Chapter 4 Summary

In this chapter you will learn how to build effective paragraphs and when creating them you want to make sure they are clearly focused, well developed, organized, coherent, and neither too long or too short. The first part of the paragraph is to focus on the main point in a topic sentence and what the reader will look forward to in the following sentences. Usually in a paragraph the topic sentence which is like a thesis will be the first sentence but can be with held to the end of the paragraph. You want to stick to the main point and if you have sentences that don’t support the topic sentence it will destroy the paragraph. If your paragraph doesn’t work it won’t be as simple as deleting or moving material. The writer will be faced with a choice of finding more evidence or adjust the sentence to mesh with the evidence that is available.
When developing your main point you don’t want it to be too short to where the writer or audience loses the evidence or purpose. Organizing your writing can be done in many ways and are done by the way we think. Some for example are, illustrations, narration, cause and effect, description and analogy. With the illustration part it is an extended version of an example in story form. When used correctly they can be vivid and effective way to developing a point. On the other hand narrations tell a story or a part of a story and are arranged in chronological order. They can have flashbacks and interruptions that take you back in time. Cause and effect are a matter of argument they are too complex to be reduced to a simple pattern. A descriptive paragraph sketches a portrait of a person, place or thing by using concrete and specific details that appeal to one or more of our senses. Analogies draw comparisons between items that appear to have little in common. Some examples of how the writer uses them are: make the unfamiliar seen familiar, argue a point, or to provoke fresh thoughts or changed feelings about a subject.
A coherent paragraph is when it flows from one to another without bumps or gaps. One way to help is by linking ideas clearly through your writing. This means you have your main point in the topic sentence early in the paragraph and than your paragraphs have specific details to support topic. Another way is to use parallel structures which are used within sentences to underscore the similarity of ideas. They can also be used to bind together a series of sentences. One last step that can help would be to have consistency throughout your writings. A rule mentioned under consistency said that a sentence’s subject should echo a subject or object in the previous sentence. You want to avoid excessive repetitions of key words, which is also called trapping. Providing transition helps the reader move from sentence to sentence. One way is called sentence-level transitions which are certain words and phrases that signal connections between sentences. You want to be careful to select transitions with appropriate tone. There is also paragraph level transitions which usually link the first sentence of the previous paragraph. The last transition is between blocks of text which talks about letting the reader know the connections between the text and you do this by inserting transitional sentences or short paragraph at key points.
Readers feel comfortable sticking to about one hundred to two hundred words for the paragraphs but if needed you can adjust them. Longer paragraphs strain the reader’s attention span but they can also show scholarly work if they are longer than one to two hundred words. Anything shorter would appear in newspapers, websites or business writing. Everything in the above paragraphs will help you build effective paragraphs the right way and help you achieve the scholarly level work.

Superman and Me

How is education a means to save one’s life? How is Alexie attempting to save the life of the students he works with? How did Alexie save his own life?

Having education in this world is the most important thing in order to survive. I have learned that without at least a high school diploma it is very hard to find a job. Growing up I couldn’t fail and if I did I had consequences that followed. Completing increasingly advanced levels of education shows that you have a drive and commitment to learn and apply information, ideas, theories, and formulas to achieve a variety of tasks and goals.
Alexie refused to fail and wanted people to know he was smart and could succeed in life. He saved his own life because he left the reservation and didn’t want to be one of the dangerous Indians. After fighting with other Indians because he wouldn’t stay quiet he continued to read books and learn many new things. The other Indians struggled with basic reading but were accepted by other Indians because they were failing. Today you aren’t expected to fail but succeed and love what you do.
The way Alexie trying to save the lives of the students he works with is by giving them a better life and having a role model to follow in their life. I remember many teachers that I looked up too due to their way in life. He wants other Indian children to follow him and not think in life we need to fail. The children love what Alexie does and when he visits their schools they light up with joy and excitement. Even though in the classroom there are the Indian children who don’t want to learn he still continues to help save the lives of the children who do. He tries to encourage them by repeating the word “books” because he knows that by just taking the time to read they will be lucky.

Chapter 2 & 3 Summary

When starting your draft you want to make sure and focus your attention on ideas and organizations. You want to make sure and have your materials ready for your draft, which include lists, diagrams and outlines. With me a writers block is huge and have never known how to overcome that and this chapter did help with some ideas. I do feel that I am hard on myself when it comes down to writing so learning how to relax and start with free writing should help me succeed.
The first step is writing an introduction that introduces your thesis. This paragraph will consist of fifty to one hundred fifty words and will include your purpose or main point for writing. It can also be called the thesis and should get the attention of the reader. A few ways to do this is to a have a vivid example, a question or a description. A thesis statement can appear at the beginning or the end of the paragraph. One main characteristic of the thesis is to have supporting evidence and sources on the purpose you have mentioned. You want your words to not be vague but sharply focused. Next we want to talk about the body of the draft which will show the support of the thesis. Each paragraph in the body should talk about the ideas presented on your thesis and how you plan on proving the sources. A conclusion should remind the readers about the essay without repeating it and can sometimes be short. To make the reader remember the essays add an example or an image from the introduction. This will help them keep in mind your paper and want to come back to it or talk about it over and over.
Now it is time to talk about revising your paper and when doing this you want to start global and than focus on sentences. Doing this step you might remove whole paragraphs or rearrange a whole section, all of this could be dramatic. This will help you save time instead of doing one sentence at a time during your revision. Another way to do the revision is too put it away for a night or even longer and than try to revisit it with questions that your audience would ask or wonder. There is a checklist you can follow to help with the revision process and it is: purpose and audience, focus, organization and paragraphing, content, and point of view. When you do sentences you are only checking for grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
The last part you will accomplish is the proofreading of the paper which is the most important step. You want to take your time reading and correcting anything before the final one is done. One tip is to read out loud to yourself to hear word for word what you wrote. A well done proofread essay sends a positive message and shows value to your writing.
After reading these chapters I found very useful information on drafting and revising my writings. I have a hard time when writing my papers because I always think they could be better. I do enjoy reading out loud because I find more corrections that need to be made rather than just looking at it. Another problem I have is coming up with a supportive thesis and trying to prove what I wrote. It has been a long time since I have had an English class so this is all refreshers to me and I hope to continue to gain great information from these chapters.

My Introduction

Hi my name is Debbie and I am currently working towards my AA in Child Development. I am only a few classes away from graduating and can’t wait it has been a long time coming. I had to take a break from school due to becoming a mom to my two year old daughter Isabella. She was a total surprise especially since I was planning my wedding. We ended up changing our plans of a huge Italian wedding to a nice small one before she was born. Isabella is the high light of my life and keeps me going everyday.
I work as a Toddler Program Manager of twelve two year olds which includes my daughter. I enjoy my job very much even though some days are super crazy. My career goal is to open my own preschool one day and continue learning more about children. I have always worked with children and I don’t picture myself doing anything else. My enjoyment is watching them play and learn new things everyday. When they come in to my classroom and run up to me with a hug it is the best feeling in the world.
As far as a learner I do better hands on and it takes me some time to get things. I pace my self so that I get the information and usually don’t get my work done early due to my crazy life. It has been a while since I have had an English class so it will take me awhile to adjust to all the reading and writing. I look forward to working and talking to all of the other students.