Unit 6 Reading Strategies and Writing Process
Unit 6: Reading Strategies and
Writing Process
Reading to Write. Becoming a Critical Reader, Brent Staples “Cutting and Pasting: A Senior Thesis”. Note-Making. Summarizing. Invention, Arrangement, Drafting and Revising. Editing and Proof Reading, Paragraph Writing.
What is a Paragraph?
Ø
A series of sentences that are organized and
coherent, and are all related to a single topic is called Paragraph.
Ø
Breaking the large sentence essay or topic into
smaller pieces in a well-structured form is known as Paragraph.
Ø
It includes topic sentences, supporting
sentences as well as concluding sentences that refer to an overall structure,
which is a group of sentences focusing on a single topic.
How to Write a Perfect Paragraph?
1. Topic Sentence
What is the
topic sentence?
The topic
sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph.
What does it
do?
It introduces
the main idea of the paragraph.
How to write it?
Summarize the
main idea of the paragraph. Make clear what the paragraph will be about.
Example: Nepal is one of the best countries in the world
to visit. First, Nepal has an excellent natural geography or landscape. All
the facilities for the tourists are available at a reasonable price. Second, Nepal
has the highest mountain of the world. Nepalese
are friendly and helpful. They respect the tourists as their guests. Finally, there
are many historical and religious places for researches. As a result, Nepal is
a desirable place to visit.
2. Supporting Details
What are supporting sentences?
They come after the topic
sentence, making up the body of a paragraph.
What do they do?
They give details to develop and
support the main idea of the paragraph.
How to write them?
Mention supporting facts, details,
and examples.
Example: Nepal is one of the best countries in the world to
visit. First, Nepal has an excellent natural geography or landscape. All the
facilities for the tourists are available at a reasonable price. Second,
Nepal has the highest mountain of the world.
Nepalese are friendly and helpful. They respect the tourists as their guests.
Finally, there are many historical and religious places for researches. As
a result, Nepal is a desirable place to visit.
3. Closing Sentence
What is the closing sentence?
The closing sentence is the last
sentence in a paragraph.
What does it do?
It restates the main idea of the
paragraph.
How to write it?
Restate the main idea of the
paragraph using different words.
Example: Nepal is one of the best countries in the world to
visit. First, Nepal has an excellent natural geography or landscape. All the
facilities for the tourists are available at a reasonable price. Second,
Nepal has the highest mountain of the
world. Nepalese are friendly and helpful. They respect the tourists as their
guests. Finally, there are many historical and religious places for researches.
As a result, Nepal is a desirable place to visit.
Academic Essays
•Title
•Introduction
• Body
•Conclusion
Title- catchy, inclusive, written in phrase structure
Introduction- General background, hooks, thesis
statement/ main statement (1 paragraph)
Body- Elaboration of thesis, explanation,
description, narration, exemplification, comparison and contrast, argumentation
etc, (3 paragraphs)
Conclusion-
Restatement of thesis, summing up, suggestions, recommendations (1 paragraph)
Tips
·
Read the essay prompt carefully and understand
the question
·
Pick a topic
·
Create an
outline .
·
Write your essay: Create a thesis statement
·
Write the introductory paragraph
·
Write the body paragraphs
·
Write the concluding paragraph
·
Edit your
first draft
·
Present the final copy
Four steps of writing process
1. Invention
2. Arrangement
3. Drafting and Revising
4. Editing and Proof Reading
The Writing Process
Invention
(also called pre-writing) During invention, you decide what to write about and
gather information to support or explain what you want to say.
Arrangement During arrangement, you decide how you
are going to organize your ideas.
Drafting and revising During drafting and revising,
you write several drafts as you reconsider your ideas and their organization
and refine your style and structure.
Editing and proofreading During editing, you focus on
grammar and punctuation, as well as on sentence style and word choice. During
proofreading, you correct spelling, mechanical errors, and typos and check your
essay's format.
Patterns of writing
Narration
Description
Cause and Effect
Comparison and Contrast
Definition
Argumentation
Reading to Write:
Becoming a Critical Reader
Brent Staples.
"Cutting and Pasting: A Senior Thesis"
Note-Making
Summarizing
Reading to Write: Becoming a Critical Reader
Reading is a two-way
street. It is a two way process.
In reading process, readers are presented with a writer's
ideas, but they also bring their own ideas to what they read.
Readers have different national, ethnic, cultural, and
geographic backgrounds and different kinds of knowledge and experiences
So they may react differently to a particular essay or
story.
These differences in
readers' responses do not mean that every interpretation is acceptable.
It does not mean that
an essay or story or poem may mean whatever a reader wants it to mean.
Critical readers must
make sure they are not distorting a writer's words, overlooking (or ignoring)
significant details, or seeing things in an essay or story that do not exist.
To get the most out of our reading, we should use active
reading strategies:
1. Determining your purpose
2. Previewing
- Using visual signals
--Highlighting
3. Annotating
4.Summarizing
5.Note taking
Determining Your Purpose
Even before you start
reading, you should consider some questions about your purpose. For example:
Why are you reading?
Will you be expected
to discuss what you are reading?
Will you have to
write about your reading? (formal or informal?
Will you be tested on
the material? Etc.
The answers to these questions will shape your way of
reading.
Previewing
When you preview, you try to get a sense of the writer's
main idea, key supporting points, and general emphasis.
You can begin by focusing on the title, the first paragraph
(which often contains a purpose statement or overview), and the last paragraph
(which may contain a summary of the writer's main idea).
You should also look for clues to the writer's message in
the passage's visual signals and verbal signals.
Using Visual Signals
Look at the title.
Look at the opening and closing
paragraphs.
Look at each paragraph's first
sentence.
Look for headings.
Look for italicized and boldfaced
words.
Look for numbered lists.
Look for bulleted lists (like this
one).
Look at any visuals (graphs,
charts, tables, photographs, and so on).
Look at any information that is
boxed.
Look at any information that is in color.
Using Verbal Signals
• Look for phrases that signal
emphasis ("The primary reason"; "The most important idea").
• Look for repeated words and
phrases.
• Look for words that signal
addition (also, in addition, furthermore).
• Look for words that signal time
sequence ( first, after, then, next, finally).
• Look for words that identify
causes and effects (because, as a result, for this reason).
• Look for words that introduce
examples (for example, for instance).
• Look for words that signal
comparison (likewise, similarly).
• Look for words that signal
contrast (unlike, although, in contrast).
Look for words that signal
contradiction (however, on the contrary).
• Look for words that signal
summaries or conclusions (to sum up, in conclusion).
Annotating
An annotation is extra information associated with a
particular point in a document or other piece of information.
It can be a note that
includes a comment or explanation.
Annotations make it easy to find important information
quickly when you look back and review a text.
They help you familiarize yourself with both the content and
organization of what you read.
They provide a way to
begin engaging with ideas and issues directly through comments, questions,
associations, or other reactions that occur to you as you read.
Summarizing
Summary is a brief restatement, in your own words, of a
passage's main idea.
When you summarize you use your own words, not the words of
your source. Your summary expresses just the main idea of your source, not your
own opinions or conclusions.
Guidelines for Writing a Summary
Read the source you intend to
summarize until you understand it.
Jot down the main idea of the
source.
Make sure to use your own words and
phrases, not the words and sentence structure of your source.
Do not include your own analysis or
opinions.
Be sure to provide documentation.
Note making
Note Making is a way
of recording important details from a source. This source can be any book,
article and so on.
In note making, the writer
records the essence of the information.
It helps us to
understand and clarify thinking.
Note making saves a lot of time by going through the notes
made.
One can get a glimpse
of a lot of information from a short note.
The Procedure of Note Making
Read the passage carefully.
Underline the important sentences.
Make a rough note first so as to get an
idea.
Organize them in logical order or sequence for
the final note.
Do
not change the idea or the message of the passage.
Avoid using long sentences as heading or
title.
Ignore information which is less important.
Be
brief, clear, and specific.
CHECKLIST
Questions for Critical Reading
What is the writer's general subject?
What is the writer's main point?
What are the writer's key supporting points?
Does the writer seem to have a particular purpose in mind?
What kind of audience is the writer addressing?
What are the writer's assumptions about audience? About
subject?
Are the writer's ideas consistent with your own?
Does the writer
reveal any biases?
Do you have any knowledge that challenges the writer's
ideas?
Is any information
missing?
Are any sequential or logical links missing?
Can you identify themes or ideas that also appear in other
works you have read?
Can you identify parallels with your own experience?
Things to know in invention/ invention techniques
1. Understanding the assignment
2. Setting the limits
- Length - Purpose - Audience
- Occasion - Knowledge
3. Moving from subject to topic
- Questions for probing
- Free writing
4. Finding something to say
-Brain storming
- Journal writing
5. Grouping ideas
- Clustering
- Outlining
6. Developing a thesis
- Defining a thesis statement
- Deciding on a thesis
- Stating a thesis
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