Ccontents: 1.The Writing Process 2.The First and Second Steps
in Writing
3.The Third Step in Writing
4.The Fourth Step in Writing
5.Four Bases for Revising Writing 6.Paragraph Development
Classifying
If
you were doing the laundry, you might begin by separating
the clothing into piles. You would then put all the whites
in one pile and all the colors in another. Or you might
classify the laundry, not according to color, but according
to fabric-putting all cottons in one pile, polyesters in
another, and so on. Classifying is the process of taking
many things and separating them into categories. We
generally classify to better manage or understand many
things.
Classification
Paragraph Example:
Paragraphs
to look:
Topic Sentence
Campers
Campers can be
classified as weekend partiers, family vacationers, or true
outdoorsmen or women based on their motivations, general
preparedness, activities, and attitudes towards nature.
Weekend partiers see camping as an opportunity for an
extended outdoor party. They arrive at the campsite laden
with lawn chairs, boom boxes, games, coolers full of their
favorite beverage, and plenty of party snacks.
Unfortunately, they often neglect such essential items as
appropriate clothing, insect repellent, tent stakes, cooking
utensils and food, and they frequently demonstrate a
characteristic ignorance of basic camping techniques such as
how to set up a tent. They frequently party late into the
night, preventing those around them from getting any sleep,
and they leave behind a campsite littered with their trash.
The second type of campers, the family vacationers, are
motivated by their desire for inexpensive accommodations
that also provide educational and entertainment
opportunities for the entire family. They bring along trunk
loads of tents, chairs, lanterns, and toys, turning their
campsites into miniature villages, from which they organize
expeditions to nearby natural or man-made attractions. The
best parents go out of their way to set a good example for
their children by picking up trash and not harming plants or
animals. The true outdoorsment and women, unlike other
campers, are interested in the opportunity to appreciate
nature, and they are the least visible and obtrusive type of
camper. They are the minimalists of the camping world,
arriving with carefully packed essential equipment, and they
typically spend their days hiking, fishing, and taking
pictures. The clean campsites they leave behind reflect
their respect for nature. Campers say a lot about themselves
by the way they behave while camping.
Describing a Scene or Person
When
you describe something or someone, you give your readers a
picture in words. To make this "word picture" as vivid and
real as possible, you must observe and record specific
details that appeal to your readers' senses (sight, hearing,
taste, smell and touch). More than any other type of
writing, a descriptive paragraph needs sharp, colorful
details.
Description of a
Person:
Paragraphs
to look:
Topic Sentence
Grandma
Anderson
My grandmother is a special lady. She stands barely
five feet tall and weighs under a hundred pounds, but her
will is as strong and fierce as a lion. As long as I've
known her, her gray hair has been pulled into a tight braid
at the back of her head, and she has worn the same simple
cotton dresses she has worn all her life. Only on Sunday,
when she goes to church, does she put on the lace trimmed
black dress that is shiny with starch and ironing. Her face
is small and lined with her years, but her eyes are as
bright and attentive as a hawk's. She misses nothing in the
world or in you. When I was young, I believed she could read
my mind because she would take one look at me and know what
I was feeling. I still sometimes believe she can read my
mind today. Although her frame is bent slightly with her
more than eighty years, her smile is as warm and free as a
teenager's. Because I love and respect my grandmother,
nothing give me grater pleasure than to sit down at her
dinner table and see her face light up when I ask for a
second helping of her famous peach cobbler.
Description of a
Place:
Paragraphs
to look:
Topic Sentence
Clearwater
Lake
Fishing
on Clearwater Lake puts me in touch with nature.
Clearwater Lake is a small lake nestled in the Adirondack
Mountains. The glassy lake is ringed with aspen, larch,
birch, and fir trees, and in the fall, the mountain sides
are on fire with brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows, I
arrive at the lake early, with mist still clinging to the
surface of the water like smoke. I slide my canoe silently
into the clear, cold water, step in, and push off the sandy
bank. Each stroke of the paddle pulls me further out into
the lake, the wind crisp and cold against my cheeks. The
world seems to go silent aground me, only the second of my
paddle moving through the water breaks the silence. Once on
the lake, I am cut off from the world of work and school and
family, and I'm free to meditate on the beauty and
tranquilly of the spot.
Description of an
Object:
Paragraphs
to look:
Topic Sentence
Memaw's Rocker
My
grandmother's rocking chair sits empty in the corner of the
living room. The simple, unpainted came rocker would
be of little interest to an antique dealer, but I wouldn't
part with it for the world. The seat is cupped slightly from
years of use: afternoons and evenings when she sat shelling
peas, daring socks, or knitting sweaters. The arms are
sanded smooth from the constant motion of her thin arms. The
chair is silent now, but if I close my eyes, I can still
hear the squeak of the rockers against the pine floor and
hear the click of her knitting needles. They were sounds.
that always comforted me and made me feel as if everything
were right with the world. Even today, I can't look at the
rocker without seeing Memaw smiling at me over the rim of
her glasses and hearing her say she loves me
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