Models for Writers: The Writing Process - Assignment Example

Models for The Writing Process The discussion highlights the proper and correct way of preparingto write, from reading and writing well to formulating and writing a thesis statement. The first chapter starts with an introduction on the fundamentals of the writing process. I. Prewriting In the prewriting section, the book generally takes the reader through the prewriting checklist before writing the initial draft. These basic requirements ensure that the user does not encounter difficulties while at the middle of the writing process. The requirements are discussed below. a) Understanding Your Argument The first part of the Prewriting stage tackles understanding the arguments. According to the authors, an individual should learn to convey ideas to others through the development of an argument. Using words as painting tools, the individual should be able to paint a picture of the argument. Nonetheless, there is a difference between a heated a debate and a respectful debate, with the variance being manner of presenting facts and ideas (Rosa and Eschholz 9). This part suggests that the correct structure of arguments is through understanding the purpose and shape of writing. b) Choose a Subject Area and Focus on a Topic The next area of interest is choosing a subject area and focusing on the topic. The authors suggest the selection of a specific area of interest for writing, and maintaining course on the topic within the writing context. This ensures that the subject of writing is clear. c) Get Ideas and Collect Information The next step is collecting ideas and information on the chosen subject. The information and ideas should be relevant to the subject area and topic, and should reflect the pictures that the writer is trying to paint through the writing. d) Establish Your Thesis The thesis of any given essay is the foundation of that essay. It is the main idea behind the essay writing. Nonetheless, the thesis statement is not the ‘purpose for writing’ statements. Rather, it makes an assertion regarding the essay, and does appear in the essay (Rosa and Eschholz 13). The book argues that the thesis statement should not begin with what the writer is trying to express, explain, or argue, but should actually present that argument, expression, or explanation. Thesis statements should not begin with the typical student errors, like, “This paper will discuss the benefits of learning English”. A good and acceptable thesis statement presents the most important point about the subject area of writing. In addition, the thesis statement should generalize the facts and ideas that support it, as well as having enough focus for the space it covers in the essay. Writing the thesis statement may start by stating what the writer wants to write about. This may be a sentence like “I want to write about”, but later delete the introductory part of the thesis from the stand-alone statement. The writer can then determine whether the thesis is too specific or too general by considering the ease of presenting examples and information to support it. A general thesis statement presents the writer with a variety of issues to be address, or with a vague point of view (Rosa and Eschholz 19). A general statement like “American life is ruined by malls” may require the author to present information and ideas on environmental damage, economic studies, traffic patterns, or urban decay. All these topics are too wide to cover in a single essay. However, a specific statement like “The County Mall should not have been opened here because the traffic jam has increased by 50%” leaves less speculation on the subject of discussion. A suitable thesis statement clearly presents the subject area and the topic, and proceeds to make an assertion concerning it. The best way of developing a thesis statement is considering the question that essay is trying to answer. After selecting the thesis statement, the writer needs to consider whether the statement holds water. e) Know Your Audience Issues of the thesis statement include the general or specific nature of the thesis, the clarity of the thesis stance, and the audience. All the arguments, facts, and ideas must logically connect with the thesis, but there can be some modifications depending on the direction of the essay body. The thesis statement should be developed with the target audience in mind. This assists in designing the appropriate thesis language and format. f) Determine Your Method of Development According to the book, the method of development reflects the tools used to present the arguments and ideas through writing. The methods include narratives and other forms of presenting facts and arguments. g) Map Your Organization The book urges readers to design a concise organization and arrangement of their ideas and arguments. This organization should be smooth and logically flowing. II. Writing the First Draft The second part of the first chapter presents readers with techniques and skills on writing the first draft. It presents the reader with the necessary instructions while drafting the initial writing, keeping in mind some grammatical rules. a) Create a Title The core focus of this sub-section is selecting a title for the essay. The title of the essay should be a key word for the thesis and topic. The title should be a summation of the subject area under discussion. It should also be clear, concise, and self-explanatory (Rosa and Eschholz 24). As with the thesis statement, the title is also the focus of writing, thus all ideas and arguments should logically connect with the title. In summary, the title of an essay presents the reader with suggestions about the contents of the essay. b) Focus on Beginnings and Endings This sub-section highlights the importance of beginnings and endings of an essay. The beginning of the essay should be effective enough to set forth the context of the work. The book suggests relevant and logically connecting introduction of the topic to set the essay rolling (Rosa and Eschholz 29). The beginning part should incorporate an introduction that will enlighten the reader on the subject matter with some degree of clarity. On the other hand, the ending of the essay should be relatively quiet but with an appropriate conclusion. In addition, the ending should be forceful enough. III. Revising The book emphasizes on the importance of revising the initial draft to check for errors and assist in making the appropriate changes (Rosa and Eschholz 36). IV. Editing After noting the errors and amendments required, the writer then edits the draft. Editing of any occurrences of grammatical errors is necessary, which is the main purpose of revising according to the book. a) Run-ons:  Fused Sentences and Comma Splices This subsection explains run-on sentences, and highlights the proper and acceptable connections. b) Sentence Fragments This part explains the correct fragmentation of sentences, including completion of sentences. c) Subject-Verb Agreement Here, the book discusses the subject-verb agreement rules, including the condition that the both must agree in number. d) Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement The book discusses the pronoun-antecedent rule, where a singular noun is only replaceable by a singular pronoun, and similar to a plural noun and pronoun. e) Verb Tense Shifts This subsection highlights the mistakes of shifting tense, like from the past to the present. f) Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers The book focuses on the issue of positioning modifiers within a sentence. g) Faulty Parallelism The book addresses the grammatical error of writing two elements in parallel, but whose forms are non-parallel. h) Weak Nouns and Verbs The book highlights these errors, like “to be” and others. i) Academic Diction and Tone This subsection is about the word choice and the style of words. j) ESL Concerns (Articles and Nouns) This subsection highlights the common errors by ESL students on the use of articles and nouns. V. Proofreading The book’s final writing instruction is proofreading the revised and edited work for any other errors. This ensures that the final draft contains as little mistakes as possible. VI. Writing an Expository Essay:  A Student Essay in Progress The chapter ends with a sample essay from Jeffrey Olesky to practice the writing techniques (Rosa and Eschholz 38). Work Cited Rosa, Alfred and Eschholz, Paul. Models for Writers: Short Essays for Composition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print. Read More