RevisingEditing Say Mean Matter Paragraphs Format Review Say

Revising/Editing “Say, Mean, Matter” Paragraphs

Format Review Say Mean Matter This is a direct quote of what the text says. This is about interpretation. What are the implications? (Possible outcomes or results? ) What does the text say? Ask questions like, “What makes you think that? ” Why does it matter to me or others? “How do you know that? ” Why is it important? (to the story as a whole? ) What happened? * Must cite text, have a lead-in introducing the quote, or paraphrase. What is the significance?

Topic Sentence The topic sentence explains what the paragraph is about. The topic sentence takes the writing task and answers the prompt. The topic sentence drives the entire paragraph.

Topic Sentence “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a tale of madness and revenge.

“Say” Statements Must include a lead-in introducing the quote: X acknowledges that . X agrees that . X argues that . X believes that . X claims that . X demonstrates that . X insists that . X suggests that .

“Say” Statements Must include a lead-in and contain in-text citations at the end. For example: Montressor vows revenge upon Fortunato, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (1).

Sample Paragraph Build… “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a tale of madness and revenge. Montressor vows revenge upon Fortunato, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (1).

“Mean” Statements Read between the lines. Explain the quote in the context of the text. Identify any rhetorical devices (simile, metaphor, personification, symbolism, etc. ) used. Use at least two of these: This means ___. This occurs when ___. This is an example of ___ (rhetorical device).

Sample Paragraph Build… “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a tale of madness and revenge. Montressor vows revenge upon Fortunato, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (1). Montressor means that Fortunato has repeatedly offended him and he has decided to take revenge upon his enemy.

“Matter” Statement Why does the text matter? Explain why the quote is significant within the text and to the reader (text-toself), to others (text-to-world), and to other texts (text-to-text). Analyze the effect of any rhetorical devices used. Use at least two of these: This situation is similar to society today because ___ says/does/thinks this because ___. This creates a tone of ___ because ___. This evokes a mood of ___ because ___. The significance of this situation is ___ because ___. This raises the question of ___ because ___ (author) uses ___ (rhetorical device) to show ___ because ___. This relates to theme of ___ because ___. This context of ___ is significant because ___.

Sample Paragraph Build… “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a tale of madness and revenge. Montressor vows revenge upon Fortunato, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (1). This quote raises the question of Montressor’s sanity because he demonstrates madness by his excessive anger and mental instability.

Additional “Say, Mean, Matter” Statements Add another set of “Say, Mean, Matter” statements to the paragraph. This set of statements must relate directly to the topic sentence and reinforce your main claim.

Sample Paragraph Build… “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a tale of madness and revenge. Montressor vows revenge upon Fortunato, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (1). This quote raises the question of Montressor’s sanity because he demonstrates madness by his excessive anger and mental instability. Montressor continues to provide questions about his sanity by stating, “I continued to smile in his face, and he did not understand that I was now smiling at the thought of what I planned for him, at the thought of my revenge” (2). Montressor suggests that he continues to treat Fortunato as a friend while devising a plan to seek revenge. This behavior demonstrates Montressor’s madness through his division of personality through his treatment of Fortunato and his mental thought processes which reveal his true intentions and the depth of his manipulations.

Concluding Sentence The concluding sentence must relate back to the topic sentence reinforcing the information contained within your body paragraph.

Sample Paragraph Build… “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a tale of madness and revenge. Montressor vows revenge upon Fortunato, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (1). This quote raises the question of Montressor’s sanity because he demonstrates madness by his excessive anger and mental instability. Montressor continues to provide questions about his sanity by stating, “I continued to smile in his face, and he did not understand that I was now smiling at the thought of what I planned for him, at the thought of my revenge” (2). Montressor suggests that he continues to treat Fortunato as a friend while devising a plan to seek revenge. This behavior demonstrates Montressor’s madness through his division of personality through his treatment of Fortunato and his mental thought processes which reveal his true intentions and the depth of his manipulations. Montressor’s madness furthers Poe’s mastery of narration by providing an unreliable narrator whom believes that he is, in fact, of sound mind.

The Format of the Paragraph Topic Sentence “Say” “Mean” “Matter” Concluding Sentence

Peer Review of the “Say, Mean, Matter” Paragraph

Peer-Review It is important to make the peer review process useful. Basics of useful feedback: It is given in a positive way It is specific It offers suggestions It is given both verbally and in writing

Revision Strategies Look for Unity Does everything refer back to main point? Does each topic sentence refer to thesis? Does each sentence in each body paragraph refer back to the topic sentence? Detail and support Does each body paragraph contain at least two examples? Is each example followed by at least one supporting detail? Coherence Are all points connect to form a whole? Are transitions used to move from one idea to the next?

Revising is finding & correcting problems with content; changing the ideas in your writing to make them clearer, stronger, and more convincing. Revising looks at the “Big Picture”—the Idea level.

Do Not Use These Words in Formal, Academic Essays a lot amazing as being bad excellent I believe I think I feel in conclusion kind of me/my/mine nice ok/okay in my opinion our really sort of stuff this shows that to me us we/we’re you/yours/ you’re * no contractions or personal pronouns in addition to

After Peer Review… Begin revising your paragraph by re-reading your paragraph, reading you peers’ comments, and adding your own ideas.

Self-Revision Tips Take a break from your draft before attempting to revise. Read your draft out loud and listen to your words. Imagine yourself as your reader. Look for consistent problem areas. Read the feedback from peers. Make necessary changes to your paragraphs.

Work Cited Herring, D. "The Writing Process. ". N. p. , n. d. Web. 4 Jan 2012. <http: //www. slideshare. net/Tara Van. G/the-writing-process- 8179776>.