Welcome to Unit #6 Seminar!Kirsten Muller, M. A., M. Ed.

Seminar Agenda

• Review Projects for Units #4 and #5• Writing Process• Writing Body Paragraphs• Unit #6 Project• Punctuation• Questions

Unit #4 Feedback

• Remember that your project for Unit #4 was the outline that was provided to you in seminar and in the Project Description.

• Did you follow the outline template?

Sample Outline I. Introduction A. What makes a good teacher? B. Throughout history great teachers have inspired their students to reach great

heights. C. Park Hill High School strives to maintain an outstanding teaching staff. D. In addition to academics, athletics is a vital piece of our history. Thesis Statement: Park Hill High School is proud to announce that Ryan Brewer, a

1997 graduate of the University of Missouri, will bring his outstanding personal background, his exceptional educational record, and his thorough employment history to his new position as science teacher and varsity football coach.

II. Personal Background A. Ryan hails from the great state of Missouri, home of sports teams like the

Kansas City Chiefs, the St. Louis Rams, the Kansas City Royals, and the St. Louis Cardinals.

B. Ryan is married to his wife, Jennifer, and he has three children, Nicholas, James, and Meghan.

C. Ryan’s hobbies include playing golf, running marathons, and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

Outline ContinuedIII. Education A. Ryan graduated from Norcross High School in 1997. B. He was active in football, track, and basketball. C. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2001 with a Bachelor’s degree in

science. He also completed the Teacher Education Program. D. He graduated magna cum laude. IV. Employment A. Ryan began his teaching career at Fulton County High School where he taught

biology and chemistry. B. He was also the jr. varsity football and track coach. C. He left FCHS in 2006 and transferred to Germantown High School. D. While at GHS, he taught physics and served as the varsity football coach. V. Conclusion A. Norcross High School’s goal is to maintain a quality teaching staff.

Unit 6: Starting to Draft – The Body• Reading: The reading this week focuses on

developing paragraphs, drafting, and ways to deal with writer's block.

• Discussion: On this week's discussion board (DB), you will answer a series of questions about drafting techniques and which one(s) works best for you. You will use the information from this week’s reading to accomplish this. Also, you are required to respond to at least two other classmates on this week's discussion board (Feel free to respond to even more!).

• Seminar: Participate in our live seminar, much like you are doing now, OR complete seminar option #2 by the end of the unit/week.

• Quiz: Take the objective on the course reading. This quiz is automatically graded within the electronic classroom, so you will have your score instantly!

• MWL Exercises• Project: Complete the Unit 6 Project. For this

project, you will post a draft of the body (3 paragraphs) of your autobiography project. A more detailed explanation of this project can be found under Unit 6 > Project.

If you have not yet checked out the new announcements under Course Home,

please do so!

Writing a Preliminary Draft

When writing a preliminary draft. . .

The most important thing to do is to get your information down on paper.

To do this, perform the following. . .

Build upon EACH point from your three point thesis statement.

Review your outline. Each section should contain information connected to ONE of the three points from your thesis. Use this information to develop the paragraphs of your body.

From the project directions, the body paragraphs should include. . .

1. One paragraph that gives professional details about you and your life – your age, family, hobbies, etc. (NOTE: this is a professional biography so you should limit personal details to what is appropriate.).

2. One paragraph that talks about your education. You should include high school or your GED, any previous college experience, and your Kaplan program.

3. One paragraph that details professional experiences, honors and awards, or other related details.

Sample Paragraph…

Ryan brings his outstanding personal qualities to his new position as science teacher and varsity football coach. He hails from the great state of Missouri, home of leaders like Harry S. Truman and George Brett. He is married to his wife, Jennifer, and they have three children, Nicholas, James, and Meghan. Ryan’s hobbies include playing golf, running marathons, and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. As a football coach, he is very interesting in all sports, and he is a season ticket holder for both the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals. Ryan has not only exceptional personal characteristics, but he also has an extensive educational background.

Topic and Transition Sentences• Topic and transition sentences are crucial to

making your writing more powerful.• Topic sentences introduce the current

paragraph.• Transition sentences introduce the next

paragraph.

Transition WordsNext HoweverThen Besides thisMoreover FinallyTherefore In conclusionIn addition to Additionally

Use transition words when you begin a new paragraph

Transition SentenceFrom the previous paragraph:

Ryan has not only exceptional personal characteristics, but he also has an extensive educational background.

The above sentence lets your reader know that you are completing your discussion of personal characteristics…And that you are now going to talk about Ryan’s educational background.

Body Paragraphs• Are the “meat” of your essay

• Are like inflated balloons – you take the ideas you created in your thesis and outline and your expand them using detail and explanation

Remember:

• The goal of drafting is to get information down on paper.

• It’s ok if your draft is rough. After all, you can edit a rough draft, but you can’t edit a blank page!

What about punctuation????

There are so many rules regarding punctuation!

The following slides present tips that you might find useful as you proofread, edit, and revise.

Punctuation – The DashThey gave us – let there be no doubt about it – a thunderous ovation.• Used to separate nonessential elements from the main part of the sentence

I’ve had a lot of things on my mind lately – now what was I saying? – I mean, I can’t concentrate.• Used to create a stronger separation, or interruption, than commas or parentheses

Sell your story to the tabloids – they’ll love it.• Used to emphasize an idea, create dramatic effect, or indicate a sudden change in thought

Sentence examples modified from: Gordon, K. (1993). The new well tempered sentence: A punctuation handbook for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Usage information from: McWhorter, K. (2010). Pathways writing scenarios: Sentences and paragraphs. NY: Pearson.

Punctuation – Parentheses

“Parentheses do enticingly embrace extra material of all sorts, from unwelcome long-winded digressions to amusing crisp asides; wisecracks and other comments; and amplification or explanation…”

Example:

Sola (whose full name is Solamente la Noche) writes in Spanish when she’s excited and English as a follow-up.

Quote from and sentence example modified from: Gordon, K. (1993). The new well tempered sentence: A punctuation handbook for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Punctuation – The Apostrophe1. Show ownership

• Every mother’s nightmare• His mother-in-law’s cookies• Someone else’s high heels• My heart’s desire

2. Indicate the omission of one or more letters in a word or number• Class of ‘68• It’s humanly possible (apostrophe used in contraction, not possession)

• You never lost one sock o’ mine• Wearin’ a cowboy boot

Sentence examples modified from: Gordon, K. (1993). The new well tempered sentence: A punctuation handbook for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Usage information from: McWhorter, K. (2010). Pathways writing scenarios: Sentences and paragraphs. NY: Pearson.

Writing RascalsWhat is a Writing Rascal?

• An issue with language that prevents clear communication

• Can include grammar, spelling, punctuation, or sentence structure

• Can be found and fixed with review and editing (like Whack-a-Mole!)

Writing Rascal #1

And you can still smile after all that bad press, he asked.

Sentence example modified from: Gordon, K. (1993). The new well tempered sentence: A punctuation handbook for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Writing Rascal #2

Its been a hard days night.

Sentence example modified from: Gordon, K. (1993). The new well tempered sentence: A punctuation handbook for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Houghton Mifflin.

What other questions do you have?

Unit 6 To Do

Reading Discussion (20) Seminar (5) MWL Exercises (10) Quiz (5) Project (50)

Do you have questions?

--Ask a question in Course Questions.--Email me: kmuller@kaplan.edu.--Post a question in Discussion Board.--Cell Phone: 816-591-2070

Thank you for coming! Have a great week!

Works Cited

• Sentence examples modified from: Gordon, K. (1993). The new well tempered sentence: A punctuation handbook for the innocent, the eager, and the doomed. NY: Houghton Mifflin.

• Usage information from: McWhorter, K. (2010). Pathways writing scenarios: Sentences and paragraphs. NY: Pearson.