointing out that the experience they write about may be very different
from the text samples.

Then have the students free write, giving them a few minutes per experience.

Prewriting Activity 1.2

Give students until the next class period to decide what they want to write on so they have time to
consider various options and perhaps come up with a topic they hadn’t yet considered. When you give
students plenty of time to decide on writing topics, it emphasizes the importance of topic selection.
Encourage them to select an experience that made a definite impact on their lives.

Prewriting Activity 1.3

The critical thinking aspect of the writing assignment is for students to analyze the impact that the
experience had on them: how it affected their lives, what they may have learned, why it has remained so
vivid. Once they have decided on a writing topic, give them some time to reflect on the impact of the
experience and to look at the sample writings in the text before they free write on what the experience
has meant to them.

First Drafts
Before students write the first draft of their paper, discuss the drafting process with them. It is important
that they understand why they write initial and subsequent drafts. Ask them why they think most writers,
including the most accomplished, write more than one draft of a paper. Explain the purpose of a first
draft and also what occurs during subsequent drafting/revision steps. It is a relief to some students that
everything doesn’t ride on their first draft and that they will have time to improve their papers.

You might use your own writing experiences to share how the drafting process works for you so students
understand that writing drafts is a task for all writers. Dispel the notion some students may have that
having to write more than one draft is either a textbook exercise or something writers do who can’t “get it
right” the first time.

First Draft Guidelines

Tell students that drafting guidelines are provided in the text for each of their papers, each focusing on
the kind of writing they are doing in a particular unit. Point out that the purpose of the guidelines is to
provide some general ideas to help students write their drafts effectively. Emphasize that the first
guideline is the most important, and make sure students don’t worry about following each guideline to a
“T.” Tell them the guidelines are based on how writers develop effective experience-based papers, and
they are intended to give students some ideas on how to proceed rather than a rigid framework to follow.

Drafting Activity 1.4

Suggest to students that they read the sample first draft in the activity before writing their papers. Tell
them they may get some ideas about opening or concluding their paper, about paragraphing, about using
dialogue, or about including their thoughts and feelings as they write. Don’t go over the sample in detail
with the class. If they get some ideas from reading it, great, but it is important that they don’t feel a need
to “model” their papers after a writing sample. This is their experience to write about, and they should
tell their story in a way that seems best to them.

A final suggestion to students would be to relax and enjoy their writing. Whether they write the draft in
class or outside depends, of course, on variables such as the availability of in-class computers and the
number of weekly instructional hours for the class. There is little question, however, that many students
prefer writing outside of class, particularly their first drafts.

Once students have completed their first drafts, explain what will happen during the revision process in
this section. For writers to revise their drafts effectively, they need to have some idea of what they are
trying to improve. Have a discussion with the class on the different ways they feel their first drafts might
be improved. From this discussion, they will realize that there a number of different considerations
during the revision process: wording, organization, content improvement, paragraphing improvement,
and so on. Tell students that these are the kinds of things they will receive instruction on in the Revision
sections, beginning in this section with lessons on providing description, improving sentence wording,
and paragraphing their papers. Tell them that they will go back and forth between the textbook
instruction and their drafts, applying what they are learning to revising and improving their drafts.

Providing Description

Discuss with students the value of providing description in their papers. What kinds of things might be
described? What would the purpose of the description be? What impact might the descriptive writing
have on readers? Lead the discussion beyond visual description to the description of sounds, smells,
thoughts, and feelings so that students see that descriptive writing is a pervasive part of writing, an aspect
that provides color, interest, and greater understanding for readers.

Go over the four suggestions for providing description in the section, including the examples of the first
draft and revised sentences. Discuss the different kinds of description that are provided (e.g. sights,
action, thoughts and feelings) and identify specific descriptive words. Ask students how the more
descriptive revisions improve the sentences and what impact they have on readers. These simple, broad-
stroke examples help students see what descriptive writing is and understand how they might add some
description to their drafts.

Revision Activity 1.5

This is one of many activities throughout the text where students pair up to analyze a writing sample or
one another’s writing. Of course, such activities can also be done individually or in small groups,
depending on the instructor’s preference. The text pairs students for different reasons. First, students
clearly learn from one another, and working together makes that possible. Second, working in pairs is
less threatening for some students than meeting in groups, where the more verbal students tend to
dominate. Third, working in pairs usually ensures that everyone in class is contributing. Fourth, it is
easy logistically for students to pull a couple chairs or desks together. Finally, working together,
students get to know one another, creating a more relaxed atmosphere where they will feel increasingly
comfortable sharing their writing and opinions.

There are various ways to pair students: by student choice, by spatial proximity, by ability, by differing
abilities (one student “mentoring” another). Initially, the simplest and perhaps best way to pair (or
group) students is by proximity: “Please slide desks together with someone near you.” Later, when you
get to know your students, their writing abilities, and their personalities better, you can vary the pairing
(or grouping) at times, particularly to ensure both students paired get some worthwhile revision input
from their partner. Let students know that they will be working in pairs (or groups) on different
activities, the purpose in doing so, and that the pairings will vary during the course depending on the

After students complete the activity, have them share their ideas with the class, including the types of
description they would recommend and why they would recommend it.

Suggestions for descriptive inclusions:

1. Describe how the students looked.
2. Describe the "wonderland" in more detail.
3. Describe the "changing of the shoes" and the delicious food.
4. Describe the look on your mother's face.

Activity 1.6

For students to get the most out of instructional activities like 1.5, they should apply what they learned to
their current draft as soon as possible. Ideally, they complete the discussion on Activity 1.5 and move
immediately to their papers to read and consider what descriptive detail they may add, or if the
conclusion of Activity 1.5 ends a class period, their assignment would be to do Activity 1.6 before the
next class meeting. The goal is simple: to add description wherever it would help bring the experience,
and the writer’s reactions to the experience, to life for readers. After completing their revisions, students
can pair up to see the kinds of details that their classmate has added and make suggestions if there are
other places they feel some description would improve the paper.

It is also useful to have students share with the class some of the descriptive revisions they made and why
they made them. This gives students more ideas about how they might revise their own papers and also
assures them that they are on the right track. Make this a class discussion, perhaps with students putting
some of their descriptive revisions on the board.

Improving Sentence Wording

Explain to students that the majority of revisions that writers make involve improving sentence wording.
Ask them why they think this is the case. From their own writing experiences, it will no doubt come out
that it isn’t easy to word a thought the way they want, particularly when they write it the first time. They
will find some comfort in knowing that they aren’t alone, and that all writers must work to improve their
sentence wording.

For an example, you might write a “first draft” sentence on the board, something like, “Writing down
your thoughts on paper so that they come out the way that you were thinking them isn’t the easiest thing
to do.” Ask students what they think of the wording of the sentence. If the sentence has any wording
weaknesses, what would they be? How can the sentence wording be improved without changing its
meaning? You might have students write revised versions of the sentence at their desks and then have
some of them put their sentences on the board. Go over each revised sentence and have the class
evaluate it relative to the other sentences. When there is some agreement reached that one (or more)
sentences are a definite improvement over the first draft sentence, ask them how and why the new
sentence(s) is better. From that simple activity, students can learn a lot about sentence revision and the
variety of ways a sentence might be revised.

That leads you into the textbook examples of first draft and revised sentences on global warming. Go
over the sentences with the class, asking in what ways the revised sentences are superior to the first draft
sentence. Then cover the “Sentence Wording Guidelines” with the class, which should make sense to
them after the board activity and their evaluation of the global warming sentences.

It might be useful to explain the problem of using slang in their writing, pointing out that there is nothing
wrong with these words in other contexts, such as conversation among friends or an e-mail to a buddy,
but that in more “formal” writing, whether in school, in a letter to the editor or the school board, or in

the workplace, slang is generally considered inappropriate, an exception being when it is used in
dialogue as the spoken word. Students should understand that slang words aren’t universal, and while
one reader might understand exactly what a writer is saying with a slang term, another may have no idea.

Revision Activity 1.7

Students should be well prepared to revise the “first draft” sentences in this activity. (Tell students to
feel free to replace “Los Angeles Lakers” with a team more to their liking.) When they complete their
revisions, have different students either read their revised sentences to the class or put them on the board,
where the class can see what the revised sentences look like and how, perhaps, some of them may be
improved even further.

Sample Sentence Revisions:

1.   Los Angeles Lakers’ basketball tickets are expensive and scarce, especially on the lower level.

2. The Lakers’ crowd usually arrives late, but by half-way through the first quarter, the seats
   suddenly fill.

3. The atmosphere in the arena is more electric because the team is better than in the past.

4. Many famous people attend the games, including Jack Nicholson, who always sits in the front row in
   his sunglasses.

5. The Lakers’ crowd is pretty mellow compared to the louder, more active crowds in San
   Antonio, Chicago, or Detroit.

6. Some people attend the games just to socialize and watch the crowd, so they don’t see much

7. Near the end, if the game is close, people start yelling and standing up.

8. The Laker cheerleaders are perpetually enthusiastic, dancing during every time out and at half time.

9. In the fourth quarter, people begin filing out up to ten minutes early if the game isn’t close.

10. It must be frustrating for the players to see mostly empty seats near the end of a losing game, with
    only the most loyal fans remaining.

Revision Activity 1.8

Point out to students the purpose of revision activities like 1.7: to help them develop their sentence
revision skills to apply to their own writing. Have students read each sentence of their draft as they did
the sentences in 1.7 to see how the sentence wording might be improved. You might also go over a
couple of paragraphs of the sample draft in Activity 1.11 (referenced in this activity) with the class,
analyzing the kinds of sentence changes the writer made. Then have students revise their own sentences,
and when they finish, have some of them put first draft and revised sentences side by side on the board
to see the kinds of improvements they made.


Tell students that this is the final instructional section prior to their writing the next draft of their paper,
which will include all revisions they made for descriptive detail, wording improvement, and
paragraphing. They may be getting anxious to wrap up the paper, so assure them that they are moving
towards conclusion.

Have a brief discussion with the class on paragraphing. Ask them what a paragraph is, why writers write
in paragraphs, and how they decide to end one paragraph and begin another. Ask them if they
paragraphed their draft on their personal experience and if so, why they changed paragraphs when they
did. Point out that paragraphing is a simple and practical convention for helping readers understand a
writer’s ideas by separating one idea (or event or step) from another.

Go over the paragraphing guidelines in the text, which are quite straightforward and easy to understand.
For guideline 4. on combining strings of short paragraphs, you might ask the class why it makes sense to
combine such paragraphs and what problems groups of short paragraphs might cause readers.

Revision Activity 1.9

Have students pair up to analyze the paragraphing of the sample paper, and when they are finished, have
a brief class discussion, asking students why the author changed paragraphs when she did. In addition,
since writing should be read for its content, whether used for a paragraphing exercise or otherwise, ask
students for their response or comments on the paper, and ask whether it reminds them of any
experiences that they may have had, which they could share with the class.

Next have the pairs of classmates proceed to paragraphing the two sample papers, and then as a class go
over the paragraphing decisions that students made. As with all of the readings in the text, ask students
for comments on the content of each paper and on experiences of their own that they may be reminded

Suggested beginning sentences for new paragraphs. (Other options are possible.)

The Big Scare
1. My brother was two years old . . .
2. I had to go bathroom that morning . . .
3. I jumped off the toilet seat . . .
4. Eventually my parents came home . . .

An Important Lesson
1. One Sunday Eva called me crying . . .
2. What could we do to help . . .
3. Oh my God, I thought.
4. The next day Eva called . . .
5. Eva has not seen me . . .

Revision Activity 1.10

Have students apply what they have learned about paragraphing a paper to their draft, and then have them

exchange papers with a classmate and check each other’s paragraphing. During any kind of activity
where students are working in pairs, let them know you are available to answer questions regarding the
activity. For example, students may have different opinions on the best way to paragraph a particular
part of a draft, and your input could be helpful. During pair or group activities, students should
understand that the instructor is a readily available resource, and they shouldn’t feel reluctant to call you

Revision Activity 1.11

Students are now ready to write their second drafts, incorporating all of the changes they have made to
add description, improve sentence wording, and paragraph their papers. In addition, tell them that if they
see some other things they would like to change as they read their draft, they should do it. Explain that
revising a paper is an on-going process, and while large-scale revisions at this point are rare, adding a
final detail here, a thought or feeling there, or rewording one last sentence is not uncommon.

The purpose of the sample revised drafts in the text is for students to see how other writers revise their
papers and the amount and types of revision that can occur. Point out to students that the crossed out
words and phrases in the sample draft have been deleted by the writer and the words and phrases in bold
have been added. You might go over one or two paragraphs of the essay with the class to see the kinds of
revisions the writer made.

The text provides a final opportunity for students to exchange papers and make further revision
suggestions before the revision process is completed. At this point, use your judgment as to whether
students need the additional input or are ready to move on to the editing phase.

Tell students that the final task in completing their papers is to proofread them for errors, make any
necessary corrections, and write the final, error-free draft. Ask them why they think the editing phase is
the last part of the process and why it is important to correct any errors in their papers. Also ask them if
they noticed and corrected any errors during the drafting and revision process, and the kinds of errors
they corrected. Point out that while there’s nothing wrong with correcting an error any time one jumps
out at them, the emphasis on error correction should be reserved for now, when all of the content and
wording changes have been completed.

Explain to students that in the “Editing” sections, they will receive instruction in particular areas of
grammar and punctuation and then apply what they learn to their drafts. Tell them that each editing
section covers the kinds of errors that writers most frequently make, which in this section include run-on
sentences, comma splices, and irregular verbs. Also tell them that they may or may not have problems in
these particular areas, and that as the course progresses, they will concentrate primarily on the areas that
give them problems individually. In other words, they won’t be spending time working on error
problems that they don’t have.

In addition, tell them that the text provides review instruction in subsequent “Editing” sections on
common problems like run-on sentences so that students who have a problem with run-ons will continue
working on them throughout the course. In other words, the text doesn’t assume that a thorny error
problem instantly disappears after one instructional activity, and that working on the problem throughout
the course is the best way to eliminate it.

Correcting Run-on Sentences

Ask students if they are familiar with the problem of run-on sentences and whether they have
encountered them in their writing. Put examples on the board of a couple run-on sentences and have
students correct them. Ask them why run-on sentences could be a problem for readers. Also put
examples of comma splices on the board to correct, and ask students why writers might mistakenly put a
comma between sentences rather than a period.

Go over the “Guidelines for Correcting Run-On Sentences” in the text, emphasizing the two methods of
correction, one for shorter run-on sentences and one for longer ones. Put some examples of shorter and
longer run-ons on the board and have students correct the sentences using the different correction
methods. They should then be ready for the run-on correction activity in the text.

Editing Activity 1.12

Go over the example with the class, and then have students do the activity, writing out the sentences that
need correction, which is more useful than merely punctuating them in the text. ( They don’t need to
write out the correctly punctuated sentences.) Then go over the students’ corrections with the class, and
discuss any differences of opinion on the best correction method for a particular run-on sentence.

Correction Suggestions:

A good example was the way people were dressed at my grandfather’s church last Sunday. I went with
him as I was visiting for the weekend.
However, he was the only person in the church with a tie, and only a few were wearing coats.

The minister obviously embraced the casual dress. His outfit included khaki pants, an open-necked shirt,
and loafers.
This was very different from the church my grandfather grew up in, where everything was very formal,
somber, and serious. He hasn’t completely adjusted to the change.

Editing Activity 1.13

Make this an in-class activity where students can call over the instructor to look at a sentence or two that
they are uncertain of. Once students hone in exclusively on run-on sentences, they are pretty good at
finding and correcting them. Proofreading one another’s drafts is also good practice for finding run-ons
in their own writing.

When students complete the activity, ask how many of them found and corrected run-ons in their drafts.
Have some volunteers put on the board the run-on or comma splice versions side by side with the
corrected versions. Often there is a similarity among run-on sentences, particularly with the types of
words that begin the second sentence of the run-on (e.g. pronouns, names, an introductory “there,”
“this,” those,” “these,” or “that), and seeing these similarities will help students avoid such run-ons in
their writing.

Finally, no doubt there will be a number of students who have no problem with run-on sentences or
comma splices. If so, this should be the last time that they work with them during the course, other than
perhaps to proofread someone else’s draft. There is nothing less productive than having students work on
problems that they don’t have, and in addition, sometimes problems can crop up where they didn’t exist.

Irregular Verbs

While using incorrect irregular verb forms isn’t a menacing problem for most students, it is enough of a
problem to warrant coverage. Put sentences on the board with different irregular past tense and past
participle verbs so students can see that the form changes from the past to past participle with many
verbs. Also ask students the difference between the meaning of the sentence when the past tense or past
participle is used so they will see that they serve different functions. Then refer students to the list of
irregular verbs in the text, pointing out the verbs that give writers particular problems (e.g. past participle
of swim, drink, and go, the distinction between lay/laid/laid and lie/lay/lain, or using seen or done
incorrectly as past tense verbs).

Past Tense and Past Participle

You needn’t spend a lot of time on this section since most students use the past tense or past participle
quite naturally in their writing. The point of including this section is so that students understand why
there is a past participle tense and how it functions differently from the past tense. For the purpose of
using the correct verb form, emphasize the presence of the helping verb with the past participle form, and
that if a verb is preceded by has, have or had, students use the column-three verbs.

Editing Activity 1.14

Students shouldn’t have much trouble with this activity, but since this is their first exposure in the text to
irregular verbs, go over their responses with the class. Then find out how many students had little or no
problem providing the correct verb forms. If the number is high, you know that this isn’t an editing
concern that needs much future attention. Encourage students who did have problems to keep the
irregular verb list handy when they edit their drafts, paying attention to the verbs they had problems with.

Editing Activity 1.15

Have students proofread their drafts for irregular verbs problems, and then have them double check their
spelling throughout the draft, using the spell check on their word processing program if they are using one.
Then have students proofread one another’s papers to gain more experience in locating and correcting
errors. Tell them that in future units, they will be dealing with other editing concerns, such as subject-
verb agreement and comma usage, but that for this paper, the elimination of any run-on sentences or
comma splices, incorrect irregular verb forms, or misspelled words is their goal. In addition, have them
make note of the types of errors they corrected in their drafts and to be on the alert for similar errors when
they edit future papers.

Editing Activity 1.16

Once students have completed their final drafts, it is time for their classmates - their reading audience for
the paper - to read them. You can do this in several ways: pass papers around the class, pass papers
around in small groups, read papers aloud, or have students read papers aloud (not the most popular
choice for many students). Every student doesn’t have to read every paper, but students should feel that
their papers got a good reading. In addition, you might read aloud a few papers that students found
particularly interesting or well written. Students learn from one another, and there is nothing wrong with
recognizing particularly good writing. In addition, it is not always the “best” students academically who
write the most interesting papers, and there will be students whose papers you might read who don’t tend
to get recognized in other classes. Most importantly, students are learning the purpose of most writing:
for people to read and enjoy. That should be the emphasis during the reading sessions.

Writing Summary
Near the end of the unit, students are given an opportunity to write a second paper, in this case about
another memorable personal experience that is quite different from the first one they wrote about. They
write their second paper more independently and without interruptions for instruction, applying what they
have learned during the unit.

If students write two papers for each unit, they will write eleven papers for the course (the final chapter on
research writing having only one writing assignment). Whether this is possible for your course depends
on the length of the course and the pace that students work through the text. Having students write a
second paper with a greater understanding of the process and what it takes to produce good writing is
certainly worthwhile, and they will write their second paper with the greater confidence that comes with
added experience and knowledge.

Take the class through the “Writing Summary” section, pointing out what they will be doing during the
prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing stages. Refer them to the “Guideline” sections for drafting,
revising, and editing, and suggest that they use these guidelines to help develop their papers. In addition,
tell them that they will provide you with the work they do during the process - free writing, first draft,
revised draft, final edited paper - so you can see how their papers have developed (and that they did the
work). Then tell them that they are on their own unless they request your assistance.

Give students a schedule for working on and completing their papers, one that provides some class time
for students who may need your help but also the expectation that much of the work will be done outside
of class. Since this is the main thing students are working on at this point, it is not unreasonable to expect
a final draft to be completed within a week, provided that includes a weekend that they can use.

When they finish, do some type of read-around so students will have their papers read. In addition, talk to
them about the writing experience. What was it like working on their own and not having their writing
sandwiched between instructional activities? How useful did they find the free writing as preparation for
writing their first draft? To what extent did they apply the instructional elements covered during the unit
to their writing? What did they find most useful? To what extent did they use the drafting, revising, and
editing guidelines, and how useful did they find them? What do they think of their second papers
compared to the first ones they wrote, and why? After having completed the first unit of instruction, how
do they think their writing has improved, if it has, and what do they attribute the improvement to?

The purpose of asking such questions is two-fold. First, it helps you to understand the students’ writing
experience and evaluate the instruction they have received: what they feel has worked for them and what
hasn’t. This kind of input will help you make decisions as the course progresses on what to emphasize or
to put on a back burner. Second, it is useful for students to think about and analyze their writing
experiences so that they begin viewing themselves more as writers than as students who have to write. In
addition, that you obviously value their input can only help their self-confidence and feeling of worth as


Make sure that students are aware of the readings at the end of each unit before they begin the unit, and
encourage them to take a look at the essays whenever they want. Tell them that the essays are on the same
type of topics students are writing on. They should find a number of the readings in the text interesting.

Tell students that they can read the writings for their own interest, to get ideas for their writing, or to see
how the writers do particular things, like open a paper, provide description, paragraph their paper, or
analyze the impact of an experience. As students work through the unit, you might refer them to this
essay or that for examples of something covered in a particular instructional lesson.

Finally, questions are provided at the end of each essay that can be used to generate some discussion
among the class or within groups. Use the questions as “starters,” letting the discussions roam where the
students interests take them. When used this way, it is best to talk about the essays while the students are
working through the unit rather than waiting until the end when they have completed their writing for the
unit. As we know, reading and discussing what they read helps students improve their writing, and it also
provides an occasional change of pace from all of the writing-related activities.

Supplemental Materials
The following supplemental materials are related to the instructional elements provided in Unit One. You
may reproduce them for the use of individual students who may need more work in a particular area or as
additional class activities.

Using Descriptive Language

Analyze the writer’s use of descriptive language in the following paper. Identify descriptive passages,
note the kinds of things being described, and consider why the writer chose to describe the things he did.
What impact do the various descriptions have on you as a reader?

Standing Up to an Adult

I remember back in elementary school how fun and easy everything was compared to now, with bills to be
paid, loads of school work, and the weekend job. In elementary school, the one thing that everyone loved
most was lunch. The best lunch was turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, and corn, along with the little peanut
butter bars they used to give us. We also used to trade things off our plates with one another to get what
we wanted, like a cookie for an apple or a jello cup for some potato fritters. Apparently, the noon aide
ladies loved the food too, and that caused a real problem.

Believe it or not, they would go around picking food off of the students’ plates: a french fry here, a fish
stick there. If there was one thing I didn’t like, it was when someone would pick food off my plate.
Those two ladies were sisters, and they were both huge and mean, with menacing scowls on their faces,
and we were all afraid of them. They would just walk up and down the aisle taking the food from us
poor helpless kids. It’s not like those ladies weren’t well fed because they were, but they waddled up
and down the aisles like giant starving ducks.

Aurora was the older sister. Everyone was scared to say anything to her. One day she came up to me and
took a cookie off my plate. I remember it was a soft peanut butter cookie with little bits of peanuts in it,
and I was really looking forward to it. Without thinking I told her, “Stop doing that, stop taking food off
our plates because you are fat already.” The look on her face was something. Her face turned red, her
eyes got bloodshot, and she opened her mouth wide like she was going to eat me. She screamed at me to
go to the office, so I went to the principal, who called my mom to tell her what had happened. He asked
me why I said what I did, and I told him, “She takes food off of our plates, and she shouldn’t do that.” He
tried to keep a straight face but I could tell he was hiding a grin. “I’ll take care of the situation,” he said,
“and if she has been taking food off of anyone’s plate, it will never happen again.”

When I finally got to class, I guess the teacher had talked to the principal, and she pulled me aside and
said, “Good job. Don’t let people walk all over you because you’re little.” I felt proud of myself for
standing up to the aide, but I still don’t know where I found the courage to say what I did. The students
thought I was a hero for a while, and I really enjoyed the attention.

To this day, every time I see that lady around, she gives me a dirty look, but I just smile because it seems
so funny. I’ll always remember how the principal and my teacher stood up for me because I was right and
the cafeteria lady was wrong. After talking with a few other students the day of the incident, the principal
fired both sisters and our lunch time problem went away. It felt good for an adult to take my side against
another adult, and you get the idea that being a child doesn’t always make you wrong and the adult right.

Improving First Draft Sentences

The following first draft sentences contain a variety of wording problems: wordiness, awkward phrasing,
unnecessarily repeated words, poor word choice, and vagueness. Revise and rewrite the sentences to
make them smoother, clearer, and more concise.

Example Grocery shopping is one of the worst things that I like doing.

Revised    I hate grocery shopping.

1. The main reason why I like my job is the fact that it is so close to home.

2. I would be glad if I did well enough in college to gain my goal of graduating.

3. To avoid bad luck, parents want their children on New Year’s Day to be on their very best behavior
   and to avoid the use of vulgar expressions in China.

4. If I could look into the future ten years from now, I would like to see a pretty image of myself as a
   successful person.

5. Almost all of the credits from Kings River College are able to be transferred to the school of your
   choosing, plus it is much less money to go there than a university.

6. You do want to be happy in your job for the rest of your life because if you’re not happy with what
   you’re doing, then you’re going to be miserable for the rest of your entire life.

7. I have been to hospitals and seen sick kids, and I would like to help them, for instance, kids with
   AIDS, cancer, bad burns, and a variety of sicknesses.

8. Everything was better for my family before my father died, especially for my mother, because she
   would always cry and remember him on special occasions like on Christmas and Thanksgiving.

9. College is not like high school because you can choose your classes at the best time of day for you and
   pick the classes that you want to take.

10. I want a house with lots of rooms, but I want one room that has mirrors all around, on the floor, on the
    ceiling, just everywhere.

Paragraphing Activity
Underline the first sentence for each new paragraph in the following paper, changing
paragraphs as you move to different parts of the situation described.

        Nursing Grievance

        One semester the faculty nurses at the college had their teaching days extended at the hospital.
        They couldn’t understand why they were having to teach more hours for the same hospital
        laboratory classes they had been teaching for years, and they were being paid no additional
        money. Some of the faculty nurses contacted the teachers’ union to find out what their rights
        were. They discovered through the union representative contract language that forbid the
        college from creating a new practice when it came to assigning classes and hours that had not
        been negotiated with the union. No such negotiations had taken place, so the union
        representative said that it appeared that the college had violated the contract and that the
        nursing faculty had a right to file a grievance. The first step in the process produced a
        revelation as to why the faculty’s class hours had been changed. There is a college
        requirement that ten minutes of break time must occur after every ninety minutes of class.
        However, with the nursing program, no such breaks can take place because the students must
        be on the hospital floor with their patients, and the instructor must be present to supervise the
        students. Students must break individually when they need to use the rest room. The break
        time that is never taken had always been counted as regular class time by the college, but the
        college had changed its practice and was now discounting the break time that isn’t taken. Of
        course, the faculty nurses were very upset by this recalculation by the college that essentially
        was giving neither them nor the students credit for the work time that took place in lieu of the
        breaks which never occurred. It seemed unfair to both the faculty and the students, so the
        grievance forged ahead. When it got to the office of the college president, the nurses carefully
        and patiently explained how lab hours were taught in the hospital and how neither students
        nor faculty could take breaks and leave the patients they were responsible for unattended.
        They explained that they had not been taking the ten-minute breaks for the past fifteen years,
        and that the time had always counted as a part of the teaching day for faculty and students.
        Fortunately the college president had formerly been an administrator in the allied health
        division of another college, so she understood the unique clinical situations that hospital lab
        classes were taught under. She accepted the nursing faculty’s contention that they and the
        students had to work through the designated break times, and agreed that the schedule of
        teaching hours for nursing faculty would revert to the way it had been calculated in the past.

Unit Two: Influences

Introduce Unit Two by letting students know they are going to be writing about a person that they know well,
someone who has been influential in their lives, for better or for worse. They can write about a family
member, friend, teacher or coach, co-worker or supervisor, minister or counselor - anyone who has made an
impact on their lives. Go over the examples in the second paragraph to show the range of choices they have.
Tell students to start thinking about different people they may be interested in writing about who may also be
interesting to their reading audience - their classmates.

Tell them that biographical writing - writings about other people - is a popular writing genre, and that
biographies of famous people from Abraham Lincoln to Marilyn Monroe to Tiger Woods have been best
selling books. Ask them if they have read any biographies and if so, to talk about any that stand out in their
minds. The purpose is to generate some interest in biographical writing and their upcoming assignment. Ask
them what they think makes a particular biography interesting and how they might apply that knowledge to
their own writing.

Ask the class how this writing assignment differs from their writing about a personal experience in Unit One
and how it is similar. Ask them why they think this assignment - writing about another person - follows their
personal experience assignment. Remind them of the essays at the end of the unit and encourage
them to read them to see what other writers have done with a similar topic.


Tell the class that they will be working on this paper similarly to their first paper , beginning with prewriting
followed by drafting, revision, and editing, with instructional elements interspersed throughout the process to
apply to their drafts. Their experience using the process twice in Unit One will help them write their
upcoming papers with greater assurance.

Topic Selection

Now that students have had some time to think about potential subjects for their papers, ask them about the
people they are considering. To get some idea of the range, ask how many may write about a family member
such as a mom, dad, wife, or brother; about a particular friend (or enemy); about a co-worker or boss; about a
teacher, counselor, or minister and so on. If most hands are going up, for example, for a family member,
suggest that they also consider other people so the class doesn’t end up reading twenty papers on their
classmates’ moms. Don’t suggest, however, that they can’t write about that one person that they really want to
write about.

Free Writing

Tell students that they will be free writing similarly to how they did in Unit One, the purpose being to consider
possible writing subjects and create some potential material for their first drafts.

Prewriting Activity 2.1

Suggest to students that they pick three very different people to free write on who have made different impacts
on their lives. Have them look at the sample free writing in the text before beginning the assignment and then

write a few minutes on each person.

Prewriting Activity 2.2

Once students have selected their subject for the paper, they are asked to write for a minute about why they
chose this particular person and then for a few minutes on the impact this person has made on their lives. Tell
them the purpose of free writing on the impact their subject has made is to begin analyzing their relationship
with the person and to develop some potential material for their papers. Have them take a look at the free
writing samples in the text before writing.

Making A List

Tell students that a second useful prewriting activity is to list some of the things they might include in a paper.
As an example, let’s say students were looking for an apartment to live in for a semester. Ask them what they
might include on a list of considerations for renting an apartment, and put them on the board (e.g. proximity to
campus, rental cost, size and condition of apartments). Ask them how creating such a list could help them
write a paper on how to find the best apartment to rent.

For a second example, if students were writing about the problems of working and going to school at the same
time, ask them what problems they might list (e.g. lack of study time, tired all the time, no time for college
social life, can’t take many units). Ask them how they might use their list in writing the paper.

Then tell the class that they are going to make two lists for their upcoming paper: one for the qualities or
characteristics of their subject and one for things that show their relationship with the person. For an example,
refer them to the list of qualities in the text about a writer’s best friend and the second list of things that shows
their relationship.

Prewriting Activity 2.3

Tell students the purpose of this activity is to think about different qualities that exemplify their subject, to
think about their relationship with that person, and to list some ideas they might use in their paper.

First Drafts

Tell students that a main focus for developing their biographical paper is to provide examples to bring their
subject to life for their reading audience and to show their relationship with the person. Put a few statements
on the board reflecting particular qualities or characteristics of different people, such as, “Whenever we were
up to no good, Josh was the one person who would never get caught.” “When his children misbehaved, dad
always believed that the punishment should fit the crime.” “Aunt Lilah spoiled me like no other relative.”
“My boss always found ways to humiliate me in front of other employees.” Then ask the class what kind of
example or examples might follow each statement to help readers get to know and understand the person better.

Providing Examples

Go over the two example paragraphs in the text on pages 52-53, asking students what they learn about each
subject from the example the writer uses. Point out that through the examples, we learn much more about
each person than we do through the general statements that precede them.

Guidelines for Using Examples

Go over the guidelines and examples with the class, and ask them what the value of such examples are from
their perspective as readers. It is important that writers look at writing from the readers’ viewpoint, and putting
students in their readers’ role makes them more aware of their own reading audiences.

Drafting Activity 2.4

To make sure students understand the assignment, tell them to pick one quality or characteristic of the person
they are writing about and put it in a topic sentence. For example, if the quality of the person was her work
ethnic, the topic sentence might be, “When it came to school, Lucinda was the hardest worker I knew.” Then
they would develop the paragraph by providing an example (or examples) to show readers how hard a worker
she was. Tell them to provide an example (or examples) that best characterizes the person and that would be
the most interesting for readers.

This could be a fifteen-twenty minute in-class assignment followed by having volunteers read their paragraphs
to the class so students can see how good examples bring the subjects to life.

Drafting Activity 2.5

Go over the “Drafting Guidelines” with the class, suggesting that they use their prewriting materials any way
that they find helpful. Tell them to include in their drafts whatever they feel provides the clearest picture of
their subject and their relationship with the person. Emphasize their including examples to show the person’s
qualities and the writer’s relationship with him or her, and concluding with the impact this person has made on
the writer. Finally, have them keep in mind their reading audience - their classmates - and what they may find
most interesting or revealing about this person.

Finally, remind students that this is a first draft, and their main purpose is to get their ideas on paper without
great concern for perfect wording or an occasional error. Also suggest that they read the sample draft before
they write to see what another writer did with his subject and how he began his paper.

After students complete their first draft, it is worthwhile to have a brief discussion of the experience and the
results. The purpose is for students to talk as a group of writers, sharing any problems they may have
encountered and where their drafts may go from here. Such discussions bring out the commonality of the
writing experience and get students thinking more as writers than as students compelled to write. Questions
such as the following can help elicit responses: How did the writing go for you? How did you use your
prewriting materials, and what did you find most useful? What if any problems did you encounter as you
wrote? Did you get stuck in any places, and what did you do to get unstuck? Did you intentionally try to
provide examples as you wrote, and what do you think of the examples you used? How do you feel about your
draft overall? What kinds of improvement might you make as you revise your draft?

Tell students that in this section they are introduced to a new writing element called transitional wording, do
some review activities on providing description, improving sentence wording, and paragraphing, and then
revise their first drafts. Tell them they will also be working on some activities in pairs and providing input to
one another on their drafts.

Transitional Wording

To introduce students to transitional wording and help them understand its purpose, write on the board or
duplicate for the class the following paragraphs, one containing transitions and one without (or write the first
paragraph on the board and then after students read it, insert the transitions from the second paragraph).

Jason had a flat tire and a big problem. He had no idea how to change a tire or where to find the jack. He
didn’t have his cell phone with him to call anyone. He was on a road with no traffic, so there was no chance
of flagging down help. There was a rest stop about a mile down the road where there was probably a pay
phone. It was pouring down rain and all he was wearing were a t-shirt and shorts. Jason figured the best thing
to do was wait out the rain and walk to the rest stop although it might not stop raining for hours. He had corn
chips and a soda in the car, and it wasn’t too cold inside. He opened the bag of chips and turned on his CD.

Jason had a flat tire and a big problem. First, he had no idea how to change a tire or even where to find the
jack. Next, he didn’t have his cell phone with him to call anyone. Finally, he was on a road with no traffic, so
there was no chance of flagging down help. There was a rest stop about a mile down the road which probably
had a pay phone. However, it was pouring down rain, and all he was wearing were a t-shirt and shorts. Jason
figured the best thing to do was wait out the rain and walk to the rest stop although it might not stop raining for
some time. Fortunately, he had corn chips and a soda in the car, and it wasn’t too cold inside. He opened the
bag of chips and turned on his CD.

Have students read each paragraph, noticing the transitional wording in italics in the second paragraph. Ask
them how the transitional wording changed the paragraph for them, and what the purpose of such wording is.
Based on the sample paragraphs, ask them for a definition of transitional wording .

Tell students that they probably already use some transitional wording in their writing, and the purpose of this
section is to make them aware of the variety of transitional words and phrases available and to have them revise
their drafts with such wording in mind.

Commonly Used Transitions

Go over the lists of transitions with the class, asking if there are any words or phrases they are unfamiliar with or

wouldn’t know how to use (some of which are probably covered in 8.). Spend some time on the less familiar
transitions, providing examples of how they can be used in sentences. Then have them read the subsequent
sample essay with transitional wording in italics. Ask them for synonyms for some of the more challenging
transitions in the essay to make sure they understand their meaning.

Revision Activity 2.6

Suggest that students refer to the lists of transitions as they fill in the blanks to consider their options. Also have
them try to use different transitions for most blanks. Then go over their responses with the class, pointing out
the most effective transitions and other viable options.

Suggested fill-ins (other options possible):

In addition,
As a result,
As you can see,

Revision Activity 2.7

When first introduced to transitions, students sometimes err in using too many transitions, trying to force one
into every sentence or two. Caution students on the overuse of transitions, emphasizing that a well placed
transition here or there is a big help to readers while a flood of transitions can be a distraction. Suggest to
students to insert transitions into the essay where they fit most naturally and link ideas together effectively.

Suggested transitions (other options possible):

First paragraph:
However, being an atheist . . .
Second paragraph:
However, as I got older . . .
Third paragraph:
In addition, I discovered that the Bible . . .
Fifth paragraph:
On the other hand, some people believe in God . . .
Sixth paragraph:
First, I see no evidence of God's work . . .
Second, I see no evidence of supernatural power . . .

Revision Guidelines

Since draft revision may still be rather new to many students, it is worthwhile to have them read their draft
several times, as they did in Unit One, to consider different revision considerations individually. In addition, the
“Guidelines” are followed by three revision review activities covering the first three guideline considerations,

and they can be integrated into the revision process.

A suggested way to proceed would be to go over the first guideline with the class on content improvement, have
students do the content-related activity, Revision Activity 2.8, and then have them revise their papers for content
improvement. When that is completed, go over the second guideline on sentence wording revision, have them
do the sentence improvement activity, Revision Activity 2.9, and then revise their drafts to improve sentence
wording. Next, go over the paragraphing guideline, have them do the paragraphing activity, Revision Activity
2.10, and then revise their drafts to improve paragraphing. Then they would complete the revision process by
checking their use of transitional wording (guideline 4.) and evaluating their conclusion (guideline 5.).

Explain to students that the purpose of breaking the revision process into separate components - e.g. content,
wording, paragraphing - is for them to focus on one particular element at a time for the best revision results.
Later in the course, as they gain more experience revising drafts, they will be able to revise in several areas

Revision Activity 2.8

Tell students that the purpose of this activity is to help them add examples or details to their current drafts most
effectively. When they finish, go over the students’ revision suggestions with the class and then have them
revise their drafts for content improvement.

Suggested revisions:

Second paragraph:        Provide an example or examples of some of the “problems” that arise when she is
                         around older children or strong-willed children her own age.
Third paragraph:         Provide an example or examples of the negative ways that children react to her

Revision Activity 2.9

Since improving sentence wording is an important part of revision, sentence revision practice is included in
several units. Have students revise the sentences, and then go over their revised sentences with the class.
Finally, have them revise their drafts to improve sentence wording.

Sentence revision suggestions (other options possible):

The last two weeks of summer were the hottest recorded in the valley. You could step outside in the morning
and be covered with perspiration in a minute. For fourteen consecutive days, temperatures were over 100
degrees. To make matter worse, many people were without air conditioning part of the time due to power
shortages caused by heavy air conditioning usage. At least six older people died from heat prostration due to
lack of air conditioning. In addition, there was record humidity, causing 100 degrees to feel more like 110. It
was the most miserable two weeks of weather I’d ever seen.

Revision Activity 2.10

Whether students need additional paragraphing practice depends on your particular class. You might assign this
as a class activity or on an individual basis for students who could use the practice. Either way, go over the
students’ paragraphing choices to make sure they are getting the idea.

Suggested paragraphing:

Second paragraph:        My family lived in Arizona . . .
Third paragraph:         All you had to do was look . . .
Fourth paragraph:        The only place I ever remember seeing . . .
Fifth paragraph:         You’d think I wouldn’t have fallen . . .
Sixth paragraph:         Well, Uncle Prine never changed . . .
Seventh paragraph:       I went outside the next morning . . .

Revision Activity 2.11

By now students should have completed most of their revisions. Have them exchange drafts and read each
other’s papers to see if anything jumps out at them: a vaguely worded sentence, an unusually long paragraph, a
general statement in need of an example, something in the draft they don’t understand. Have partners suggest
possible revisions, and then have students write their revised drafts.


Tell students all that is left to complete their papers is to proofread them for errors, make any necessary
corrections, and write their final drafts for their classmates and instructor to read. In addition, tell them that two
new editing considerations are introduced in this section - correcting sentence fragments and using commas
correctly - followed by a review activity on correcting run-on sentences, comma splices, and irregular verbs.

How much time you spend on the editing section depends on your students’ needs. For example, sentence
fragments may be a very limited problem for your students, and you may need to do little more than cover them
briefly. Correct comma usage, however, is a more universal concern, so you may focus more intently on that
section. The review activities in each “Editing” section give students more practice correcting the most typical
kinds of errors, and how you assign those activities should be based on your on-going diagnosis of students’
error patterns.

Sentence Fragments

To introduce the section on “Sentence Fragments,” put a couple of the more typical types of fragments on the
board, each involving a sentence divided by incorrect punctuation:

The leaking water pipe running below the driveway will be difficult to fix. Because we will have to tear up part
of the concrete to locate the leak.

Repairing the pipe may not be easy either. Especially if it is running beneath the gas line.

Ask students to correct any punctuation problems they see in these sentences. Then have them identify the
incomplete sentence parts: the sentence fragments. Ask them why they think writers sometimes incorrectly put a
period between two parts of the same sentence, which most frequently creates a fragment. In addition, ask them
what problem readers would have with sentence fragments. Why do they need to be corrected? Finally, ask
them if they are aware of any sentence fragment problems in the own writing. Tell them they may not have a
problem, and if not, they may be able to help other students who do.

Go over the three points on sentence fragments in the text, pointing out that of the two correction methods,
attaching the fragment to the sentence it belongs with is the most common. Then have the class move to the first

Editing Activity 2.13

This is a good activity to do orally as a class since it is relatively easy and you can find out how adept students
are at locating and correcting fragments. Then students can work through the next activity on their own.

Editing Activity 2.14

Fragments are more difficult to identify and correct within a paragraph than in isolation. To locate and correct
the fragments, suggest that students look for groups of words that make little sense by themselves and then
attach them to the sentences that complete their meaning.

Sentence fragment corrections:

Getting the classes you need in a particular semester is difficult, especially if you are trying to schedule them

around your work..
If you are working, you may only have certain times when you can take classes, for example, before noon, after
2:00 p.m., or just in the evening.
The most difficult time to schedule classes is in the morning because that is the most popular time.
If you can only go in the evening, you are lucky to get into two or, at the most, three classes, meaning that it will
take many semesters to complete your course work.
Many working students take years to complete even two semesters of college course work, which also makes
college more expensive.

Comma Usage

To introduce the section on comma usage, ask students what purpose(s) commas serve in writing. Why do we
even bother with them? Ask them how they think comma usage rules were created or evolved. Were the rules
created so that writers would use commas in uniform ways, or do the rules reflect the ways that writers most
frequently used commas? Getting students to think about the reasons behind various punctuation conventions
may help them use commas, apostrophes, or quotation marks in their writing with greater understanding and

Have students read the two paragraphs in the section, the first one without commas and the second with commas
inserted. Ask them the difference in reading the two paragraphs and how the commas changed the way they
read the paragraph. In addition, to test their knowledge of commas, ask them why each comma was inserted
where it was in the paragraph. This will help them understand that comma insertion is not by random choice,
and that every comma they use should have a purpose and follow a particular rule.

Comma Usage Rules

Go over the usage rules with the class. Emphasize in particular number 2., which groups introductory phrases
and clauses together, number 5., dealing with restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses, number 7., dealing
with multiple commas in sentences, and number 8., dealing with situations where commas are used incorrectly.

Editing Activity 2.13

Do this activity orally with the class to make sure students are inserting commas correctly and understand the
rules behind their use. Then they can do the next activity on their own.

Editing Activity 2.14

After students complete the assignment, go over their commas usage with the class, asking why they inserted
commas where they did. By the end of the discussion, and along with the activities they have completed,
students should have a good sense of how to use commas correctly, which should show up in their writing.

Editing Review

One of the features of the text is the regular review activities where students proofread drafts for the most
common errors. If students have a lingering problem with run-on sentences, one activity in one unit may not
solve the problem. However, by identifying and correcting run-on sentences in drafts spread over six units, they
have the best chance of eliminating the problem.

At this point in the course, have all students do the editing review activities. Later, when you have a clearer
understanding of their individual error problems, you can assign the review activities on an individual basis.

Editing Activity 2.15

Before students do the activity, remind them what they learned in Unit One about run-on sentences, comma
splices, and irregular verbs, putting a few examples on the board if necessary. Also go over the activity example
with them to refresh their memories.

When they complete the activity, go over their error corrections with the class so that students can see what they
did correctly and what they may have missed. In addition, from the activity, you can find out if students
continue to have problems identifying and correcting run-on sentences or incorrect irregular verb forms and
determine whether additional practice in future units would be useful.

Editing Activity 2.16

Have students edit their drafts in class so you can be available to assist those who need help. Go over the
editing guidelines with the class, and have them proofread their paper several times, each time looking for a
different kind of error presented in the guidelines.

When they have corrected their papers and written their final drafts, have students read one another’s papers in
some manner that allows a number of students to read each paper. You may also have students select a few of
the papers they enjoyed or found most interesting to read aloud to the class.

Writing Summary
The “Writing Summary” section provides students a second opportunity to write about a person in their lives,
someone very different from the first person they wrote about. They write the paper independently with no
interruptions for instructional activities, applying what they learned to this point about effective writing. If there
is enough time in the course for students to do the second writing assignment in a unit, it is certainly worthwhile
and will add to their growth as writers.

Go over the writing process in the “Writing Summary” section with the class so that they clearly understand
what they will be doing. Then have them work independently on the paper from prewriting to final editing,
providing assistance only when requested. As in the first unit, ask students to turn in their free writing, lists, and
drafts along with their final paper so that you can see what they have done. When they complete the final drafts,
do a class read-around so students will get their papers read by a number of classmates.

As suggested in the first unit, it is worthwhile to talk to students about their writing experience to have them
think more deeply about their writing processes and to give you insights into what they are going through. The
following kinds of questions will aid the discussion: How do you feel about this second paper compared to your
first paper, and why? What problems did you encounter during the writing process, and how did you solve
them? How did you use the material generated during your prewriting in the paper? How did the prewriting
help you, if at all? What kinds of revisions did you make to your first draft? What kinds of errors did you find
and correct during the editing process? Compare the process of writing this last paper to writing the first paper
for the unit. In what ways, if at all, did writing the first paper help you write this second one?

If you are interested in the responses of all students to such questions, you can also have them write for a few
minutes about their writing experience, using such questions as prompts. Encourage them to provide candid

responses, anonymous if they desire, so that you can have the best understanding of their writing experiences
and formulate the best ways to help them continue to improve.


As suggested in Unit One, students should be made aware of the final “Readings” section at the
beginning of the unit and encouraged to read them whenever they want. If you are going to use them for in-class
discussion purposes, do so as students progress through the unit rather than at the end, when they have
completed their writing. The essays are among the most interesting and thought-provoking readings in the
text and should provide material for excellent student discussions.

Supplemental Materials

The following supplemental materials are related to specific instructional elements provided in Unit Two. You
additional class activities.

Transitional Wording

Insert appropriate transitions in the blanks in the following essay.


The noise at the Daughtry concert was incredible. In fact, it was the loudest concert I’d been to.

Computer Labs

     Writing papers in a college computer lab can be very convenient. ________________, you need
to follow a few basic steps to have the greatest success. _______________, you need to learn how
to use the word processing program on the computers so that you can type your papers effectively.
_______________, you should learn how to add and delete words, move the cursor around, run the
spell check, cut and paste sentences and paragraphs, save your work, and print your paper.
__________________, it is good to know how to change the size and font of your letters and how to
change your line spacing from single to double spacing or vice-versa.
      ________________, you should always use a CD to save your work. You may not always
finish a paper at the lab, but if you save your writing on a disk, you can take it home and work on it
if you have a computer. ________________, saving your papers on a CD allows you to go back and
rework a previous paper and __________ keep a record of all your writings for a class.
     ________________, you need to save your work on your disk at frequent intervals while you
type. Computers in a lab tend to have more problems than a home computer because they are all
connected to the same system and get a lot of use. _______________, it is not uncommon for a
computer to “freeze” while you are typing a paper, meaning that the computer won’t allow you to
continue. ________________, if you haven’t saved your writing to that point on a disk, you will
lose everything you have typed, which can be very frustrating. __________________, if you have
saved your writing regularly on your disk as you typed, you will not lose anything that you have
saved before the computer freezes.
     _____________________, you need to follow a few basic steps to have the most success typing
your papers in a college computer lab. _____________, if you follow these steps, you will not only
be able to complete and print your papers successfully, you will enjoy the experience.

Transitional Wording

Insert appropriate transitions in the blanks in the following essay.

The wind was blowing across the lake. However, it changed directions too frequently for good
sailing. Consequently, there were few sailboats on the water by afternoon.

The New Bookstore

   The new bookstore in the mall has something for everyone. There’s a large children’s area full
of books. _________________, the children’s area has stuffed animals and videos.
__________________, it has a large sitting area with stuffed bean bag chairs and huge floor
pillows for children to sit on.
   The magazine section of the bookstore has over five-hundred titles. Every subject you can
imagine is covered in the magazines, and they are divided by subjects into twenty
different sections. ____________, there are magazines on music, golf, home design, motorcycles,
fashion, computers, movie stars, vacations and travel, and so on. ___________, you see a range of
people from kids to senior citizens pouring over the magazines. _______________, there appears
to be a lot more browsing than buying. __________________, the bookstore employees never
bother people reading magazines nor seem to care whether they buy them.
    ________________, there is a large music area with thousands of tapes and CD’s divided into
thirty sections according to the type of music. There are headphones available to listen to the
tapes and CD’s. ___________, the area is often full of teenagers with headsets on in the late
afternoon listening to their favorite music. Adjoining the music area is the bookstore cafe, where
people read, study, play chess, drink coffee, or have a sandwich or some dessert. ____________,
you usually see a couple of people napping on one of the café sofas.
    __________________, there are thousands of books divided by subject into hundreds of
sections that cover two stories. Whatever you are interested in, you can find a book on it in the
store. ______________, the sections are spread out over such an immense area that sometimes it
takes half an hour just to find the book you’re looking for.
   _____________________, the new bookstore caters to a wide range of people from toddlers to
seniors. It is in a great location at the mall, and it has a warm, friendly atmosphere. __________,
the prices on the books and CD's are very reasonable.

Comma Usage

Insert commas where they are needed in the following essay.

When the college administration first proposed that a new basketball arena be built on campus
most students were not enthusiastic. It wasn’t that they didn’t like the men’s and women’s
basketball teams which had been quite successful for many years. The problem was the seating
arrangement at the current downtown arena and the lack of student seats.

At the downtown arena where the team had played for years eleven-thousand five-hundred of the
twelve thousand seats were sold to the general public. That left only five hundred seats for a
student body of fifteen thousand so most students never had a chance to get season tickets. In
addition the five-hundred student seats were high in a corner of the arena which made viewing
difficult. If the new arena was going to have the same discriminatory seating policy the students
were not going support it which meant it probably wouldn’t get built.

The administration realized they were going to have to make some changes so they proposed that
three thousand seats in the new twelve-thousand seat arena be designated for student seating and
the student section would be near the floor and the center of the court. The proposal was well
received by students and the student council voted to approve the construction of the arena.

The new arena which will be situated adjacent to the student dormitories is located ideally for
students to walk to the games which will cut down on traffic and parking congestion. The arena
will be a multi-purpose facility although college basketball will be the primary activity and main
revenue source for the school. Along with men’s and women’s basketball the women’s volleyball
team will also play in the arena and special events such as concerts political rallies and guest
lectures will be held. Funded by a state bond individual donors and large businesses the arena will
be under construction for two years and the first basketball season in the arena will be in 2009-

Unit Three: Interests
Let students know that in this unit, they will be writing about a particular interest of theirs, something
they might consider a hobby or pastime. Refer them to the writings at the end of the unit to see what
other writers wrote about as well as to the writing samples within the unit. Introducing the writing topic
now gives students time to think about possible topics, an important part of the process.

Ask students how writing about a particular interest will be different from writing about a personal
experience (Unit One) or a particular person (Unit Two) and how it may be similar. In addition, to create
interest, you might ask students to throw out some ideas for possible topics so they can see the range of
their classmates’ interests and perhaps consider writing about something quite different.

In addition, tell students that they will be using a writing format that writers use frequently for essays,
articles, and editorials. Put the term thesis statement on the board and ask students what it means and
whether they have used a thesis statement in previous writings. Tell them that they will be including a
thesis statement in their upcoming paper and that they will learn more about writing thesis-centered
papers shortly. No more needs to be said now, and you will have piqued at least some students’ interest
in what lies ahead.

Tell students that in this prewriting section, they will be selecting a writing topic, deciding on a thesis
statement for their paper, and listing some ideas that they may use to support their thesis statement. The
first consideration is selecting a topic.

Topic Selection

Go over the first two paragraphs on topic selection with the class, emphasizing the range of possible
choices and the importance of selecting an interest about which they are passionate and knowledgeable.
Tell them to consider different choices and in the end, to select an interest that they would most like to
share with their classmates.

Prewriting Activity 3.1

Give students some time to come up with the best possible topic. Tell them to select something that they
are not only interested in but that might surprise and interest their readers. You may have students pair up
and talk about some of their interests, getting input from their partner on what sounds like the most
interesting topic.

Thesis Statement

Put some statements on the board like the following, some which are thesis statements and some which
are not:

Running on a treadmill is one of the best and easiest ways to get a good aerobic workout.
Running on a treadmill is one of the most boring activities I can imagine.
Treadmills range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.
A friend of mine used to have a treadmill in her dorm room.

A treadmill can be a dangerous apparatus if the user doesn’t know what he or she is doing.

Ask students which sentences they think could be thesis statements for different papers and which would
not. Based on their responses, ask them what they think a thesis statement is. Ask them why the other
sentences are not thesis statements. Finally, point out the very different viewpoints of the three thesis
statements and ask how the paper developed from each statement would be different from the others.

Go over the six points in the text on thesis statements, and then ask students the purpose of including a
thesis statement in their upcoming papers. They need to understand that the thesis statement is not an
“add on” to a paper but an integral part around which the paper develops.

Prewriting Activity 3.2

Give students a few minutes to read the paragraphs and underline the thesis statements in class, and then
go over their choices, asking them why they chose one sentence or another.

Thesis statements:

On the whole, on-line registration is much better than the traditional way, and I’d recommend it to
As I discovered, you can save a lot of money shopping at discount supermarkets, and you don’t have to
sacrifice quality.
To hear the music that you want when you want to hear it, “You tube” is the best place to go.
I don’t know if you’d call it a hobby or sport, but people-watching ranks as one of my favorite activities.
Having lived on the coast for over a year, I realize that coastal weather has some
real advantages.

Prewriting Activity 3.3

Have students generate thesis statements in class with volunteers putting some of them on the board. The
purpose is to make sure everyone understands that a thesis statement expresses the writer’s viewpoint on
a topic and that they know how to write one for their upcoming paper.

Prewriting Activity 3.4

As students generate thesis statements for their upcoming papers, it is important to emphasize that the
thesis statement expresses exactly how a writer feels about a topic, a statement that she can support
enthusiastically in a paper. As they write their statements, circulate about the room to see how they are
doing and to look at statements on request. You might also ask volunteers to put their statements on the
board so students can see what others are doing.

Generating a thesis statement for an interest-based essay is not difficult, and that is one of the purposes
for introducing thesis-centered writing with this particular assignment. Be prepared for some rather
“stock” thesis statements for this assignment, such as “Bowling is my favorite pastime,” or “Rap music is
the best music there is,” legitimate thesis statements which express the writers’ viewpoints. In the next
unit, as students write thesis statements on different issues, the statements will carry greater weight
reflective of the more serious topics.

Making a List

In writing their upcoming papers, tell students that they will be answering the question on readers’ minds:
Why is playing Dungeons and Dragons your favorite pastime? Why would you rather listen to classical
music than any other? Why would you rather spend a Saturday under the hood of an old Chevy than
doing anything else? In writing this paper in support of their thesis statement, students are providing
readers the reasons they find this interest enjoyable. Tell them one way to analyze why they enjoy a
particular pastime is to list their reasons for liking it, which they can include in their paper.

For an example (along with the one in the text), put on the board a thesis statement like, “Watching
American Idol on television is something I look forward to every year.” Ask American Idol fans in the
class some of the reasons they enjoy the show, and list their responses on the board (e.g. the new talent,
the judges’ comments, the biographical segments on the singers, the weekly eliminations, the music, and
so on. From here, students can see how they could develop paragraphs from the reasons on the list,
giving them a great start to writing their papers.

Prewriting Activity 3.5

Have students list four or five reasons in support of their topic sentence, and then ask a few volunteers to
put their topic sentences and lists on the board to give ideas to students who may be struggling.

First Drafts

Tell students that most essays, including the ones they are writing for this unit, have three parts: an
opening, a middle, and a conclusion. For the paper they are writing, ask them what they think would be
included in each of those three parts and the purpose behind each part. Tell them that their first draft will
include opening, middle, and concluding paragraphs, and that they will learn more about writing them in
this section.

Also tell students that this type of organization is common for most writing, and they probably used it to
write their papers for the first two units. It is a simple format to follow for writers and their reading
audience, and most important is the content that they put into it. Sometimes a textbook will emphasize
form over substance, a mistake to avoid. Tell students that if a writer conscientiously follows the
opening/middle/conclusion organization and has little to say in his paper, what’s the point? The purpose
of using a particular form is for readers to follow and understand a writer’s ideas most clearly. It is the
writer’s ideas, not the form, that readers are interested in.

Opening, Middle, and Concluding Paragraphs

Since the following sections on “Opening,” “Middle,” and “Concluding” paragraphs contain a lot of
information, you may want to take up each separately rather than move through all three sections at once.
The following suggestions are based on that approach.

Opening or Introductory Paragraph(s)

Go over the five points in the text on opening paragraphs, and then have students try writing an opening
paragraph. Have them read the opening paragraph from “Politics” on page 104 to get ideas, and
then give them the topic “A Favorite Kind of Food” and a thesis statement such as, “_______________
(students fill in with “Mexican,” “Italian,” “Soul,” “Chinese,” “Indian,” etc.) food is one of my favorites.”
Then have them write an opening paragraph for a paper on that topic, including the thesis statement at the
end. Let them come up with any kind of opening they want to see what they create. When they finish,
have several volunteers read their opening paragraphs to the class and ask for responses to each opening.
They can learn a lot about opening paragraphs by trying to write one and by seeing what others have

Middle Paragraphs

Go over the four points in the text on middle paragraphs, spending some extra time on topic sentences.
Tell them that topic sentences are not a textbook creation but rather the kind of sentences that writers
often begin their paragraphs with. In other words, the topic sentence is a natural part of the way that
writers write, not an artificial construction.

After you have covered the “Middle Paragraphs” section thoroughly, have students write some topic
sentences. For example, give them a topic such as “Biology 101" and the thesis statement, “Biology 101
is one of the most difficult science courses for non-majors at the college.” Then give them five reasons
that Biology 101 is so tough: long reading assignments, difficult essay tests, no late homework accepted,
difficult subject matter, and an instructor who lectures too fast. Have them write five topic sentences for
the five reasons, putting each reason into sentence form, and then ask how the paragraph beginning with
each topic sentence would probably be developed. This is not a difficult assignment, and students will
see that once they have generated reasons to support their thesis statement, turning them into topic

sentences isn’t difficult.

Concluding Paragraph

Go over the four points on concluding paragraphs with the class. Then move to the sample essay on
“Politics,” going over the essay one paragraph at a time. Ask students what the writer
accomplishes in each paragraph and in the middle paragraphs, and why she may have chosen to write about
those particular points. Have them notice how each middle paragraph is developed from its topic
sentence and how the middle paragraphs support the thesis statement. Finally, have them analyze the
concluding paragraph, how the writer chose to end her paper, and whether the ending is effective given
the topic and what has come before.

Drafting Activity 3.6

This activity gives students another example of the type of paper they are going to write. When they
conclude the activity, have them identify the thesis statement and topic sentences, discuss how each
middle paragraph is developed from its topic sentence, how the middle paragraphs and conclusion
support the thesis statement, and how the writer concludes his paper. Now that students have read and
analyzed two essays on writers’ interests, they should be ready to write their first draft.

Drafting Activity 3.7

Go over the “Drafting Guidelines” with the class, and suggest they read the sample draft in the activity
before they write, noting how the writer opens and concludes his paper. Emphasize one writing thought
as they begin their drafts: to write about their interest with the same enthusiasm that they have for it.

When students complete their first drafts, talk about their writing experience with the class. How do they
feel about their drafts in general? How difficult was it to write the opening and concluding paragraphs,
and how satisfied are they with each? Did they write topic sentences for some or all of the middle
paragraphs, and how did the topic sentences help them develop their middle paragraphs? What kinds of
changes might they make during the revision process to improve their papers? From such discussions,
students understand better the common trials and tribulations all writers share, and the instructor learns
more about the students’ writing experiences as well as their degree of enthusiasm for what they are


Tell students that the revision emphasis for this section is on the organization of their papers. Ask them
what it means to organize a paper effectively and why organization is a writing consideration. What
differences might readers find between a well-organized paper and a less organized one, and how might
those differences affect their reading experience?

For their current paper, ask students what organizing considerations there might be as they revise their
papers. As an example, put a list of supporting points for a thesis statement on the board and ask
students if there might be a more effective order for presenting the ideas in a paper. Have them try out
different orders, asking why this or that particular order seems most effective. Point out that there is no
one definitive way to organize a writer’s ideas, and how a writer ultimately orders them depends on her
personal preference and writing purpose.

Thesis statement:       Playing computer chess is my favorite late-night activity.

Points for the board: can take back bad moves
                      big thrill to occasionally beat the computer
                      can reverse roles to see what move computer would make
                      learn a lot by playing the “expert”
                      love playing the game of chess
                      not stressful playing against computer program

Organizing Guidelines

Go over the organizing guidelines with the class, asking which ones apply most directly to their current
papers. Point out that the best way to organize a paper is often revealed during the revision process when
writers can see better how logically and naturally their ideas fit together and whether moving some
paragraphs or sentences around would improve the organization.

Revision Activity 3.8

You may want to pair classmates for this activity so students can bounce ideas off one another. When
they finish the activity, go over the students’ choices with the class and the reasoning behind them. It
should become clear that some organizational schemes are better than others but that there is more than
one way to organize a paper effectively.

Suggested order of points (other options possible):

Rugby is a great sport that most Americans know little about.

Originated in Europe
Basic rules of the game
Exciting to watch
Extremely fast, tough sport
Requires great stamina and running ability
Individual skills of top players are tremendous

Being an elementary school teacher is a challenging job.

Responsible for children testing at grade level
Teaching non-English speaking children
Helping children who have bad home lives
Discipline problems to deal with
Endless paper work to fill out from district and state
Long hours

Revision Activity 3.9

Have students number the paragraphs in the essay and then reorder them by the numbers. When they
finish, go over their ordering choices and reasoning behind them.

Suggested ordering of paragraphs (other possible options):

2.      7.
1.      8.
3.      9.
5.     11.
4.     10.
6.     12.

Revision Guidelines

Go over the revision guidelines with the class, pointing out that most of the guidelines can apply to any
writing they do. The point you are making is that the revision process isn’t substantially different from
one paper to the next, that what constitutes good writing remains constant, and that they don’t have to
reinvent the wheel every time they revise a different paper.

Revision Activity 3.10

Have students read the essay once to get a general feel for it, and then go over it several times, focusing
on one or two revision considerations at a time. Have them evaluate the paper thoroughly as a lead-in to
evaluating and revising their own drafts.

Revision suggestions (other possible options):

Paragraph 1.         Include definite thesis statement

Paragraph 2.         Improve sentence wording in first sentence. Provide examples
                     after last sentence.

Paragraph 3.         Ok

Paragraph 4.         Describe looks/function of American and European windmills
                     after first sentence.

Paragraphs 5.6.7.    Combine into one paragraph, adding transitional wording to
                     beginning sentences that previously began paragraphs 6. and 7.
                     Combine second, third, and fourth sentences of what was
                     previously the 7th paragraph.

Paragraph 8.         Revise second sentence to improve wording. Delete last sentence
                     of paragraph, which doesn’t relate to topic.

Paragraph 9.         Revise third and fifth sentences for wording improvement. Divide
                     paragraph into two paragraphs beginning with the sentence, “One of
                     the highlights of our windmill experiences . . .”

Paragraph 10.        Revise first sentence for wording improvement. Strengthen/develop
                     conclusion - a little weak as it is.

Revision Activity 3.11

Have students take a look at the sample first draft in the activity to see the kinds of improvements the
writer made. Then suggest that they read their own draft several times, applying a different guideline
each time. Finally, have students exchange drafts with a classmate to get a reader’s input. At this point,
you may know enough about your students’ writing strengths to pair them in ways that will help both
students get some useful suggestions. You might also have students exchange papers twice to get a
second reader’s opinion.


As students gain more experience with each unit proofreading their papers, their editing process should
grow swifter and more focused. Students should be making fewer errors and honing in more successfully
on the kinds of errors they most commonly make.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Tell students that the new editing emphasis for this section is on subject-verb agreement. Put a couple of
sentences on the board with two verb form choices, one where the correct verb form is obvious, the other
where it is less so:

The smell of burning oil (fill, fills) the air.

The smell of burning oil from the nearby refineries by the boat docks (fill, fills) the air.

Ask them why they think the correct verb form ends in “s” in both sentences, and why the correct form in
the second sentence is more difficult to detect than in the first one. Tell them that it is sentences like
the second one - where the subject and verb are separated by a number of words- that cause writers some
agreement problems. These are the kind of sentences they will be focusing on in this section. Finally,
ask them the correct verb form if an “s” is added to “smell” in each sentence, and then to come up with a
basic agreement rule for when a verb should end in “s” and when it shouldn’t.

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules

Go over the rules on subject-verb agreement with the class, emphasizing points 4., 5., and 6. Most
students have few problems with subject-verb agreement other than with more complex sentence
structures, and the basic rules are something they have probably heard many times.

Editing Activity 3.12

The purpose of this activity is to make sure that students can recognize subjects and verbs in their writing
so that they can proofread their sentences for agreement problems. Go over the students’ responses when
they finish, including asking them why a particular verb ends or doesn’t end in “s.”

Editing Activity 3.13

Follow the same procedure as with Editing Activity 3.12.

Editing Activity 3.14

This activity is considerably more challenging than the previous two, and it also parallels the kind of
proofreading situations they will face with their own writing. When students finish making corrections,
go over the sentences with them so that they can see the kind of “detective work” needed to determine
the correct verb forms in more challenging sentences.

Agreement Corrections:

The foul smells spread and leave

No person is to blame
Garbage collection occurs
Combination that comes
Milk products that sit
The garbage bin is
The answer is
The city collects
That makes little sense

Editing Review Activity 3.15

Whether you assign this editing review as a class assignment or on an individual basis depends on your
students’ needs. Anyone who has problems with run-on sentences, comma splices, irregular verb forms,
or correct comma usage can benefit from the review activity. Anyone who doesn’t have such problems is
wasting time that could be used on editing his draft.


1. Delete period after “semester,” small “a” on “As” in first line.
2. Comma after “which” in third line.
3. Comma after “9:00 a..m.” in fourth line.
4. Comma after “campus” in second paragraph, first sentence.
5. Comma after “them,” fourth line of second paragraph.
6. Period after “difficult,” comma after “students” in fifth line.
7. Replace “taked” with “took,” first sentence of third paragraph.
8. Period after “campus,” comma after “lots” and “spaces” in second line of
   third paragraph.
9. Comma after “lots” and “zones” in third line of third paragraph.
10.Comma after “it” in fourth line of third paragraph.
11.Add “and” after the comma after “chance” in fifth line of third paragraph.
12. Comma after “Finally,” replace “done” with “did,” period after “crunch” in first
    sentence of last paragraph.
13. Comma after “cost” in second line of last paragraph.
14. Delete period after “campus,” small “a” on “And” in third line of last paragraph.
15. Commas after “markedly” and “relaxed” in fifth line of last paragraph.

Editing Guidelines

Go over the editing guidelines with the class, suggesting they proofread their drafts for one type of error
at a time and focus in particular on the kinds of errors they most frequently make.

Editing Activity 3.16

Have students proofread their papers in class so that a mother or older brother isn’t doing their editing for
them at home. Then have students exchange drafts to get more proofreading practice and perhaps find an
error or two that the writer didn’t catch. Finally, have students write their final drafts to share with their

Writing Summary
This section gives students an opportunity to write independently without interruptions for instructional
activities. Go over the section with them, including the different kind of assignment: writing about
something they aren’t fond of doing. Point out the drafting, revising, and editing guidelines, and then
turn them loose to work. Tell them that they will be turning in their prewriting work and all drafts to you.
When they finish the papers, do a class read-around so each student gets her paper read by a number of
classmates, and based on the students’ responses, read some of the more interesting papers to the class.

Next, have a discussion of students’ writing experiences, or have them write about the experiences, by
asking questions such as the following: How do you feel about this last paper compared to the first one
you wrote on an interest? How are the papers similar and how are they different? How did your
prewriting work help prepare you to write your first draft? Did you consciously begin your middle
paragraphs with topic sentences? How do you feel about the opening of your paper? About the
conclusion? What kinds of revisions did you make to your first draft? How do you feel they improved
your paper? What kinds of errors did you catch and correct when you proofread your paper? Do you feel
your final draft is error-free? How do you compare this writing experience to the first one for the unit?
What have you learned in this unit that has helped you improve your writing?

Of course, your own evaluation of the students’ writing is the best indication of the progress that they are
making and the effectiveness of their writing. Hopefully you are seeing growth in their writing skills that
is attributable at least in part to the things they are doing in the course. After you have read and evaluated
their papers, this is a good time - half way through the text - to have scheduled office conferences with
students (if you haven’t done so already) to go over their papers and discuss the improvement they are
making and the things they need to continue working on. This also gives you a chance to talk
individually with students about their writing experiences for this course, what they are enjoying or aren’t
enjoying, and what they feel has been most helpful or least helpful in furthering their writing
development. If they have any particular problems or concerns regarding the class, they would have a
chance to voice them.


Hopefully the readings at the end of the unit have gotten some use as students worked through the
unit. Along with students reading them for their content, the essays can be analyzed in a number of
areas: openings and conclusions, thesis statement, topic sentence use, paragraph development, use of
descriptive detail, inclusion of thoughts and feelings, sentence wording, use of transitions, paragraphing,
and organization of ideas. You might refer students to a particular essay several times during the unit as
they deal with different instructional elements in their writing.

Supplemental Materials
The following supplemental materials are related to the instructional elements provided in Unit Three.
or as additional class activities.

Thesis Statements

For practice generating thesis statements, write a thesis statement for the following topics that reflects
your opinion on the topic.

        Topic: tattoos

        Thesis: Body tattoos are an expression of individuality and artistic freedom.

1.      Topic: low rider cars


2.      Topic: alternative rock music


3.      Topic: professional football


4.      Topic: trying minors who commit murder as adults

        Thes i s :

5.      Topic: natural child birth


6.      Topic: student financial aid


7.      Topic: the cost of college textbooks


8.      Topic: decriminalizing marijuana


9.      Topic: Japanese-made cars


10.     Topic: using monkeys for medical research experiments


Essay Organization
Reorder the paragraphs in the following essay to improve its organization.

Working on Cars

To me, working on cars always seemed like a big hobby for guys. I remember my dad out working
on the car on weekends when I was growing up, the hood up, his head stuck under it for hours. I
heard about things he did to the car, like change the plugs, rebuild the carburetor, or grind the
valves, although I didn’t know what any of it meant. I assumed that working on cars was
something most guys did, so I interviewed some people to find out. To my surprise, most guys
don’t really know how to work on cars, and those that do learned from their dads. Working on
cars seems to be mainly a hobby of the past.

There are other reasons guys don’t work on cars so much, according to those I interviewed. Most
of the newer model cars from the 2000’s have really good, reliable engines, and they don’t need
much work on them. “If you buy one new,” said one guy, “you get a warranty for a 30,000 mile
tune-up by the dealer, so you don’t need to spend any money on your car for the first two years or
so.” Cars don’t break down as often as they used to, so there’s not so much need to work on them.
In addition, with the “quicky lube and tune-up” shops, which seem like fast food restaurants for
cars, you can get a basic tune-up and servicing for a reasonable price, much less than at a dealer,
so guys figure why do it themselves when they can get it done cheaply. Finally, cars are more
difficult to work on today because everything is computerized, so you need a lot more special
knowledge than you used to. Most guys don’t know what they need to, according to those I

Working on cars is also something fathers and sons do together. Most of the guys that worked on
cars say they learned from their dads, and that they still work on cars with their dads sometimes.
They started out as little guys hanging around their dads and watching them work, or handing them
a screw driver or a wrench. As they got older, they learned how to do things, and working with
their dads became like a father-son hobby. “I looked up to my dad for being able to fix up cars,”
said one guy, “and I wanted to be like him.” Another guy said, “We didn’t have a lot of money, so
we could never afford to take a car to a garage. My dad learned to fix cars because he had no
choice, and he saved a lot of money.”

In fact, it seemed that the more education there was in the families, the less chance there was that a
guy worked on cars. If the dad of someone I interviewed was like a school teacher or an
accountant, in most cases his son didn’t work on cars. Of the guys that did work on cars, most of
their dads didn’t go to college. It seems that if someone can afford not to work on his own car
today, he doesn’t. Guys today seem to think working on cars is work rather than a hobby to enjoy.

Of course, most guys know how to change the oil or change a flat, and some girls do too.
However, to me that doesn’t qualify as “working on a car.” When I asked guys if they ever
changed the plugs or tuned up an engine, most of them said no. They never took shop classes in
high school or learned from their dads, so they knew little about car motors and taking care of
them. Some of them seemed a little embarrassed that they didn’t know, like they weren’t doing
the guy thing they should be doing.

Guys who do work on cars take a lot of pride in it. They like the feeling of making their car run

more smoothly or fixing something that wasn’t working right. They enjoy taking engines apart
and putting them back together. One guy said, “I like it because it’s something I can do well. It’s
something I can do that a lot of other guys can’t.” Another said, “Working on cars relaxes me. I
just take my time and don’t worry about anything, and I get absorbed in the job.” In fact, when
one guy doesn’t have anything to work on with his own car, he goes to his friends’ houses to find
out if they have any problems. “I just like working on cars,” he said.

Most of the work getting done on cars, it seems, is on older cars that are American made, like cars
from the seventies or eighties. There are still a lot of them on the road, and there are still some
guys out there who enjoy working on them. But overall, most guys today don’t work on cars, and
it’s not a hobby like it was with my dad and a lot of his friends. It seems like as a hobby, working
on cars is not very popular, and if a guy can afford a newer car, he figures he’s not going to have to
work on it anyway. I still think a guy should know enough about a car to fix it if he has to. I
learned that from my dad.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Fill in a present tense verb(s) in each sentence that agrees with its subject.

Example The tulips in front of the school brighten the landscape.
        The tulip in the tall vase brightens the kitchen.

1. The campus library on the northeast corner in front of intersecting “R” and Reed Avenues
   ____________ little student use.

2. The other smaller libraries on the campus ____________ in good locations where plenty of
   student traffic _____________.

3. However, the “library of the avenues,” as it is referred to, _________ in a secluded corner of
   campus, a great distance from where most students on campus _____________their classes.

4. Therefore, most students who ___________ their classes in the main part of campus
   _____________ reluctant to walk fifteen minutes to the library of the avenues.

5. Students who ___________ frequent the northeast library often ___________their bikes across
   campus and ______________ them in the stalls in front of the library.

6. Unfortunately, not too many students ______________ bicycles on campus, so the majority of
   study tables in the library _____________ unused, and the computers in a back room of the
   library behind the periodical room seldom _______________ used.

7. For the student who ___________ frequent the northeast library, there ______________ state of
   the art computers, thousands of new books, and plenty of places to study.

8. The library of the avenues, despite having the worst location of the three libraries,
   ____________ the newest and best stocked shelves, so students who ____________ the long
   trek across campus ________________ the services it __________________.

9. Migrating ducks that _________________ time on campus in the winter also _____________
   the large pond in front of the library, which ________________ over one hundred ducks every

10. The joke is that there _____________ more ducks in the pond than there ______________
    students in the library, but it’s not much of a joke to the campus administrators who
    _____________ chided regularly for placing the library in such an isolated location.

Unit Four: Beliefs and Values

In Unit Four, the writing focus shifts considerably. To this point students have been writing about
their lives: experiences, people who have influenced them, their personal interests. Beginning
with this unit, they begin writing about issues that may affect them as well as others. While their
personal experiences may influence how they feel about a particular issue and provide support for
their viewpoint, they no longer dominate the writing.

When students move from experience-centered to expository writing, instructors often see what
appears to be a regression in writing skills. Students who have no trouble writing fluently about
their experiences and interests may write haltingly and awkwardly about a particular issue, a
result of the more complex thought processes and vocabulary involved in expository writing.
While many students remained in their writing comfort zone during the first units, many move
beyond it in this unit, an important step in their continuing development as writers.

One assuring aspect of this writing assignment is that students will use the same format they used
for their last paper: thesis statement, thesis support, opening, middle, and concluding paragraphs,
and topic sentences. The thesis-centered essay was introduced in the last unit so that students
would be familiar with it when they wrote their issue-oriented papers, allowing them to focus
more intently on their content.

To help students understand the difference in the kind of writing they are doing for this unit, put
two writing topics on the board, one experience-centered and the other issue-centered:

My first meeting with a college counselor
College counseling: an invaluable part of a student’s success

Ask students how the two topics are different and how they would produce very different papers.
Ask them which of the two they feel would be most challenging to write about and why. Also ask
them how they might use some of the material from the first topic to help them write the second
paper. Finally, tell them that the second topic is representative of the type of writing they will be
doing for this unit, where they will take a position on a particular issue and support it in their

Tell students they will be writing on an issue of interest to them that people have different
opinions on. Ask them to start thinking about issues from different areas - sports, education,
music, health, their college, community, or state, etc. - that might interest them. Also tell them
that their reading audience for this paper may be someone other than their classmates, depending
on their topic and their writing purpose. They will decide on the most appropriate reading
audience and writing purpose as they prepare to write their papers.

Tell students that writing on an issue presents new challenges. Some of their reading audience
may not agree with their viewpoint on the topic, and they will try to convince them otherwise. To
do that, they will need to come up with the best possible support for their viewpoint, which may
take some serious thought and planning. Tell them the purpose of the writing assignment is to
help them continue to develop their writing skills, which requires doing different kinds of writing.

Finally, suggest that they read the essays at the end of the unit to get a better idea of what writing
about an issue entails, and to see the topics other writers chose and what they did with them.


Tell students that during the prewriting phase, they will decide on a topic and generate a thesis
statement and some supportive points for their thesis, which they also did in the previous unit.
Tell them that the format for their paper will be similar to the papers they wrote in Unit Three and
include a thesis statement, thesis support, opening, middle, and concluding paragraphs, and topic

Topic Selection

Topic selection is a critical part of writing an effective issue-oriented paper. Go over the four
points on topic selection with the class and then put on the board three or four areas from which
students may select topics, such as “sports,” “music,” “your college,” “foreign affairs.” Taking
one area at a time, ask students what issues they are aware of that people have differing opinions
on. Examples from each area might include, “Should college football have a playoff system?”
“Should people be able to download music free on the Internet?” “Should students have to pay for
on-campus parking permits?” “Should the US withdraw the military from Iraq?”

As students come up with issues, determine as a class whether they are issues that people have
differing opinions on, an important criterion for topic selection. For example, a topic like,
“Smoking is bad for your health” is not something many people would disagree on, so it wouldn’t
be appropriate for this particular assignment. However, people do disagree on the best way to stop
smoking, so a topic such as “The best way to stop smoking forever” may work.


To generate a number of possible topics for their paper, students will brainstorm to get some ideas
on paper. Explain to students what brainstorming is, emphasizing the spontaneous, freewheeling
nature of the activity, with students writing down anything that comes to mind.

Prewriting Activity 4.1

You might have students pair up or work in small groups, the goal being to generate as many
topics as possible within a certain amount of time. Tell students to write down whatever issues
come up without evaluating them. When they finish, you might put a number of the issues on the
board and have students apply the topic selection criteria to each issue. The purpose is for
students to see the kinds of topics that are appropriate for their papers, i.e. issues where people’s
opinions differ, and to consider what they may want to write about. In addition, tell students that
ideally, each of them will select a different topic, creating an interesting variety of papers for the
class to read.

Prewriting Activity 4.2

Tell students that you want to see and approve their topics for their upcoming paper for two
reasons: first, to make sure they have selected an appropriate topic for their issue-oriented paper,
and second, to make sure that they aren’t writing on the same topic as someone else. Some
students may have to choose an optional topic if their first choice is taken. In addition, emphasize
that this is not a research paper, so they need to pick a topic about which they are knowledgeable.

Thesis Statement

That students have already been introduced to thesis statements and written thesis-centered papers
in the last unit is a benefit for their new assignment. Remind them that the thesis statement for
their upcoming paper will reflect their viewpoint on the topic: what they believe about it. Put a
few issues on the board that students aren’t writing on and have them come up with a thesis
statement for each, including statements reflecting differing viewpoints on the same issue. For
example, you might put on the board the topic, “Legalizing marijuana smoking,” and ask students
what differing viewpoints people may have on the topic (e.g. it should be legalized, it shouldn’t be
legalized, it should be legalized only for medical use, smoking should be decriminalized but not
selling marijuana).

Prewriting Activity 4.3

Have students look at the sample thesis statements in the activity, and then emphasize that the
thesis statement they generate should reflect exactly how they feel about the subject, expressing a
viewpoint that they can support wholeheartedly in a paper. Take a look at the students’ thesis
statements to make sure they are on the right track.

Thesis Support

To introduce the topic of “thesis support,” tell students to begin thinking about how they are going
to convince readers that their viewpoint on the issue is the most reasonable, sensible, or logical.
Tell them that some people in their reading audience will have a different viewpoint, or at the
least will not embrace the writer’s viewpoint unquestioningly. How are they going to convince
these people to change or open their minds?

For an example, put the topic “Gun Control” on the board and the thesis statement, “A Federal law
should be passed banning the sale of handguns in the US.” Tell the class that for this example,
they all support the thesis statement and want to write to an audience who is against gun control to
try and change their minds. Ask them what they could write to convince people that handguns
should be banned. How could they reach readers who believe that they need handguns in the
house to protect their family? How could they reach readers who believe that if such a law were
passed, only the “bad guys” would have guns with everyone else at their mercy? The purpose of
the activity is for students to begin thinking about the kinds of things they might include in their
issue-oriented paper and how they might best influence their reading audience.

Go over the six points on thesis support in the text and the example on “tuition increase” in the
three subsequent paragraphs, asking students what impact they feel this or that supporting reason
would have on a board of trustees. Again, the purpose is to get students thinking from a reader’s
perspective in analyzing the effectiveness of the thesis support.

Making a List

Tell students a good way to develop supporting ideas for their thesis statement is to make a list of
the reasons that they believe as they do. They may discover that they have some good ideas to
support their position or that it is based on rather scant support, which could mean either finding
another topic or coming up with more ideas.

Prewriting Activity 4.4

Go over the sample list in the activity with the class, and then tell them to list all of the ideas that
come to mind that could support their thesis statement in some way. Later they can evaluate their
relative value and decide what to include in the paper.

Opposing Arguments

Tell students that one of the best ways to get readers to agree with them is to undermine the
readers’ reasons for believing as they do. For example, in the previous paragraphs on a tuition
increase at the college, the board of trustees' major concern was generating more money to address
the increasing costs of running a college. No matter how strong a writer’s arguments were against
a tuition increase, if he didn’t address the trustees’ main concern - generating more income - the
arguments may fall on deaf ears. However, by acknowledging the legitimate concern the trustees
had about raising revenue and pointing out other ways to address the revenue problem, he may get
the trustees to think about other options.

Prewriting Activity 4.5

Go over the sample opposing arguments and counters with the class. When students complete the
activity, have some of them put their topics, thesis statements, opposing arguments, and counters
on the board for students who may have struggled with the activity. This activity forces students
to view their topic through their most skeptical readers’ eyes, a good vantage point from which to
write and revise their papers.

First Drafts
Tell students that two of the main writing considerations for their upcoming paper are covered in
this section: audience and purpose. Ask them why they think these considerations are particularly
important when writing an issue-oriented paper. Tell them that they will be deciding on the most
appropriate reading audience for their paper and on their purpose in writing to them.

Audience and Purpose

For students to understand how audience and purpose are linked writing considerations, put a topic
on the board such as “Sexually Transmitted Diseases among Teens,” and the thesis statement,
“The alarming increase in STDs among teens must be reversed.” Ask students if they were writing
on this subject, who their reading audience should be: the people who most need the information
and can help reverse the trend (e.g. teenagers and their parents). Second, ask them what their main
purpose(s) would be in writing to these people (e.g. to educate them on the problem and to get
teens to stop sexual activities that put them at risk). Students can see that the reading audience and
the writing purpose go hand in hand.

Reading Audience

Go over the three points on reading audience with the class, emphasizing your intent of getting the
students’ papers into the hands of their reading audience, whether it be through a letter to the
editor of a local or the school paper, a letter to the college trustees, an essay delivered to freshmen
students at a local high school, or a blog on the Internet.

Drafting Activity 4.6

In addition to selecting an audience, have students consider the best way to reach that audience, as
shown in the examples in the activity. When students finish, ask volunteers for their topics, their
reading audiences, why they chose that particular audience, and the best way to reach them.
Suggest a change in audience only if the readers a student is considering would hold the same
opinion as the writer, such as writing an anti-gun control paper for NRA members.

Writing Purpose

Ask students why they think it is important to have a purpose for writing to their intended
audience. In addition, ask them what they think some different purposes could be in writing an
issue-oriented paper for a particular audience.

Introduce the term tone, explaining what it means within the writing context and how it relates to
audience and purpose. Since students understand verbal tone, such as the tone of voice they might
use to persuade their instructor to extend the deadline for paper completion, explain that writing
tone is to writing what verbal tone is to speaking.

Go over the four points on writing purpose in the text and then put one example on the board
before students do the next activity, having them determine the purpose and tone of a paper on the

Writing Topic: College cafeteria food
Thesis: As long as the cafeteria’s food choices are so limited, most students will eat off campus.

Audience:         The cafeteria staff, the college president, and the trustees

Drafting Activity 4.7

Have students go over the sample responses in the activity before deciding on their purpose and
tone. Then have some volunteers share their topic, purpose, and tone with the class.

Drafting Activity 4.8

Since issue-oriented writing may be new to some students, have them analyze the draft in this
activity prior to writing their first draft. The purpose of the activity is for students to gain a better
understanding of issue-oriented writing and to see how one writer tried to convince her readers to
take action on the issue.

Possible responses to questions:

1.    Introduces her topic, presents the two different viewpoints that people hold on the issue, and
      presents her viewpoint in the topic sentence: Now is the time to build the downtown lake.

2.    Shows the current situation of the downtown area: no reason for people
      to go there. Her purpose is to show that something needs to be done, like building the lake.

3.    Supporting points: a lake and its amenities would attract people; large water features in
      other cities have been successful in attracting people; people would move downtown to live
      in lake-front condominiums; businesses would relocate downtown once people started
      frequenting the area and living there. Topic sentences: first sentence of each paragraph.

4.    Opposing point: Nothing else has worked and this won’t either. Counter: Nothing as
      dramatic or exciting has been tried. Opposing point: Money would be better spent providing
      services to the suburbs. Opposing point: Abandoning plans to revitalize the downtown will
      kill its center, and the city will have no identity.

5.    Writer makes it clear that people who support the lake need to get involved and influence
      the city council. Her purpose is to get people active so the council will approve building the

6.    The tone is serious and intent, showing how important the writer thinks the topic is.

Drafting Activity 4.9

Go over the drafting guidelines with the class, pointing out that the format is similar to what they
wrote for the last unit: opening, middle, and concluding paragraphs, thesis statement, thesis
support, and topic sentences. After reading and analyzing the sample paper and doing
considerable prewriting work, they should have a good sense of how to proceed.


Before beginning the revision process, ask students about their drafting experience. How difficult
was it to write on an issue-oriented topic? What problems, if any, did they encounter? How did
they use their prewriting work in writing their draft, and how useful was it? How do they feel
about their first drafts, and what do they feel they did best? What improvements might they make
during the revision process? It is beneficial for students to know what other writers went through
in writing their first drafts and also to reflect on their own experience. The discussion also helps
the instructor better understand the students’ writing experience and their attitudes towards it.

Substantiating Claims

The main revision focus for this section - substantiating claims - will not register with students
until they understand exactly what it means. Tell them, however, that they have no doubt already
substantiated some claims in their draft, and that this is not a foreign subject to them.

To aid their understanding, put some topic sentences on the board that present supporting points
for the following thesis statement:

Thesis statement: Illegal aliens are a benefit to the U.S., not a liability.

Topic sentences: They help the economy through consumerism.

                   They provide a cultural diversity which enriches the country.

                   They do the kinds of work that most Americans are unwilling to do.

                   They commit fewer crimes on average than American citizens.

                   They bring a strong work ethic, which helps strengthens the country.

Tell students that each of the topic sentences is a claim: a statement the writer presents as being
true. However, do we know if any of the claims are true? Obviously, that the writer makes the
claims doesn’t mean that they are valid or that we should accept them. However, they may all be
true, but it is up to the writer to convince us.

This is where substantiating claims comes in. If you make a particular claim in your paper, you
need to substantiate it by providing some kind of evidence that it is true. For example, what kind
of evidence might a writer present to substantiate the claim that illegal aliens help the economy?
How can she convince readers that cultural diversity “enriches the country?” What evidence can
she provide that illegal immigrants do work that Americans won’t do? How can she prove to
readers that illegal aliens commit fewer crimes? Finally, how can she convince readers that
illegal aliens have a strong work ethic?

To put it simply for students, substantiating claims merely means backing up what you say with
the best evidence you have so readers are most likely to believe you.

Now that students have some understanding of what substantiating claims means, go over the
example in the text on the college changing the class drop date. Emphasize that it is not for

readers who agree with you that you need to substantiate your claims. It is for the readers who
may not agree with you, or who need convincing, which form the majority of your reading

Next, go over the three points in the text on substantiating claims, which provide a number of
examples to further the students’ understanding. Point out the different kinds of evidence that
writers use to substantiate claims, including personal experience. Tell them that since this isn’t a
research paper, the evidence they provide to support their claims will come primarily from their
own experience and knowledge.

Revision Activity 4.10

You might make this an oral class activity to make sure everyone understands what a claim is
and how to substantiate it. First, ask what claim the writer is making in each paragraph. Next,
analyze the types of substantiating evidence provided to support each claim and their
effectiveness. From the paragraphs, students can see that there are different ways to support a
claim and that providing such evidence is an important part of paragraph development in an issue-
oriented paper.

Revision Exercise 4.11

This is a useful activity since students will soon be looking for unsubstantiated claims in their own
writing as they do here. When they finish, go over their responses as a class, including the types
of evidence the writer might use to substantiate the claims.

Unsubstantiated claims:

One problem is that students don’t like studying in the library. (Provide personal experience, the
experience of other students, and the fact that very few students use the library to study.)

In addition, the library’s strict rules don’t help the situation. (Give examples of the rules and why
they have a negative effect on student library use.)

Finally, with most students having Internet access, there is little need for the library anymore.
(Provide personal experience and the experience of other students in using the Internet as a
resource rather than the library, and how there is virtually nothing in the library that students can’t
get on-line.)

Revision Activity 4.12

Since students have been working a lot on substantiating claims and it is fresh in their minds, make
that the first revision priority, having students read the drafts to see what claims they made, how
well they substantiated them, whether there are any claims that need substantiating, and what kind
of evidence they might provide. Have them work on this in class so you can answer questions as
they pour over their drafts. You might also have volunteers put a few unsubstantiated claims that
they find on the board and discuss what kinds of evidence they might use.

You should also point out that there are some universally accepted claims, or truths, that don’t
require substantiation because readers believe them. For example, statements like, “The issue of

illegal immigration has been addressed by every presidential candidate,” or “The majority of
illegal aliens enter the U.S. through the borders of Southwestern states,” or, “The majority of
American’s illegal immigrants come from Mexico and Central America,” are not statements that
many readers would dispute.

After students have revised their drafts to substantiate claims, go over the rest of the “Revision
Guidelines” and have students apply them to their drafts to complete the revision process. In
addition, have them take a look at the kinds of revisions the writer made in the sample draft on the
downtown lake project.

Although the text doesn’t require it, it would be a good idea to have students exchange revised
drafts to get a reader’s opinion, or a couple of readers’ opinions, on how effectively the writer has
supported her thesis and influenced her reading audience. Have readers provide further revision
suggestions for improving the drafts before students write their revised drafts.


Tell students your intent of getting their papers into the hands of their reading audience and the
importance of their providing an error-free final draft for such “publication.” Tell them the new
grammar consideration for this section is the correct use of pronouns, which they will add to their
growing list of editing guidelines which now includes run-on sentences, comma splices, irrregular
verbs, comma usage, and subject-verb agreement.

Pronoun Usage

Tell students that while writers do make errors in pronoun usage, fortunately the most common
errors fall within narrow areas, such as subject pronouns with compound subjects or pronoun-
antecedent agreement with indefinite pronouns as antecedents. These are the type of pronoun
problems addressed in this section, which should be most beneficial to students.

Subject Pronouns

Errors in subject pronoun usage are not uncommon. However, such errors are among the most
easily corrected, and it will not take students long to figure out how to select the correct subject
pronoun every time.

Put a couple sentences on the board with subject pronoun choices, the first with a single subject
and the second with multiple subjects:

(I, Me) am interested in applying for a job in the tutorial center.

Tricia, Malcolm, Amy and (I, me) are interested in applying for jobs in the tutorial center.

Ask students for the correct pronoun choice in the first sentence, and of course everyone will agree
that “I” is correct. However, with the second sentence, some students will waver in their choice
since “me” at the end of a compound subject is commonly used in speech and does not sound as
bad to some people. For students who are uncertain, provide them the one full-proof method for
selecting the correct subject pronoun form, asking, “If Tricia and Malcolm were not a part of the
sentence, would you say, ‘I am interested’ or ‘Me am interested?” Of course, they will say “I.”
Tell them, “Whenever you are doubt of what pronoun to use with a compound subject, cross out
in your mind all but the pronoun in question and decide which form sounds best as a single
subject.” If students do that, they will seldom go wrong.

To have them test the method, put on the board the sentence, “Samuel, Isaac, Freda, and (them,
they) went to Blockbuster Video to rent a couple movies.” Ask students to use the cross-out
method to determine which subject pronoun is correct. They will agree that “they went” sounds
much better than “them went.”

Go over the five points in the text on subject pronoun usage, and then students should be ready to
handle the subsequent activity with little problem.

Editing Activity 4.13

Give students a few minutes in class to do the activity and then go over their responses. If there

are any problems, have them apply the cross-out method to determine the correct pronoun form.
Students will do quite well with the activity, and a reminder to check their subject pronouns when
they proofread their drafts for errors should ensure their using the correct forms.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Since “pronoun-antecedent agreement” may sound more daunting than it is, put some examples on
the board to help students understand what it means:

Sarah brought _______________ poodle to art class.

Most students type ________________ papers at one of the school’s computer labs.

Ask students what the correct pronoun is to complete each sentence, which they will have little
trouble providing. Next, ask them why they chose “her” and then why they chose “their.” Explain
to them that “Sarah” is the antecedent for “her” (the antecedent being the word the pronoun
replaces), and “students” is the antecedent for “their,” and then ask them to come up with some
basic rules for pronoun-antecedent agreement. With a little thought, they should be able to
provide the basic rules, which is a good way to remember them.

Next, go over the four points in the text on pronoun-antecedent agreement, spending extra time on
3. and 4., the pronoun-antecedent situations which cause writers the most problems. Then students
should be ready to move directly to the next activity.

Editing Activity 4.14

Tell students to locate the antecedent(s) in each sentence, determine its number and gender, and
then make the correct pronoun choice. When they finish, go over their responses with the class,
and where there are problems, refer them back to the rules that apply to those situations.

Editing Review

Each “Editing” section has an “Editing Review” component that provides students with additional
proofreading practice in the grammar usage and punctuation areas covered in previous units.
Whether all students or some students do the review activities at this point depends on their error-
correction needs. The activities provide good practice for students who are still struggling in any
of the areas that are covered, but they certainly aren’t necessary for students who rarely make
these kinds of errors.

Editing Activity 4.15

Suggest to students that they read the paragraphs several times, each time looking for a particular
kind of error. For example, they could start with comma usage, inserting commas within the
sentences where the comma rules require them. Then they could move to looking for any run-on
sentences, comma splices, or sentence fragments, and so on. To pique students’ interest, tell them
that there around twenty errors to catch, which includes the insertion of commas. This provides
something of a challenge and also lets students know that they will have to proofread carefully to
find that many errors. There may be few students who find and correct them all.

Editing Activity 4.16

Go over the “Editing Guidelines” with the class, suggesting that they proofread their papers
several times, each time looking for a different kind of error. Also encourage them to focus most
intently on the kinds of errors they have made in previous papers. Have them proofread in class so
you are available to help students with questions as to whether this sentence is a run-on or that
sentence needs a comma.

Editing Activity 4.17

It never hurts to get a second opinion on error detection, so have students exchange papers and
proofread one another’s drafts. After any errors have been detected and corrected, have students
write the final draft of their papers.

Since this is intended to be a “real” writing assignment, make plans for students to get their papers
to their reading audience (or some portion of it). If an audience is high school students, you could
arrange for the essay to be distributed through English classes to students at a local high school. If
an audience is college students, you could arrange for a similar distribution process at your

Other audience forums may be “letters to the editor” of the school or local newspaper (which may
require downsizing the essay to meet maximum word requirements), letters to local school board
or city council members, administrators or teachers, or letters to state assemblymen or senators.
Whatever a student’s reading audience, figure out the best way for audience members to read the
paper and a way for them to respond to the writer. In addition, have a read-around in class as you
have done with previous papers so that classmates will have the chance to read one another’s

Writing Summary
The issue-oriented paper is probably the students’ most challenging writing task to this point, and
it would benefit them to write a second paper. They have learned a great deal about writing an
effective issue-oriented paper, and now they can apply what they have learned to a second paper.
Since students are writing the paper and working through the writing process independently, their
final writing products will give you a good idea of the progress they have made in this unit and the
things they need to work on to continue their writing growth.

Go over the writing assignment and various guidelines with the class, making sure they understand
their writing charge before turning them loose. As with previous papers, ask them to turn in their
prewriting work and all drafts to see how their papers developed and ensure that they did the work.
As with the previous paper, tell them that the intent is to get the final draft into the hands of their
reading audience.

When they finish their papers, make plans to distribute them in some form to their reading
audiences and also have a read-around within the class. In addition, have a discussion on their
writing experience similar to what you have had after previous unit-ending papers. Find out how
the writing process went, what they found within the process most helpful for writing their papers,
the kinds of revision and editing changes that they made, any problems they may have had, how
they compare these papers to the first ones they wrote for the unit, and so on. Such discussions
help students to think and respond as writers and help the instructor understand what is really

going on within the students’ writing processes.


No doubt you found uses for these end-of-unit essays as students worked through their papers
papers, including some good discussions. If you have not done so already, ask students if
they read the essays on their own, when they read them, and for what reasons. Also ask them what
they thought of the essays, in what ways they were useful, and whether they think having
essays like these in the units is worthwhile. Their comments may help you make use of the essays
most effectively in the upcoming units as well as with future classes.

Supplemental Materials

The following supplemental materials are related to specific instructional elements provided in
Unit Four. You may reproduce them for the use of individual students who may need more work
in a particular area or as additional class activities.

Analyzing an Issue-Oriented Essay

With a partner, analyze the following essay. How convincing are the writer’s arguments in
support of his thesis? What unsubstantiated claims does he make that you question? What
arguments leave a positive impression? Is there any weak or illogical reasoning in the paper?
Does the writer counter any opposing arguments? Overall, how effectively does the writer make
his case?

Gun Control

There are people who believe that if there was more gun control in America, there would be less
violent crime. These gun-control advocates want to pass Federal legislation to ban or severely
restrict the sale and possession of guns. This would be a big mistake for all Americans, and if
strong gun control laws were ever passed, America would be a more dangerous place, not a safer
place, to live.

If gun control laws were passed, who is going to abide by them, the law-abiding citizens or the
criminals on the streets who commit the violent crimes? While law-abiding citizens would give
up their guns, the criminals would give up nothing and arm themselves to the teeth. With no guns
to protect their homes or families, all law-abiding Americans would be at great risk from the
criminals who would have all the weapons.

In addition, if guns were no longer available in stores, law-abiding citizens would have no access
to them. However, if guns were not for sale legally, the black market gun dealers would make a
killing. Any criminal who wanted a gun could get his hands on one. After all, drugs like heroin or
crack cocaine aren’t sold in any stores, but anyone who wants to buy either can get it illegally with
no problem. The same would be true with guns. The bad guys would get their weapons and the
good guys would go without.

In addition, there are millions of Americans who own hand guns or rifles for hunting or
recreational activities like skeet or target shooting. Why should these people have to give up
their hobbies and their guns? They aren’t hurting anybody, and it isn’t fair that they are singled
out. If you take away a hunter’s gun, why not take away another hunter’s bow and arrow and a
fisherman’s fishing pole? Why discriminate against just one kind of sportsman?

If someone breaks into my house, I want to have the ability to protect my family. If an armed
intruder wants to kill my family, I am defenseless without a gun. If Americans can’t have guns in
their homes, the increase in violent crimes against all Americans would be dramatic, and no one
would be safe in his home. The government has no right to take away my ability to protect my
family. If this happened, the government would be as responsible for the killings of innocent
Americans as the killers would be.

Of course no one wants to see children gunned down in schools by crazed people with automatic
weapons. However, if such weapons were banned, only the crazies and criminals would have
them, and the murderous rampages in school yards would be even worse. You can never take guns
out of the hands of people who are willing to break the law to get them, so any kind of gun control
is bound to fail and hurt only the law-abiding citizens.

I oppose any kind of gun control legislation because it would make America a more dangerous

place to live. I would never use a gun to do anything but defend myself and my family against
someone wanting to do us harm, and I have a right to use a gun for that purpose. It’s called self-
defense, and it isn’t against the law and never should be. You take away my gun, and you take
away my right to defend myself. That shouldn’t happen in a free America. Besides, guns never
kill anyone. Only people do.

Sentence Wording Revision

Revise and rewrite the following first draft sentences to make them clearer, smoother, and more


Being a role model is very important to me, especially when it involves children, and particularly
my nieces and nephews.


Being a role model to my nieces and nephews is very important to me.

1. I try to spend as much quality time as I can with my nieces and nephews as a group or on a
   one-to-one basis.

2. I hope that I can impact my nieces and nephews’ lives in a positive way, and when they grow
   up, they can remember that I will always be there for them when they need me.

3. We are a very close family, which means our family gatherings are so much fun and
   interesting also.

4. If you left one piece of trash anywhere on the high school grounds, the security guys would
   write you up for that and give you detention just for that.

5. When children meet new kids, they want to be friends with them, and sometimes they fight.

6. Not too much time had passed when I got another phone call from my daughter’s teacher
   about the same problem, that my daughter talked a lot in class, and that she didn’t pay
   attention in class.

7. I told the teacher that I felt she was discriminating against my son because he was Puerto
   Rican, but I also told her that I was not going to let her get away with it, and that if it didn’t
   stop and she didn’t start treating all children as equals, I was going to talk to the principal first.

8. One of the biggest problems that I can’t stand is seeing my house all dirty.

9. I try to finish all my chores when I get home from school, even though I have a lot of help
   from my husband, who helps me make dinner, but I have to finish the rest by myself.

10. One of the biggest things that I would like to have is more time on my hands for me to enjoy
    my house, other than cleaning the house and having to go right to bed.

11. I enjoy a peaceful evening with my family, and not having a lot of stress to worry about, like
    problems at work.

12. Our players had a great football game, but our football coaches thought the total opposite.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Fill in the correct pronoun in each of the following blanks that agrees in number and gender with
the noun it replaces – its antecedent. In addition, provide the correct subject pronouns.


Mitsui bought herself a new dress for graduation.

1. Aunt Suki didn’t want ____________ nieces to know that _________ and _____________
   husband smoked, so ________________ husband and ______________ never smoked around

2. A leech attaches ___________________ to the bodies of animals and slowly sucks
   _____________ blood out through ______________ skin.

3. No one wanted ___________________ place in line lost for concert tickets, so some people
   asked ________________ friends to stand in line for ______________ when
   _______________ needed a bathroom break.

4. Michael and ________________ (the person writing) enjoy studying together, and
   ________________ usually do ________________ in the college library where
   ________________ can be by _________________.

5. The new theater on Broadmoor Street is going to be beautiful, but ____________ won’t be
   open until spring because ________________ construction was delayed for months by
   torrential rains.

6. I don’t think that Shania and ________________ (a man) should run against each other in the
   legislative primary election because ________________ politics are so similar that
   ___________________ will split the vote between ______________, allowing the third
   candidate, who is less experienced, to steal _____________.

7. Every student knows that ____________________ best way to get the classes that
   _______________ needs is to register on-line at the college’s website.

8. The Gonzales family and _____________ (the writer and her family) are going on a short
   cruise down the Mexican coast to find out whether ______________ enjoy _____________
   before ______________ take a longer cruise down the coast.

9. If you enjoy Cajun food, _____________ are really going to like The Red Fish restaurant in
   New Orleans, and particularly ____________ specialties like jambalaya, chicken gumbo, and
   blackened catfish, which ______________ serves for lunch or dinner, three hundred and sixty-
   five days a year.

10. Ancil told ____________ boss, Claudette Marks, that _______ wanted to take family leave
    time when      ____________ and _____________ wife’s baby arrived, and
    _______________ granted ______________ the leave, which is mandated under the
   Federal Family Leave Act.

Unit Five: Discoveries
To get students thinking about their next paper, tell them they will write about a problem that they
face or are concerned about. They may write about a problem that’s affecting them personally,
whether it involves family, other relationships, school, or work, or about a broader problem
affecting many people such as a tuition increase, parking problems on campus, global warming, or
rising gas prices. Tell students to consider problems that are persistent and have no easy solution,
a part of their task being to come up with new and creative solutions.

To give them an idea of the complexity of the writing task, ask students what kind of things they
might include in a problem/solution paper. As an example, put a problem on the board such as
“The High Cost of Gasoline,” and ask them what a paper on the problem might include. In
addition, ask them why they think are writing a problem/solution essay, the purpose of the
assignment, and how may it help them continue to grow as writers.

Also suggest that students read the problem/solution papers within the unit and at its end to see the
kinds of problems other writers selected and how they dealt with the them in their papers.


Tell students that during this “Prewriting” section, they will brainstorm to generate some ideas for
topics, use journalistic questions like “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” to help
analyze their problem, and get some ideas on generating possible solutions to the problem.

Selecting a Topic

Go over the six points on topic selection with the class, which give students good direction for
selecting a topic. You might also introduce some sample topics and ask students which would
meet the selection criteria, which would not, and why. Topic ideas could include, “Parking
Problems Caused by College Road Construction,” “High Asthma Rate in the Area,” “Drug
Trafficking on the Campus,” “My Problem with Depression,” “Increasing Numbers of Diabetic
Children,” “Rising South American Socialism and Its Affects on America,” “Our Next Door
Neighbors from Hell,” “Stale Donuts in the College Cafeteria,” “Strip Mining: The Devastation of
America’s Mountains,” “Oil Spots on My Driveway.”

Prewriting Activity 5.1

You might have students brainstorm in pairs or small groups, writing down all ideas that are
voiced without evaluation. Later they can decide which problems are appropriate for the
assignment and what they may want to write about.

Prewriting Activity 5.2

Tell students that you want to see their prospective topics to make sure they are selecting a
problem that is serious, persistent, not easily solved, and they are knowledgeable about, and to
make sure that students write on a range of topics.

Analyzing the Problem

Tell students that the better they understand their problem, the greater their chances of finding a
good solution. Ask students that of the journalistic questions “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,”
“why,” and “how,” which ones might help them analyze their problem, and how each question
might be used (e.g. “Who or what is causing the problem,” and “Who or what is affected by the
problem?”). Then go over the five questions under “Asking Questions” in the text and ask the
class if there are other questions they might add to help them analyze their problems.

Prewriting Activity 5.3

Go over the sample answers the writer provides in the text and then have students write out their
answers, emphasizing the purpose of the activity: to analyze and explore their topics in depth,
which may help lead to possible solutions, and to develop some potential material for their papers.
Since you want them to do some serious thinking on their problems, give them ample time to work
on the assignment.

Finding Solutions

After students have worked through the causes and effects of their problem in the previous
activity, they are ready to consider possible solutions. Tell students at this point to keep an open
mind on the best way(s) to solve the problem, the best solution perhaps being one they haven’t yet

For students to benefit most from the six suggestions in the text, present a problem to apply each
suggestion to, such as “Skyrocketing House Prices.” Then ask, “What might ‘solving the problem’
of rising house prices actually mean (number 1.)? What might be the “underlying causes” of the
rising house prices, and how might a solution attack those roots (number 2.)? What might some
alternative solutions be to the problem, or what different solutions might work together (number
3.)? And so on.

Prewriting Activity 5.4

Go over the assignment with the class, including the sample solutions in the text. Suggest that they
write down any possible solution that comes to mind, whether it seems realistic or not. That
decision doesn’t need to be made for some time. In addition, tell them that no matter what
solutions they think of now, the process of writing their papers may trigger more ideas.

First Draft

Now that students have selected their topics, analyzed the problems, and considered some possible
solutions, they are ready to write their papers. Tell them that problem/solution papers are of
interest to many readers, and that their particular papers could have an impact on people who may
be affected by similar problems.

Audience and Purpose

Tell students that deciding on their reading audience and writing purpose is as important for the
problem/solution paper as for their issue-oriented paper in the previous unit. Put a few topics on
the board, asking students what reading audience and purpose they might choose for each topic:
“The College’s Frustrating Registration Process,” “The Need for a Cross-City Freeway,” “Lack of
Social Activities on Campus,” “Working Long Hours and Going to School,” “The Negative
Impact of Term Limits for State Legislators,” “Student Government Isn’t Serving Students,”
“Drug Trafficking in My Neighborhood.”

Go over the five points on audience and purpose with the class. Tell them that as with their issue-
oriented papers, the intent is to get their problem/solution papers to their reading audience, so
whom they write for and why are important considerations.

Drafting Activity 5.5

When students complete the activity, you might have volunteers put their topic, audience, and
purpose on the board so the class can see what different writers are doing and perhaps get some

Drafting Guidelines

Go over the “Drafting Guidelines” with the class, emphasizing that they should include all aspects
of a problem/solution paper in their draft: what the problem is, its causes, who is affected and how,
and a possible solution(s). Tell them to present those elements in the order that seems best for
their particular topics, and that they can always reorganize them, if necessary, during revision.
Suggest that they take a look at the two problem/solution essays at the end of the unit to see how
other writers organized their papers.

Drafting Activity 5.6

Have students read the sample first draft in the activity before writing their papers to get some
ideas on openings, organization of the middle paragraphs, conclusions, and the depth of the
writer’s analysis of the problem.

When students complete their first drafts, have a “writers’ discussion” on their drafting processes:
problems encountered, prewriting materials used, organization of elements, degree of satisfaction
for solution presented, overall evaluation of draft, and improvement that can be made. The
purpose is for the instructor to learn more about the students’ writing experiences and for students
to share experiences, learn from one another, and think more deeply about their writing processes.

Before students begin the section, ask them what their expectations are for revising their drafts.
Are the types of revisions they make different for each paper, or do they make similar revisions on
most papers? What are the most typical changes that they make, and what are the least common?
How much improvement do they feel that they make between first and second drafts? For their
current drafts, what kinds of revisions might they be making?

Varying Sentence Structures

Now that students have worked for several units on revising sentences to improve their wording,
they are ready to take on a second sentence consideration: varying their sentence structures to
express themselves most effectively. Students who are limited in their choices of sentence
structures and joining words are at a disadvantage in expressing more complex ideas, and the
ability to use more varied, sophisticated structures goes hand in hand with better writing.

The text provides good examples of a paragraph with little structural variation in its sentences and
a revised version with significantly more variation. Have students read the first paragraph on the
fire in the L.A. area. Ask them if they noticed the similarity in sentence structures, and what the
dominant structure was. Also ask what impact the structural repetition had on them as readers.

Next, have students read the revised version of the paragraph. Ask them to point out the structural
differences between the revised sentences and the original ones, and how reading the second
paragraph differs from reading the first. Finally, ask them the value of varying their sentence
structures in a paper. Tell them that they will be using a variety of sentence structures in this
section that they may find useful as they revise their drafts.

Commonly Used Sentence Structures

Go over the six sentence structures presented in the text and then on the board, show them how
sentences might be revised to create different structures:

Dr. Dominguez is the chair of the Linguistics Department at the college. He used to teach at
Fremont University. (Have students combine sentences to form one sentence with a relative

Jorge is interested in becoming a veterinarian, and he loves animals and has many pets. (Have
students change this compound sentence to a complex sentence.)

Janice was driving to work on Freeway 101. She got stuck in a traffic jam and was an hour late to
the office. (Have students include an introductory participial phrase to form a single sentence.)

The Chris Rock concert attracted over 20,000 fans. It had been sold out for weeks. It took an
hour to get out of the parking lot after the concert. (Have students combine sentences to form a
single compound sentence that includes a relative clause.)

Working through these examples will prepare students for the upcoming sentence revision

Revision Activity 5.7

This sentence-combining activity is purposely prescriptive so that students are compelled to create
a variety of structures. If students need it, you might combine the first sentence in each section as
a class so that everyone gets the idea. When they finish, have students share their newly created
sentences with the class.

Revision Activity 5.8

Tell students to combine sentences in the paragraph in different ways to improve structural
variety, including the different structures they have been working with. Also suggest that they
combine sentences with related material, eliminating any unnecessary words when they combine.
When they finish, have students read their revised paragraphs to the class.

Revision suggestions (other possible options):

My five year old nephew who is in kindergarten is already reading at 4th grade level. He started
reading when he was two. He also has a great memory and has memorized all the states, their
capitals, and the order in which they were admitted into the Union. He can also add and subtract
two-column figures in his head and do basic multiplication and division although he won’t have
that in school for two years. Kindergarten is extremely easy for him because he already knows
everything that they are doing, which makes school boring at times. Kindergarten is where he
belongs socially because he is an average five year old who likes to play, color, and have fun.
While he would be out of place in a higher grade, he could certainly do the work. There are no
gifted programs for kindergarten students, so his teacher gives him extra work for home, which
includes more challenging reading and advanced math. His mother, who is a high school teacher,
serves as his tutor at home, where he does most of his learning.

Revision Activity 5.9

Go over the “Revision Guidelines” with the class, suggesting that they read their draft a few times,
looking for different revision possibilities each time. Also have them read the sample revised draft
to see how the writer improved her paper.

When students complete their second drafts, have a discussion of the kinds of changes they made
and the revision process they used, or have them write for a few minutes on the same.

Tell students that they are going to cover two new editing considerations before proofreading their
drafts: punctuating with colons, semi-colons, and dashes, and using comparative and superlative
adjectives. Also ask them the kinds of errors they most need to be aware of and how valuable the
proofreading process is in detecting such errors. Also ask them if they are getting better at
writing “correctly” and what they attribute the improvement to. Their responses will help you
evaluate the impact of the editing process and instructional activities on their ability to write

Colons, Semi-colons, and Dashes

All writers should understand how to use colons, semi-colons, and dashes and employ them
effectively in their writing. Ask students if they use any of these punctuation marks and whether
they are clear on their different uses. Put the following sentences on the board to aid their

There is one thing that we don’t need in the coming months more rain.
The rivers in the area are badly swollen some of them are close to flooding their banks.
The biggest problems with flooding home damage and family evacuations are inevitable if the rain

Have students punctuate the sentences using the three punctuation options. When the sentences are
correctly punctuated, ask the class to describe the function of each punctuation mark so they can
understand the differences.

Go over the guidelines on using colons, semi-colons, and dashes with the class including the
examples and sample paragraph, which help students understand their uses better than the rules do.
Point out that for the types of writing they are doing, they should use a colon rather than a single
dash to set something off, the dash being a more informal punctuation mark, but to use dashes in
pairs in situations shown in the examples.

Editing Activity 5.10

Have students do the activity in class and then go over their responses.

Correct punctuation:

1. skillet; then
2. ingredient - taco mix - OR ingredient: taco mix
3. vegetables - avocados -
4. skillet; cook
5. ingredients - vegetables -
6. meat; the bottom
7. meal: delicious
8. else - shrimp -

Editing Activity 5.11

This should be a relative quick class activity. Have students provide their responses and rationale.

Correct punctuation:

1st sentence: rental: four kids and two parents
5th sentence: problems - three kids to a bedroom, no privacy, constant noise -
7th sentence: smoker; he
last sentence: have: peace and quiet

Editing Activity 5.12

Since a number of students may never have used a semi-colon, colon, or dash in their writing, this
activity may not be as easy as it appears. To make sure students are using the punctuation marks
correctly, have them show you their sentences, and have volunteers put their sentences on the board
for evaluation.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

The misuse of comparative and superlative adjectives is not a major issue with most students, so
you may move through this section rather rapidly. Students should know the rules so that when
they are uncertain of a particular form (shallower or more shallow? truer or more true?), they have a
rule to rely on.

Put a few sentences on the board with comparative and superlative adjectives:

That is the smallest kitten in the litter.
She is smaller by half than her biggest brother.
Friday’s test was the most difficult calculus exam I’ve taken.
It was even more difficult than the calculus mid-term exam.

Point out to students which sentences have comparative adjectives and which have superlative, and
ask students to come up with the basic rules for using the different forms.

Next, go over the rules in the text on comparative and superlative adjectives, which should validate
the rules the students generated, and point out the exceptions involving two-syllable words ending
in “y” or “ow.”

Editing Activities 5.13 and 5.14

Have students do these activities as one assignment so they can see the similarities and differences
between the comparative and superlative forms. Then go over their answers with the class.

Editing Activity 5.15

This activity is more challenging since students have to come up with their own adjectives. Ask
them to try and use a different adjective for each blank, and when they finish, go over their
responses with the class.

Editing Review

Each “Editing” section contains an “Editing Review” section where students apply what they have
learned from previous units to proofreading a sample draft for errors. You may continue having all
students do the review activity or assign it to students who could use the additional proofreading

Editing Activity 5.16

Tell students that the paragraph in the activity is heavy on subject-verb agreement problems, and
suggest that they proofread it a first time to correct those eight errors. When they have corrected all
errors in the paragraph, go over the corrections with the class and the rules that cover each

Error Corrections:

2nd sentence:   At the top of the hill are two small ponds which provide water
3rd sentence:   Some of the water runs stairways that run
4th sentence:   Water from the ponds creates waterfalls which feed
5th sentence:   basins, and it is recycled
6th sentence:   features, campus. It creates
7th sentence:   In addition, special, unlike
8th sentence:   campus, campus, environment, buildings, campus feels area. Students
                their classes

Editing Activity 5.17

Go over the editing guidelines with the class and suggest they read their draft several times, looking
for a different kind of error each time. Also tell them to focus on the types of errors that they most
frequently make. You might also have students exchange papers and proofread one another’s draft
to make sure all errors are found and corrected.

Finally, have students write their final drafts to share with classmates as well as their particular
reading audience. With your help, have students get the papers to their intended audiences,
whether by a “letter to the editor,” a letter to a particular group of people or individuals, or some
form of classroom distribution to the intended student audience. Have them sent in a way that
individuals reading the paper/letter can respond to the writer if they would like.

Writing Summary
In the “Writing Summary” section, students have a second opportunity to write a problem/solution
paper independently without interruptions for instructional activities. They can now apply what
they have learned during the unit and write their papers with the confidence that comes from the
knowledge and experience gained through having written a number of papers for the course.

Since students are moving nearer completion of the text, they will soon be taking with them
whatever they have learned to other classes and the outside world. For this second essay, go over
the assignment and the process steps and guidelines with the class, and then tell them to make use
of the suggestions in ways that will help them write the best paper, whether it means following each
step and guideline verbatim, picking and choosing from the suggestions, doing the prewriting
activities mentally instead of in writing, or bringing other things to the process, such as a particular
prewriting strategy they favor. In other words, tell them to do whatever they feel will help them
write the best paper possible. Of course, it would be naive to think that students haven’t already
been “tweaking” the process in their own ways, but now you are encouraging them to do so.

When they complete their papers, ask students to write for a few minutes about their writing
process for this paper so that you can see the individualized process each has used. Finally, do a
read-around of the papers within class and then help students get their papers to their intended


No doubt you have continued to use the end-of-unit readings in ways that students have found most
useful, and hopefully the essays have provided some good material for discussion.

Supplemental Materials

particular area or as additional whole-class activities.

Sentence Variety

To create sentence variety, combine pairs or groups of first draft sentences into effective single
sentences by adding joining words, deleting unnecessary words, and moving words and phrases

Example It’s cold this morning. The wind is blowing off the lake. Let’s wear heavy coats.

Revised It’s cold this morning with the wind blowing off the lake, so let’s wear heavy coats.

The Laundry

Marta worked in a commercial laundry. She worked the night shift. Her best friend’s name was
Gloria. She also worked the night shift. Marta loaded towels into a large dryer, and the towels came
from the washing machines. She started the machine, and Gloria did the same things. They worked
together. The dryer would finally stop, and the girls unloaded it. They put the partially dry towels in
a second dryer. It dried by hot air. Sometime the dryer made a racket, and that was when the load
was unbalanced. The girls had to stop it. The floor boss would hear the noise, and he would come
over to their station. He would scold them for getting behind.

The towels were very heavy to handle. The girls got tired, and their backs got sore. They got very
hot. One cycle of towels would dry, and another bin of towels would be waiting for them. There
was never any rest, and the work was very hard. Marta and Gloria lasted for six months. They
finally quit their jobs. They found a better job, and they began working at the college. They worked
in the admission’s office, and they helped register late students.

The Norfed Store

Shopping at Norfed means one-stop shopping for many families. They can get everything they need
there. Originally, Norfed was primarily a large supermarket. Today it is an all-purpose store. You
can buy food for the week. You can get your bathroom items. You can get a book to read. You can
buy toys for the kids.

The store is huge. Plan on doing a lot of walking, and plan on spending a lot of time there. The
check-out lines are very long. They are especially long on weekends. It is smart to have two
people go. One can hold a place in line, and the other one can shop.

Norfed is a great place to shop. You have to be able to buy in bulk. Everything comes in large
quantities. You may only need twenty-five paper plates, but you’ll have to buy a pack of two
hundred. You may only need a pint of mustard, but you’ll have to buy a quart. There is plenty for
men to shop for. There is plenty for women to shop for. Women can be looking at the quality
jewelry, and men can be checking out the latest video cameras.

There is one drawback to shopping at Norfed. You end up spending a lot of money. It’s impossible
just to buy a few items. You see a lot that you want to buy, and your bill can easily add up to $100
or more. There’s one more thing. You’re probably hungry after all that shopping. Norfed can take
care of that too. You can grab a hot dog or a slice of pizza with a soft drink before you leave. You
can do it all at Norfed.

Colons, Semi-colons, and Dashes

Insert semi-colons, colons, and dashes where they are needed in the following paragraph.


Many of Araceli’s belongings were destroyed in the fire. All of her clothes were ruined by smoke;
several pairs of shoes were burned. Fortunately, she didn’t lose her prized possession: an antique
armoire given to her by her grandmother.

There were three large ponds in the twenty-apartment complex. The ponds were built on three levels
the top pond ran water into the middle pond, which ran water into the lowest pond. Then there was a
recirculating system that returned water to the top pond. The top and middle ponds had small
waterfalls water running on steep declines over beds of rocks that moved the water from pond to
pond. The waterfalls’ constant sound was soothing to the apartment residents, but the falls ran on
electricity, which the residents paid for. In the winter, the ponds attracted wild ducks they’d stay at
the ponds for a few days before continuing their migration farther south. You could also see
hundreds of coi bright orange and red tropical fish swimming in the ponds. There is one downside
to the ponds. They’re expensive to maintain, and the expense is passed on to the residents through
their rent. However, they are a great visual addition to the complex, and many residents prefer
living there and paying a little higher rent. There’s only one thing that residents tend to complain
about duck droppings on the lawn areas around the ponds.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Edit the following paragraphs to eliminate any errors in comparative and superlative
adjective use.


I am more happy happier about my choice of college today than ever before.

The new concert arena on campus is more roomy than the old arena, which is good in some ways
and bad in others. For example, because of its size, the new arena is difficult to fill for on-campus
concerts, and some students prefer the more cozy atmosphere of the old arena, which was filled
constantly. However, the size of the new auditorium is also a benefit because top singers and other
marque performers are willinger to come to a more large arena where they can make more money.

Perhaps the most biggest problem with the new arena is parking. The parking lot built beside the
arena is inadequate for large concerts, and many concert goers have to park in lots all the way
across campus, a good half-hour walk to the arena. Parking at the old arena was most convenient
than at the new one because it shared three large on-campus lots with the basketball arena and
women’s softball stadium. Concert goers could find convenient parking much more easier at the
oldest arena than the new one.

On the plus side, the new arena is more attractive, more better lighted, and comfortabler to sit in.
On the negative side, tickets to concerts are the more expensive we’ve ever had because of the
big-name singers and the more greater cost to maintain the larger facility. It was the most costly
facility on campus to build, and we are all helping to pay for it in some way.

Unit Six: Discoveries
In the final unit, students are introduced to research writing and write a paper on a topic of interest
to them. Before proceeding, get some idea of your students’ experience writing research papers.
Ask them if they have written research papers in the past, the kinds of topics they have written
about, and what they have learned about research writing. The more you know about the students’
research experiences, the better you can tailor the unit to meet their needs.

Ask students how preparing for and writing a research paper will be different from their previous
papers, and how it may be similar. Putting their responses on the board, you may end up with a list
something like this:

Differences                                        Similarities
Must research a topic                              Have a topic to write on
Include research findings in paper                 Thesis statement and support
Use quotes from research sources                   Opening, middle, and conclusion
Acknowledge research sources                       Topic sentences

Explain to students that the major difference with a research paper is that they will rely more
heavily on their research findings to generate and support their thesis statement than on their own
experience and knowledge. Students with little research writing experience will see that they are
not facing a totally foreign task, and that their writing experiences for this course will prove useful
as they write their papers.


Tell students that their prewriting tasks will include selecting a topic, researching the topic, and
generating a thesis statement that they can support in their paper. Emphasize the research aspect
since their research findings will provide both direction for their papers and a substantial amount of
their content.

Selecting a Topic

Go over the five points on topic selection with the class. Have students come up with some topic
ideas and evaluate their appropriateness based on the criteria. Steer students away from topics that
typically produce a regurgitation of the research material (e.g. famous people, interesting places,
exotic animals) and towards topics that are issue or problem-oriented. You might go over some of
the sample topics in the text, most of which deal with issues and problems, and have students
determine which seem the most or least researchable, which may need to be narrowed, and which
sound the most interesting. Make the sample topics available to students if they see something that
they might like to write about.

Prewriting Activity 6.1

Give students at least a day to come up with potential topics. Suggest that they consider a couple
topics to see which one is the most researchable or in case one of their topics has been taken by a
classmate. Go over the students’s topics with them individually, making sure that they all have
different topics, that the topics appear researchable, and that they are issue or problem-oriented.

Researching Your Topic

Now that students have selected their topics, they are ready to begin the research. Go over the
points in the text on “Finding Sources” and “Taking Research Notes.” Spend a little extra time on
5. under “Taking Research Notes” so students will have some direction as they read through the
research. As an example, put on the board the topic, “Growth Hormones for Undersized Children,”
and ask students the things they would want to find out through their research (e.g. what exactly
are growth hormones, do they actually work, are their risks involved, are their ethical issues, how
do children feel about it).

For a second example, put up the topic, “Should State Legislators Have Term Limits?” and ask
students what they would want to find out through their research (e.g. what exactly are term limits,
what would the length of the term be, why should there be term limits, what are the positive
effects, what are the negative effects, how do legislators feel about them, how does the public feel
about them). Have students spend a few minutes listing the things they want to find out about their
topic, pointing out that they may uncover other relevant information as they do their research.

Prewriting Activity 6.2

Spend a day or two in the library with your class so that you are available to help them locate
sources, answer questions, and observe their note-taking. You might arrange a research tour with a
librarian on the first day. In addition, if you have a computer lab with Internet access, spend a day
with the class as they look up information on-line.

Tell students that you want see their research notes before they begin their first draft to determine
if they have adequately researched their topics, used a range of sources, and included the source
information needed for documentation. In addition, in this age of easy access to on-line research
papers, you want to make sure that everyone is writing his own paper, making sure that students
understand what plagiarism is and its consequences.

Thesis, Audience, and Purpose

Tell students that in this section they will do the same things they did for their issue-oriented paper
in Unit Four: decide on a thesis statement, a reading audience, and a purpose for writing. In
addition, tell them that while it is important to make these decisions prior to writing, that doesn’t
mean they can’t be changed if they decide later that their research supports a different thesis better,
that they want to broaden (or narrow) their reading audience, or that they want to change their
purpose to fit the revised thesis statement or audience.


When students have completed their research, they are ready to consider a thesis statement that
expresses their viewpoint on the topic based on their research findings. For examples, you may
return to the topics of “Growth Hormones for Undersized Children” and “Term Limits for State
Legislators.” Ask students what some different thesis statements might be for each topic
based on the research findings (e.g. “Growth hormones are a dangerous risk for children and
should be banned,” or, “For severely undersized children, growth hormones provide the best
opportunity for a normal life,” or, “Term limits are a detriment to the legislative process,” or, “The
best way to keep political process from bogging down is through term limits.”

Go over the six sample thesis statements in the text with the class, asking them the kinds of
research information they would expect to find to support each thesis in a paper. At this point, it is
suggested that you have students generate thesis statements for their papers rather than waiting
until the “Audience” and “Purpose” sections have been covered. Have them review their research
notes to help decide on a thesis statement that accurately expresses their viewpoint on the topic and
that the research material convincingly supports.

Go over students’ thesis statements with them individually to make sure everyone is getting the
idea. Since the thesis statement determines how the research material is presented and is crucial to
the paper’s overall success, giving it some extra attention can benefit students.


Students have decided on their reading audience for their previous four papers, so they should have
a good idea of the most appropriate reading audience for their research papers. Go over the
audience choices in the text for the topics presented, asking students why the writer chose that
particular audience.


Tell students that their writing purpose is linked to their thesis statement and their reading
audience. As an example, put the topic “Growth Hormones for Undersized Children” on the board
along with the thesis statement, “Growth hormones are a dangerous risk for children and should be
banned.” Assuming that the reading audience is the general public, ask students what the writer’s
purpose might be. Next, change the thesis statement to, “For severely undersized children, growth
hormones offer the best hope for a normal life,” and the reading audience to parents. Ask students
what the writer’s purpose might be. As they can see, the thesis statement and reading audience
both influence the writer’s purpose.

Prewriting Activity 6.3

Since students have already generated their topic sentences, have them review the statements to
help them decide on the best audience for their papers and their writing purpose. Have volunteers
put their thesis statement, audience, and writing purpose on the board so students who may be
struggling can get some ideas.

First Drafts
To keep the approach to writing their first drafts simple, tell students that essentially they will do
three things: introduce their topic and thesis statement in the opening, present their research
findings in the middle paragraphs, and provide a suitable ending in their conclusion. Tell them the
other writing considerations in this section - documenting sources, paraphrasing and quoting from
research material - will help them present their research findings most effectively.

Source Acknowledgment

Tell students that when they use material from a particular source in their papers, they need to let
readers know. Ask them why this is a requirement of research writing. Once they understand the
purpose, including source references in their drafts is not difficult.

Go over the two main points on source acknowledgment: introducing the source as they begin
using the material and providing a parenthetical reference at the end of the material. Point out the
practicality of source acknowledgment: letting readers know when the writer begins using a
source and when she finishes with it, at least for the time.

Drafting Activity 6.4

So that students can see source acknowledgments in a paper, go to the draft of “Weight Lifting for
Better Health” and look at some of the paragraphs with the class. First, tell students that the
opening contains two paragraphs, and have them identify the thesis statement. Have students read
the third paragraph and note the source introduction and first parenthetical reference. Then ask
them how the writer makes us aware during the paragraph that he continues using the same source.
Finally, ask the purpose of the second parenthetical reference, noting that the next paragraph
begins a new source introduction.

Next, go to the sixth paragraph, pointing out that the writer is using material from two different
sources within this paragraph. Ask students how he lets readers know when he is moving from one
source to the next. In addition, ask why he just uses Kellerman’s last name in the source

Finally, students may be curious as to why the first, second, and last paragraphs contain no source
references. Ask them what this means and why the writer chose to begin and end his paper in this

Paraphrasing, Quoting, and Responding

Tell students that their papers are a combination of their own thoughts on the topic and their
research findings, which are presented either as a paraphrase or quotation. Ask students what they
think paraphrasing and quoting mean, why there are two different ways to present source material,
whether paraphrasing or quoting would be used most extensively in a paper, and why.


Tell students that they will paraphrase - put into their own words - most of the research material so
that the papers sound like them rather than numerous source authors. Ask them if they need to

provide source acknowledgments for paraphrased material and why. Go over the sample source
paragraph on verbal abuse and the paraphrased version. Go back and forth between some of the
original sentences and their paraphrased versions so students can see how the words are changed
but the meaning remains the same. Also note that paraphrased material, since it comes from a
research source, requires a source introduction and parenthetical reference.

Drafting Activity 6.5

It is a good idea to have students move immediately to this paraphrasing activity, which follows the
sections on “Quotations” and “Responding” in the text, while the concept is fresh in their minds.
Have them rewrite the source paragraph in primarily their own words without changing the
meaning, and include a source introduction and parenthetical reference at the end. Tell them this is
the kind of thing they will doing when they write their own papers. When they finish, have a few
volunteers read their paraphrased versions to see how different students worded their paragraphs
and how well they maintained the original meaning.


Tell students that they should include some quotations in their papers for reader interest and to
highlight some of the most important and best-written material. Caution them against quoting large
blocks of information but instead interspersing an occasional shorter quote among the paraphrased
material. Go over the sample quoted sentences in the text, pointing out their relative brevity and
the significance of what is quoted.


Tell students that readers should understand clearly that the writer is in control of her paper and
using the research material for her own purposes. This is accomplished by the writer opening and
concluding the paper with primarily her own ideas, by commenting on the research findings as they
are presented, and by putting most of the research material into her own words.

Return to the research paper on weight lifting as a class to see how the writer incorporates
paraphrasing, quoting, and his own thoughts in the paper. Have students read over some of the
paragraphs and determine when the writer is paraphrasing, when he is quoting, and when he is
interjecting his own thoughts. Tell them that in writing their papers, make sure that readers can
distinguish between their thoughts, which are never documented, and the research material.

Drafting Activity 6.6

This is a good practical activity that mirrors what students will do when writing their first drafts.
Go over the instructions with the class, and have them make sure that readers would know when
they are paragraphing, quoting, and providing their own thoughts. When they finish, have
volunteers read their paragraphs, including reading the parenthetical references and saying “quote”
and “unquote” when they are quoting from sources.

Works Cited

Tell students that at the end of their papers, they will include an alphabetized list of the sources
they used, and ask them the purpose for a “Works Cited” section. Go over the “Works Cited”

sample entries with the class to show the information provided for different kinds of sources. Then
refer them to the “Works Cited” section at the end of the paper on weight lifting (Drafting Activity
6.7) to see an alphabetized list. (See a list of citation variations on page 86 of this guide.)

Drafting Activity 6.8

Students should now be well prepared to write their first drafts. Go over the drafting guidelines
with them, which should feel familiar at this point. Emphasize point 2. by returning to the sample
draft on weight lifting to see how the writer uses his research material in the middle paragraphs to
support his thesis statement and topic sentences to introduce the main point of each middle
paragraph. Ask students how each middle paragraph supports the thesis statement in some manner,
and tell them they will be using their research material in the same way: to support and reinforce
their thesis statement.


When students complete their first drafts, ask them about their drafting experience. What did they
find most challenging in writing their paper? Were they able to incorporate the research material in
satisfactory ways? How successfully do they feel they supported their thesis statement with their
research? How did they do with paraphrasing and quoting? How well did they acknowledge their
sources and provide parenthetical references? Did they infuse their own comments and responses
into the paper? Does the paper read like their own writing rather than a mix of different authors?
What might they revise to improve the paper and make sure they followed the research format

Revision Guidelines

Since there are more complex revision considerations with a research paper, approach the revision
process for these drafts a bit differently. First, have the student drafts in front of them as you go over
the revision guidelines. Next, take one revision guideline at a time, and give students time to apply it
to their draft at that point. When they have decided on their revisions for the first guideline, move to
the second and so on until they have applied each guideline individually to their drafts and marked
them for revision. This process should take at least a class period, and make yourself available to
answer questions and help students make the best revisions. In addition, you might suggest that
students who are struggling with their papers make an appointment with you to go over them in
more detail.

Revision Activity 6.9

Have students write the next draft of their papers and provide you a copy to see if some papers will
require further revision. The goal is for every student to have a final paper written in the correct
research style with a well supported thesis statement. If it takes your additional assistance to
accomplish that, it is worth it.

When students are finished, ask them the kinds of revisions they made and how they improved their
papers, which will help you decide what to emphasize in the prewriting and drafting sections with
your next group of students.


Tell students that in this “Editing” section, they will learn to punctuate different quotation situations
to apply to their current papers, to punctuate possessive words correctly, and to avoid spelling errors
involving homonyms or other similar sounding words.

Punctuating Quotations

By now students probably know how to punctuate basic quotations but not necessarily some
variations, such as beginning mid-sentence into the quote, separating the two halves of a quote with
the source introduction, or quoting more than one sentence in succession from the same source.
These are the kinds of situations to focus on during this section.

Go over the points in the text on punctuating quotations with the class, emphasizing a., b., c., and d.
of number 3.

Editing Activity 6.10

You might make this an oral class activity if you feel students have a good handle on punctuating
quotations correctly. Then have them go directly to their current drafts to make sure their quotations
are punctuated correctly.


Put a few possessive ( and a couple non-possessive) words on the board without their apostrophes
and have students tell you where to insert the apostrophes:

the cars hubcaps                  many cars ignition systems
the mens shop                     a womans prerogative
a newspapers headlines            crocodiles and alligators
fourteen cities mayors            everyones favorite food
theirs and ours                   childrens toys

Once the apostrophes are correctly inserted, ask students to come up with the rules that apply to
punctuating possessives. They have probably heard (and forgotten) the rules more than once, so
generating them themselves may help. Then go over the five points in the text on possessives with the

Editing Activity 6.11

You might do this as a quick oral activity if you feel students understand possessives well. If they do,
they should have no trouble with the activity. This does not mean, however, that they will always
punctuate possessives correctly in their papers unless they make a conscientious effort to look for
possessive words as they proofread.

Similar Sounding Words

Run down the list of duos and trios with the class that can lead to spelling errors, pointing out the
most commonly confused words (e.g. accept/except, advise/advice, affect/effect, its/it’s,

Editing Activity 6.12

Assign this activity only if you feel the “confusing duos and trios” create significant problems for
your students. Otherwise, bringing the words to their attention as you have done should help them
make the correct choices in their papers.

Editing Review Activity 6.13

Could students use one final editing review activity for the road? If so, challenge them to find and
correct all eighteen errors (which include inserting commas where needed).

Editing Activity 6.14

Have students look over the editing guidelines and then challenge them to find and correct any errors
to create error-free final drafts. Then have them write their final drafts to share with classmates and
their reading audiences.

Since this brings the textbook activities to a close, you might have students write for a few minutes
on their experience in the course: what they feel they have learned, how they feel their writing has
improved, what things in particular were most helpful in improving their writing skills, what they
have enjoyed the most about the class, and what they have enjoyed the least. Have them turn in the
writing, anonymous or otherwise, to help you evaluate the course and make it even better for the next
semester’s students.


Hopefully the research paper at the end of the unit was useful to students as they planned and wrote their
own papers, and that it also generated some fruitful discussion.

Supplemental Materials

particular area or as additional class activities.

Paraphrasing, Quoting, and Responding

Do three things with the following source paragraphs: paraphrase most of the source material,
provide at least one quotation, and provide your own response to the material. Make sure to provide
source introductions and parenthetical references for your paraphrased and quoted material.

Public employee unions are the only sector of American employment where union numbers are
growing. While private sector membership has been decreasing for years with the decline of the
heavy industries that were once the bedrock of unions, the public sector continues to grow with
America’s population as more teachers, police, firefighters, nurses, and other county, state, and
Federal employees are hired. While the steelworkers’ and miners’ unions of yesteryear carried the
greatest political clout, today it is public employee unions like the National Educators Association
that every President or legislator must listen to. While a return to the bygone days when unions were
at their zenith of power is unrealistic, today’s swelling ranks of union membership among public
employees nationwide is evidence that unionism in America is not dying and perhaps never will.
Handel, Charles. “The Changing Face of American Unions,” Our World Today, 4 August 2008, 29.

Reality television shows are popular with television networks for more than their typically good
viewer ratings. They are much cheaper to produce than traditional situation comedies and dramas
that involve actors. Reality game shows such as “Deal or No Deal” give away hundred of thousands
of dollars to contestants and pay the host, Howie Mandel, a considerable salary. All of that money,
however, is only a fraction of what any one of the main actors on the “Seinfeld” show earned in a
year. While reality game shows appear to be giving away huge amounts of money, in reality the
networks are saving even more money by not having to pay actors’ salaries. The number of acting
jobs on television has dwindled considerably over the past years, much to the chagrin of the acting
community, and out-of-work actors have even resorted to appearing on reality shows such as
“Dancing with the Stars” and “Celebrity Apprentice.” Don’t expect the trend towards reality shows
to change any time soon. The networks are profiting greatly from them, they don’t seemed concerned
that the shows put actors out of work, and audiences are tuning in.
Shandell, Griselle. “The Reality of Network Reality Shows,” Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2007, 18.

Citing Variations for Books/Journals/Magazines


Book with Two Authors

Kauffman, Jack and Quarrels, Becky. Spectors of Hope. New York: Zenith, 1980.

Book Online

Salmons, Freda. Second Coming. New York: Randall and Kiefer, 1921. Craig Mellon

     University Sterling Library. 12 May 2000 <


Stevenson, Carrie. Treasures Unearthed. 12 May 2005 <


Book with Editors Instead of Author

Forster, Carl, Mark Seeley, and Nancy R. Jacobson, eds. Women’s Confusing Roles. The Exploration

     Series on Women’s Topics. Wylie: Information Age, 1995.
Book With More Than One Volume

Mallory, Dirk. Lincoln and His Time. 4 vols. Boston: Smalley, 1960-1974.

Amperson Anita. The Life of Carol Druley. 3rd ed. 3 vols. New York: Trinity UP, 2003.

Article in a Scholarly Journal With Continuous Pagination

Randolph, Ricardo. "George Hornsby and the Mad Universe." North Atlantic

     Monthly 66 (1977): 644-53.

Article in a Bimonthly Journal with Continuous Pagination and Issue Number

Sobrahi Nadera. ."Romanticizing Revolutions: Glorious Revolutions in the Ottoman Empire, Iran, and Russia, 1908-
1910." American Journal of History 100.8 (1999): 1583-1647.

Article in a Quarterly Publication

"Texas Conglomerates." Saliman Handbook of Special Stocks. Winter 2000 ed.

Article with Author in Weekly Magazine

Idol, Hollister. "Marital Rights of Americans: The Territory Reconstructed." National

    Weekly Report 24 Apr. 1999: 121-27.

Jonah, Kenneth. "Grandparents’ Legal Rights." GQ Britain 23 Apr. 1996: 139-60.

Paintor, Parsley. "The Material Wall." Newsweek 11 March 1998: 24-25.

Rosenkrantz, Jeanette. "Sleep Seduction." Editorial Research 21 Nov. 1990: 213-32.

Article without a Named Author in Weekly or Biweekly Magazine

"Growth Hormones." Issues and Answers Weekly 18 Apr. 1999: 53-60.

"Stolen Arifacts Found in Australia." Facts and Near Facts 22 June 2000: 259.

Article without a Named Author in Monthly Magazine

Foreword. "Electoral Reform." Legislative Digest May/June 1999: 62.

"An Inquiry into August Pinchot’s Grim Cities." Future Shock Dec. 1988: 11-32.
Magazine Article Online

Kliefer, Jonah. "The Gentle Cosmic Rhythms." Newsday 9 Aug. 2000. <http://www.pathfinder


Sharper, Joan. "California Businesses Deserve Tax Relief." Late Day News Releases 28

    Feb. 1999. Perspectives on State Government. 30 Apr. 2004 <