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1Getting Started with Writing

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Learning Outcomes

• Create your own ideal writing environment.

• Analyze the rhetorical situation using the star approach.

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Your Ideal Writing Environment (LO 1.1)

• Find a good place to write.• Plan your time to write.• Select your materials.• Establish a method for saving your

work.• Create an inviting atmosphere.• Minimize distractions.

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The Star Approach (LO 1.2)

• Subject• Audience• Purpose • Strategy • Design

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Subject (LO 1.2)

• Consider the message you want to convey.

• Select a subject that matches the guidelines of the assignment.

• Narrow your subject if necessary.• Always consider your audience and

purpose.

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Audience (1.2)

• Consider your audience and what they may or may not already know.

• Be aware of relevant discourse communities.

• Consider both your primary and secondary audience.

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Audience (contd.)

• Always consider your audience and purpose.

• Determine relevant audience characteristics.

• If online, use netiquette when addressing both instructor and classmates.

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Purpose (LO 1.2)

• Writing to inform – Provide useful

information about a subject.

– Teach your audience how to do something.

• Writing to persuade – You may argue a

point.– You may

persuade your audience to do something.

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Purpose (contd.)

• Writing to interpret– Help your

audience better understand something.

– Your opinion is important.

• Writing to entertain– Entertain the

audience.– Many times you

address another purpose.

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Purpose (contd.)

• Writing to express feelings– You may

communicate positive feelings.

– You may express dissatisfaction about something.

• Combined purposes– You may use

more than one purpose.

– The purposes may overlap.

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Strategy (LO 1.2)

• Narrating– Tell a story about

an event.– Answer the

questions who, what, where, when, why, and how.

• Explaining a process– Explain how

something works.– You may use

step-by-step instructions.

– You may write an explanation.

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Strategy (contd.)

• Describing– Use words to

create a picture in the reader’s mind.

– Utilize the senses.

– Include colorful adjectives.

• Comparing or contrasting– Show similarities or

differences between two people, places, or objects.

– Make a worthwhile point.

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Strategy (contd.)

• Explaining causes or effects– Show one event

caused another to occur.

– Determine the effects of an event or situation.

– Apply sound logic.

• Evaluating– Make a

judgment about the subject.

– Determine the important criteria to evaluate.

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Strategy (contd.)

• Persuading– You should take a

stand and prove your point.

– You may use personal experiences.

• Solving a problem– Explain a

problem and possible solutions.

– Determine which solution is the best.

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Design (LO 1.2)

• Genre– The writing style

(e.g., essay, story, paper, memo, letter, etc.)

– Consider your task.

• Length– Know the

instructor’s requirement.

– Make sure all points are clearly supported.

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Design (contd.)

• Format– The structure of

your writing (e.g., typed, hand-written, documentation style, etc.)

– Follow the instructor’s guidelines closely.

• Appearance– Show similarities

or differences between two people, places, or objects.

– Make a worthwhile point.

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Design (contd.)

• Visual aids– The pictures, charts, or

graphs used to enhance your paper.

– Determine if a point would be more effective with a visual image.