Welcome to English Composition Simplicity Writing should be

Welcome to English Composition

Simplicity Writing should be as simple as possible, so that it is as easy as possible for the reader to understand. “The finest language is mostly made up of simple unimposing words. ” - George Elliot

Clutter Many people use big words to sound important. This is called being pedantic. This is bad writing, although it is sometimes expected (i. e. in journal articles)

Forms of Clutter Extra words that don’t help the sentence Qualifiers (very, little, kind of, pretty, etc. ) Adjectives that have the same meaning as the verb Adverbs that have the same meaning as the noun Long words that could be replaced by shorter words

Clutter Lets look at a sample essay. See if you can remove the clutter.

Writing is Hard “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. " - Ernest Hemingway

Writing is Hard Writing is hard because: You need to know what you want to say You need to organize your ideas in a way that the reader can understand You need to express your ideas simply and clearly to the reader

Knowing What You Want to Say One of the most difficult parts of writing. If you don’t know what you want to say, then you can’t tell the reader. Bad writing talks about the thing a person wants to say. Good writing simply says it.

Organizing Ideas What is your main idea? What other ideas support the main idea? How can you order these ideas so that they are easy for the reader to understand?

Ideas and Writing 1 essay = 1 big idea 1 paragraph = 1 medium-sized idea 1 sentence = 1 small idea

The Math of Writing 1 sentence = 1 small idea Therefore 1 small idea + 1 medium-sized idea or Paragraph

The Math of Writing 1 paragraph = 1 medium-sized idea Therefore 1 medium sized idea + 1 big idea or Essay

An Essay Paragraph sentence sentence Paragraph sentence

5 Paragraph Essay Most common form of essay Looked for on many English proficiency and university entrance examinations A simple way to organize ideas to write a clear, easy to understand essay

5 Paragraph Essay You tell your reader your main ideas three times This is the same as in speech writing “First, tell them what you are going to tell them. Then tell them. Finally, tell them what you just told them. ”

5 Paragraph Essay You will tell you reader your topic and main supporting ideas in: The introduction The body The conclusion

5 Paragraph Essay Paragraph 1: Introduction Paragraph 2: Body Paragraph 3: Body Paragraph 1: Conclusion

5 Paragraph Essay Paragraph 1: Topic sentence + 3 supporting ideas + transition sentence Paragraph 2: First supporting idea + 2 -3 examples or supporting facts Paragraph 3: Second supporting idea + 2 -3 examples or supporting facts Paragraph 3: Third supporting idea + 2 -3 examples or supporting facts Paragraph 1: Restate 3 supporting ideas and topic sentence. Almost the same as Paragraph 1.

Remember? Essay Paragraph sentence sentence Paragraph sentence

Remember? Topic Supporting Idea 1 2 3 example supporting fact examples or supporting facts

Essay Planning It is always best to plan your essay before you start writing because, if you don’t know what you want to say, then you can’t tell your reader. Planning will save you time and improve your essay. Planning first will make you a better writer.

Essay Planning It is so funny. A good writer will always find it very hard to fill a single page. A bad writer will always find it easy. -Aubrey Kalitera

Essay Planning Lets look at a sample essay.

Five Paragraph Essay Plan Paragraph 1 Topic sentence Supporting idea 1 Supporting idea 2 Supporting idea 3 Transition sentence Paragraph 2 Supporting idea 1 Example or fact Paragraph 3 Supporting idea 2 Example or fact Paragraph 4 Supporting idea 3 Example or fact Paragraph 5 Supporting idea 1 Supporting idea 2 Supporting idea 3 Restate topic

Homework Writing: Plan and write one five paragraph essay using the method learned in class. Topic: Something I love Due Date: Saturday November 28 th at 12: 00 am Reading The Elements of Style Pt. 12 and 13 (pg. 15 – 17)