RWS 11 30 18 Andrew Testa Semicolons Titles

RWS // 11 -30 -18 // Andrew Testa Semicolons, Titles, & Workshop

Announcements • • • Long rough draft is due Monday, 12/3. Needs to be at least 5 pages. Grammar HW No final exam Revisions Final draft due 12/12, hard copy in class.

Questions?

Outline 1. 2. 3. 4. Semicolons Titles Quick Write Workshop

1. Semicolons • Semicolons separate things; most commonly, they separate two main clauses that are closely related to each other but that could stand on their own as sentences if you wanted them to.

Semicolons • “It was below zero; Squiggly wondered if he would freeze to death. ”

Semicolons • The two parts of that long sentence that are separated by a semicolon could be sentences on their own if you put a period between them: • “It was below zero. ” • “Squiggly wondered if he would freeze to death. ”

Semicolons • You wouldn't write: • “It was below zero; Squiggly had pizza for dinner. ” • This is because those two main clauses have nothing to do with each other.

Why Semicolons? • Show sentences have connection/relation. • Add variety to your sentences. • Eliminate short, choppy sentences. • Make you look smarter. • Strategy guide example.

Use Transitions After • In academic writing, you should always put a transition after the semicolon. • For example: “San Diego is one of the best cities in the country; what’s more, it is even nicknamed ‘America’s Finest City. ’”

Semicolons • MASTER HACK – clarification semicolon template. • “<first sentence>; that is, <clarification>. ”

Semicolons • “San Diego State University is not a party school; that is, the professors require a lot of work from their students. ”

Semicolons • “Selingo claims advising services are detrimental to students; that is, he believes advising services at college campuses are too hands-on and baby students too much. ”

Semicolons • “Jimi Hendrix is far superior to Kurt Cobain; that is to say, even though they both died at 27 and are immortalized on tumblr, Hendrix changed what the electric guitar was capable of doing. ”

Semicolons • “All of my friends are retweeting happy tweets about Christmas; that is to say, they are all looking forward to the holidays. ”

Questions? Any questions about semicolons?

2. Titles • • • The title is what the reader first sees. As such, it is important! Good titles are interesting, catchy, witty, and make you think. Puns work well, as do song lyrics or referencing a famous work. Any form of wordplay works. You may also connect back to the title in the conclusion.

Making Cool Titles Master Hack – how to make a badass title Use this magic formula: “<something witty>”: <what your essay is about>

Making Cool Titles Bad Title – Sprint Stroll Stumble Essay Good title – “Smooth and Suave, He’s Rico Selingo”: A Rhetorical Analysis of Selingo’s Article

Making Cool Titles Bad Title – Clinton’s Twitter Rhetoric Good title – “A Tweet is Worth a Million Votes”: A Rhetorical Analysis of Clinton’s Twitter Rhetoric

Making Cool Titles Bad Title – Lens Text Essay Good title – “The Grim Reaper of The Graduate”: Using Ebert’s Review as a Lens for The Graduate

Making Cool Titles Bad Title – Happiness Essay Good title – “Happiness is a Warm Gun”: Joining the Conversation on Happiness

Making Cool Titles Bad Title – Nixon Essay Good title – “ 99 problems and evidence is one”: An Analysis of Nixon’s Claims and Evidence

Making Cool Titles Bad Title – Social Justice Warrior Good title – “Warriorlicious”: Beyoncé the Social Justice Warrior

Questions? Any questions about titles?

3. Quick Write 1. Create a cool title using the format I just discussed. “<something witty>”: <what your essay is about> 2. Write a sentence using the template. “<first sentence>; that is, <clarification>. ” 3. Reflect on writing plans for assignment three.

4. The Workshop • Spend some time reading/marking/answering the questions. • Spend some time talking about each other’s paper. • Lather, rinse, and repeat.