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Effective Writing -- Video Clips and Quick Tips
susan smith nash, ph.d.
Description & Creating a Dominant Impression in Your Essay
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5332853367685682334&hl=en
As you write paragraphs, it is important to have a topic sentence or a controlling idea. Otherwise, your reader won’t know what you’re writing about. Your paper will be hard to follow.
How do I write a good topic sentence?
x Be sure to think about your message.
x What do you want to say?
x Think about how to communicate with your readers in a nano-second.
x Know your audience.
Here are some attributes:
x clear
x precisely worded
x can appear anywhere in the paragraph
x relates to the other sentences in the paragraph
x relates to the other paragraphs
Examples / Exemplification in Paragraphs
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7475969036803298269
What does a good example do for you? It creates a “speaking picture” (“ut poesis picture” to borrow a phrase from the Roman writer, Horace)
It can be very helpful to use descriptive paragraphs as you seek to create a dominant impression or create an overall impression.
Examples can do the following:
x shape a mindset
x illustrate your point
x give concrete details
x create a mental image
x make an impression
x affect one’s emotions
What are concrete details?
x visual cues
x sounds
x smells
x tastes
x touch / feel / texture / tactile impressions
Narration in Paragraphs
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3567000313406749875&hl=en
Sometimes it is effective to tell a story or narrate events in your essay.
Narratives occur
x throughout the entire essay
x in each paragraph
Narratives tell a story.
x capture your audience’s interest
x engage readers’ emotions
x suggest a beginning-middle-end
x invoke archetypes
x make your readers recall archetypal narratives (myth / fairy tales)
Support for Your Argument
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=883335295920437372&hl=en
You can support your argument by supplying details. Details make your argument convincing, and they help your audience connect their own experiences and perceptions to what you’re saying.
What kind of supporting details are helpful?
x choose details that relate to your topic sentence
x find data that provides evidence that what you’re saying is plausible
x provide a solid foundation
What kinds of support are out there?
x observations
x personal experience
x examples
x facts
x statistics
x testimony / quotes
Topic Sentences
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7788049750212756857&hl=en
As you write paragraphs, it is important to have a topic sentence or a controlling idea. Otherwise, your reader won’t know what you’re writing about. Your paper will be hard to follow.
How do I write a good topic sentence?
x Be sure to think about your message.
x What do you want to say?
x Think about how to communicate with your readers in a nano-second.
x Know your audience.
Here are some attributes:
x clear
x precisely worded
x can appear anywhere in the paragraph
x relates to the other sentences in the paragraph
x relates to the other paragraphs
for more information, please go do
or
http://elearnqueen.blogspot.com
