THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION

THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION

JOY M. Reid

The process of writing a paragraph

1. Choose a subject that u know about.

Example: Studying Abroad.

2. Identify your audience

Example: Classmates.

3. Narrow your subject to a topic that will interest your audience.

4. Collect some ideas about your topic.

5. List details about some of your ideas that will interest your audience.

6. Limit the ideas to the most important ones you want to communicate.

7. State the main idea of the paragraph in your topic sentence.

8. The point paragraph.

9. Write the paragraph, using the details u have listed.

• Cause - Effect paragraphs investigate why things are as they are, or why something happened, or the effects of an event or situation.

Kinds of causes:

1. Immediate: the causes the writer first encounters.

2. Underlying: the causes that took place before the immediate cause.

Cause paragraph:

1. Begin with the statement of the effect.

2. Explain the immediate causes of (or reasons for) that effect.

3. Explain the underlying causes (or reasons) that led to that effect.

4. Conclude with what has cause the effect.

Effect paragraph:

1. Begin with a statement of the cause.

2. Discuss the immediate (or short- term) effects of the cause.

3. Explain the long-term effects of that cause.

4. Conclude with the statement of the direct relationship between the cause and the effects.

Planning the essay:

1. A beginning: called the introduction, this paragraph is the first in the essay.

2. A thesis sentence: generally located at the end of the end of the introduction, this sentence is the most general, most important sentence in the essay. In contains controlling ideas that limit and direct the rest of the essay.

3. A Middle: called the body of ythe essay, these paragraphs explain, define, clarify, and illustrate the thesis sentence. Each body paragraph consists of a topic sentence and several supporting sentences. The number of body paragraphs depends on the length and complexity of the assignment.

4. And end: called the conclusion, this paragraph completes the essay.

The Thesis Statement:

Each essay u write contain a thesis statement. This statement is usually one sentence that gives the purpose of the essay.

1. The thesis is the strongest, clearest statement in the essay.

2. The thesis should come at the beginning of the essay, usually at the end of the introductory paragraph.

3. The thesis sentence must not be a simple statement of fact that requires no elaboration. A simple statement of fact has no possibilities for development.

4. The thesis will probably not be expressed as a question, for a question contains no attitude or opinion. The answer to the question is the thesis statement.

• Avoid the following problems in introductions:

1. The apology, complaint, or personal dilemma: weakens the essay because it distracts the reader.

2. The panoramic beginning: impossible to narrow to a thesis without a break in unity.

• Conclusion:

1. Look at your thesis and make sure the conclusion is integrally connected.

2. Begin your conclusion with a narrow statement that connects your concluding paragraph with the last body paragraph.

3. From this point, begin to broaden toward your final sentence. Notice that the structure of the conclusion is the opposite from the introduction.

4. Use ideas from the body paragraphs to conclude- controlling ideas, for example- but do not simply recopy topic sentences.

5. The conclusion may also contain a prediction based on material in the essay, a solution to a problem stated in the essay, or a recommendation.

6. For a successful conclusion its necessary a summary first and then a prediction.

• Avoid the following problems in conclusions:

1. Too much summary: if your essay is short (500 words), your reader will probably remember most of the main points. It is necessary only to refer to these points briefly. Of course, in a very long essay, or in a research, more summary will be needed.

2. Any completely new idea: if a new idea occurs in the conclusion, the reader may turn the page, expecting clarification and proof of the idea. If the idea is important enough to be included in the summary, include it earlier in the essay as well.

Transitions: sometimes called connectors.

1. Introductory words:

• AT FIRST we did not understand.

• SIMILARLY, carol´s hair was curly.

• FURTHERMORE, we need to study.

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

TO SIGNAL RELATION SHIP IN TIME, USE CHRONOLOGICAL TRANSITIONS.

• PRESENTLY,

• AT

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