| Term | Definition |
|---|
| prewriting | A first draft, or plan made before the actual writing starts |
| drafting | Writing a first version to be filled out and polished later |
| revising | Editing that involves writing something again |
| editing | Putting a literary work into acceptable form |
| proofreading | Reading in order to find errors and mark corrections |
| publishing | The "going public" stage of writing; The activity of making information available for public view |
| research | Inquiry or examination to seek or revise facts, principles, theories, applications, etc |
| clustering | A grouping |
| brainstorming | Generating ideas; listing all the ideas that come to mind associated with a topic |
| thesaurus | A book that contains synonyms and sometimes antonyms |
| transactive writing | Real-world or authentic writing; It is characteristic of writing for publication, not writing to learn or writing to demonstrate learning. Although it may incorporate content knowledge, its main function is to achieve an authentic purpose for an authentic audience, using an authentic form. |
| reflective writing | should focus on how the student has grown in his or her writing ability through the acquisition of literacy skills. Reflective writing serves as a self-assessment for the student. In the reflective writing requirement for the portfolio, students personalize the piece to discuss their growth as a writer and also examine any areas in writing in which they feel they need improvement. The piece is called a litography. |
| personal writing | encompasses one or two pieces of student writing from the areas of personal narrative, memoir, or personal essay. Personal writing focuses on the individual experiences of the student writer. Students' personal writing is expected to fully develop their personal experience while using sensory detail, expression of thoughts and feelings, incorporation of dialogue, and the use of a first person perspective. |
| descriptive writing mode | rhetorical mode of writing used to describe a person, place, or event so that the topic can be clearly seen in the reader's mind. The writer must use vivid details that paint a picture for the reader. |
| narrative writing mode | To describe an experience, event, or sequence of events in the form of a story. |
| expository writing mode | to provide information such as an explanation or directions. |
| persuasive writing mode | to give an opinion and try to influence the reader's way of thinking with supporting evidence. |
| Literary writing | deals primarily with the expansion of characters, literary genres (plays, short stories, etc.) and the like. Although it focuses on English content-knowledge, it is perhaps the most open-ended of the writing requirements, allowing students to exercise their creativity as much as their ability to form and structure writing. |
| Analytical/technical transactive piece | form of persuasive writing has a primary purpose of making a statement that the reader will disagree with, then supporting the statement with specific details that will convince the reader of the truth of the statement |
| Creative Writing | to entertain the reader. |
| Business Writing | form of expository writing has a primary purpose of communicating with others in the work place. |
| Comparison and Contrast Writing | form of expository writing has a primary purpose of showing the similarities and differences between two subjects. |
| Expressive Writing | form of creative writing has a primary purpose of sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings on the topic. |
| Informative Writing | form of expository writing has a primary purpose of providing information in a clear, concise manner. |
| Literary Response | form of expository writing has a primary purpose of providing a personal reaction to a piece of literature |
| Personal Narrative Writing | form of narrative writing has a primary purpose of sharing an experience or event from the author's own life. |
| Poetry | form of creative writing has a primary purpose of imaginatively reflecting on a subject, idea, or event. This is usually done in stanzas rather than paragraphs. |
| Process Writing | form of expository writing has a primary purpose of explaining the steps or procedure of something. |
| Reaction Writing | form of expository writing has a primary purpose of providing a personal response to something. |
| Research Writing | form of expository writing has a primary purpose of reporting new information that has been learned by studying available resources. |
| Technical Writing | form of expository writing has a primary purpose of conveying technical information in a simple, no-nonsense manner. |
| stages of the writing process | prewriting (also called planning or rehearsal), drafting, revising, proofreading/ editing and publishing |
| evaluating | in this stage, the writer looks back at his/her work and reflects on possible ways to improve, and the audience assesses the effectiveness of the writing |
| peer review | Acting as a referee; evaluating a colleague's work |
| self-assessment | to summarize strengths and weaknesses in ones own writing |
| types of source material | reference works, internet, film, art, media, etc. |
| reference works | dictionaries, encyclopedias, writers' reference handbooks, books of lists, almanacs, thesauruses, books of quotations, and so on |
| MLA | Salinger, J.D. 'The Catcher in the Rye.' New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 1945. |
| APA | Salinger, J. D. (1945) 'The Catcher in the Rye.' New York: Little, Brown and Company. |
| purposes of writing | The reason(s) why you write; to express yourself, to inform a reader, to persuade a reader, to create a literary work; Focusing on this as you begin writing helps you know what form to choose, how to focus and organize your writing, what kinds of evidence to cite, how formal or informal your style should be, and how much you should write. |
| audience | Who you are writing to; the particular group of readers or viewers that the writer is addressing |
| shaping | often called composing; putting together the ideas to create a composition; calls for you to consider ways to organize your material |
| tone | the overall feeling created in a piece of writing; part of your writing that is established by what you say and how you say it |
| ways to organize a passage | chronological order, classification, illustration, climax, location, compare and contrast, cause and effect |
| chronological order | the writer shows order of time or the steps in a process; a following of one thing after another (key words: after, next, afterward, during, preceding, finally, immediately, first, later, now) |
| classification | the writer explains the relationship between terms and concepts |
| illustration | the topic sentence is stated and then followed by the details |
| climax | the details are stated first, followed by a topic sentence |
| location | the writer describes a person, place, or thing and organizes it in the description in a logical manner |
| compare & contrast | the writer demonstrates similarities and differences between two or more subjects; used to show similarities and differences (key words: although, but, still, yet, compared with, as opposed to, different from, either/or, neither/nor, in common, similarly |
| cause and effect | the writer shows the relationship between events and their results; relationship occur whenever one event makes other events happen (key words: consequently, as a result of, accordingly,in order to, if/then) |
| types of discourse | creative, expository, persuasive, argumentative |
| free writing | writing nonstop about anything |
| journalistic questions | who? what? when? where? why? how? |
| typical elements in informative essay | introductory paragraph, thesis statement, background information, points of discussion, concluding paragraph |
| introductory paragraph | leads into the topic of the essay, trying to capture the reader's interest |
| thesis statement | states the central message of the essay, accurately reflecting the essay's content |
| background information | gives basic material, providing a context for the points being made in an essay |
| points of discussion | supports the essay's thesis, each consisting of a general statement backed by specific details |
| concluding paragraphs | ends the essay smoothly, not abruptly, flowing logically from the rest of the essay |
| basic requirements for a thesis statement | subject, purpose, focus, specific language, briefly state subdivisions |
| the subject | the topic that you are discussing |
| your focus | your assertion that conveys your point of view |
| assertion | a sentence stating your topic and the point you want to make about it |
| unity | a key quality of an effective paragraph; sticks to one topic from start to finish, with every sentence contributing to the central purpose and main idea of that paragraph. |
| steps of revision | shifting mentally from judgment; read your draft to critically evaluate it; decide whether to rewrite or revise current draft; be systematic |
| major activities of revision | add (insert needed words, sentences, paragraphs), cut (get rid of whatever goes off topic), replace (as needed, substitute words, sentences, paragraphs), move material around (changing sequence of paragraphs) |
| development | arrange a paragraph, and specific, concrete support for the main idea of the paragraph |
| plagerizing | is to present another person's words or ideas as if they were your own |
| quotations | the exact words of a source set off in quotation marks |
| paraphrase | a detailed statement of someone else's statement expressed in your own words and your own sentence structure |
| summary | a condensed statement of main points of someone else's passage expressed in your own words and sentence structure |
| common transitional expressions and the relationships they signal | addition (also, in addition, too, moveover); example (for example, for instance, on the otherhand, nevertheless); contrast (but, yet, however, on the other hand); comparison (similarly, likewise, in the same way); concession (of course, to be sure, certainly, granted); result (therefore, thus, accordingly); summary (hence, in short, in brief, in conclusion, finally); time sequence (first, second, third, before, soon, later, subsequently, currently); place (in the front, in the foreground, in the back, at the side, adjacent, nearby) |
| direct quotation | repeats another's words exactly and encloses them in quotation marks |
| indirect quotations | reports another's words without quotation marks except around words repeated exactly from the source |
| evidence | facts, data, and opinions of others used to support assertions and conclusions |
| guidelines for evaluating evidence | is it sufficient? is it representative? is it relevant? is it accurate? are claims qualified? |
| problem and solution | informs the reader of the problem and suggests action to remedy problem (similar to a persuasive argument paper) |
| elements in an argument | introductory paragraph, thesis statement, background information, reasons or evidence, anticipation of like objections and responses to them, concluding paragraph |
| guidelines for reasoning effectively in written argument | be logical, enlist the emotions of the reader, establish credibility |
| generalizations | can overstate or understate a fact; can cause skepticism; undermine the writer's authority; (key words: all, everyone, always, many, never, nobody); creates inaccuracies; can produce false statements |
| ways to avoid generalizations | be specific, use facts/data/statistics, use/attribute quotes; quantify don't qualify; use of "it seems," try not to overstate situation, base writing on authority, break down the topic |
| rhetorical strategies | analogies, extended metaphor, appeal to authority, appeal to emotion |
| appeal to authority | type of argument in logic in which an expert or knowledgeable other is cited for the purpose of strengthening the argument |
| appeal to emotion | type of argument in which the author appeals to the readers emotions (fear, security, pity, flattery) to prove the argument |
| rhetorical features | style, tone, point of view, sarcasm, counterpoints, praise |
| style | the way the an author uses words, phrases, and sentences to formulate ideas |
| point of view | the perspective from which a piece is written; first person, third person, omniscient, limited omniscient |
| sarcasm | use of positive feedback or cutting wit to mock someone |
| types of presentation strategies | performing speeches, plays, videos; making a speech, participating in debate; creating booklets, brochures, family scrapbooks, or personal web pages; publishing a school newspaper, magazine, or portfolio; submitting work for publication beyond classroom for a literary magazine, local newspaper, professional publication for writers |
| transition | The connection (a word, phrase, clause, sentence, or even an entire paragraph) between two parts of a piece of writing |
| coherence | A paragraph with clearly connected sentences |
| voice | is the personality and distinct way of "talking on paper" that allows a reader to "hear" a human personality in a piece of writing |
| context | the surroundings, circumstances, environment, background or settings which determine, specify, or clarify the meaning of an event |
| opening sentence | should make your reader sit up and take notice; should get the readers attention |
| closure | when you rehash the key points of your writing |
| Transactive Writing | letters, speeches, editorials, articles, proposal, brochure |
| Literary Writing | aside, suspend, horror, parody, comedy |
| Personal Writing | narrative, essay, memoir, irony, anecdote, dialogue, diagrams |
| Reflective Writing | letter to the reviewer, reflection, goal, growth, influences, strategies |
| Rhetoric | using language effectively to please or persuade |
Combine with other sets
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