Quick and Easy Timed Writing Tips A timed

Quick and Easy Timed Writing Tips A timed writing essay does not have to make you cry.

Timed Writing is a Game You Have Three Challenges: You need to plan it. You need to write it. You need to revise it. • • • You Need Three Skills: Ability to organize info Ability to recall what you learned Ability to apply it to an intelligent discussion on paper • • •

PLANNING • Budget in time for panic o • Allow yourself 30 seconds, then move on Design your entire attack Use 10/40/10 approach. For every 60 minutes, 10 is for planning, 40 for writing, 10 for revising o Our exam: 15/60/15 o • Don't write until you have a roadmap o Organize your thoughts

PLANNING • Use an idea map • Use an outline • Use whatever visual tools you need to help plan your essay

PLANNING • • Decide what you are being asked to do Mark up the question Circle relevant words Make rhetorical decisions about audience, purpose, and genre

WRITING - INTRO

WRITING - INTRO

WRITING - BODY • Structure your paragraphs clearly Each paragraph focuses on a single point o Each paragraph has a topic sentence o Each paragraph supports your argument/thesis o Each paragraph reflects on your argument/thesis o • Use examples, facts, personal statements, quotes to support your ideas. o If all of your statements are generalized and vague, it will sound like you are writing bullhockey, and your

WRITING - CONCLUSION • • • Restate your thesis in different terms Reflect on something more universal show your essay can pave the way for future reflection on your subject Avoid stock summary: o "In conclusion, I think timed writing essays are awesome ways to show what we we have learned this semester. Everyone should write timed writing essays. "

REVISION

A QUICK WORD ON STYLE Don't start with a huge, empty statement: o It is a well-known fact that the universe is a vast place. . . Do not write as much as you possibly can to impress your professor o Quality, not quantity

A QUICK WORD ON STYLE

ESSAY KILLERS • Not answering the question/prompt • Forgetting to construct a clear thesis • Not writing in paragraphs • Going off topic

ESSAY KILLERS • Using tired and overused words o o o very awesome great fun nice quite really cool neat amazing interesting

ESSAY KILLERS • • Using cliches Tip: avoid cliches "like the plague" o o o o To make a long story short One in a million Without a doubt It's not rocket science My eyes were glazing over I got bent out of shape When life gives you lemons. . To make a mountain out of a molehill

You Can Do It