Fundamentals of Writing 1 Lesson 5 Here is what you will learn in this lesson: I. Writing: Paragraph Writing Paragraph Writing: Writing to persuade or convince. II. Punctuation: Using Dialogue III. Grammar: Parts of speech Prepositions IV. Reference Material: Online resources Part 1: Writing Paragraph Writing- Review: A paragraph is a group of sentences that describe the same idea or topic. A paragraph can be any length and written on any topic as long as all of the sentences are organized around a single idea, which is stated in the topic sentence. All paragraphs must have a topic sentence, detail sentences, and a closing sentence. Double-space all paragraphs and indent the first line by using the tab key on your keyboard. Purpose Writing to persuade or convince: In your last lesson, you learned how to write an entertaining, descriptive paragraph. In this lesson, you will learn to write a paragraph that persuades or convinces your audience to believe something. Before writing this type of paragraph, you must determine who your audience will be. This very important because you want to choose an audience that is open to listening to your beliefs. For instance, you wouldn t want to try and convince your teacher that you deserved an allowance because your teacher doesn t have the ability to make this kind of decision. Instead, focus your efforts towards an audience that is receptive to listening to your ideas and has the ability take action if they decide to share in your beliefs. The steps below will show you how to write a paragraph that persuades or convinces your audience to believe in or act on something. The example shows how a writer tries to convince an audience of parents to believe that all children should receive an allowance. Start by following these steps: Page 1
1. Write a topic sentence that states a personal belief or opinion. 2. Write down four persuasive reasons why your audience should believe the way you do. Now, write your paragraph: 3. Your topic sentence will say: I believe. Fill in the blank with a statement that states your belief or opinion. 4. Use your reasons to write at least four descriptive sentences that persuade your audience to share in your belief. Start each sentence in a different way and use a combination of simple and compound sentences. 5. Your closing sentence will say: makes sense and. In the first blank, you will restate your opinion or belief. In the second blank, you will give one final reason to persuade your audience. 6. Go back through your paragraph to make sure your sentences are expressive. Use a thesaurus to find the right words that accurately express your views on the topic. Example: Steps 1 and 2: 1. I believe that every child should receive an allowance. 2. Four persuasive reasons. a. Gives the child a chance to be responsible. b. Helps the child develop money-managing skills. c. Helps the parents get chores done around the house. d. Gives parents the opportunity to teach their child how to save for the future. Page 2
Steps 3, 4, and 5: Writing my paragraph - Don t forget MLA format! Juli Greenhalge [Header] Greenhalge 1 Ms. Brianna Elementary Writing [Heading] 1 August 2008 Every Child Should Receive an Allowance [Title] I believe every child should receive an allowance. [Simple sentence] It gives your child a chance to be responsible. [Simple sentence] In fact, you can use the lure of an allowance to entice your child to do a few chores around the house; as a result, this will leave you free to do other things. When your child uses their allowance, they will learn valuable money managing-skills. As their parent, you can take this opportunity to teach your child how to save for the future. Giving every child an allowance makes sense, and it teaches practical skills the child will use for a lifetime. [Compound sentence] Page 3
Step 6: Using the thesaurus: Fundamentals1 L5 I believe every child should receive an allowance. It gives your child the opportunity to be responsible. In fact, you can use the lure of an allowance to entice your child to do a few chores around the house; as a result, this will leave you free to do other things. When your child makes purchases with their allowance, they will learn important money managingskills. As their parent, you can take this opportunity to educate your child how to save for the future. Giving every child an allowance makes sense, and it teaches practical skills the child will use for a lifetime. Part 2: Punctuation Using Dialogue in Your Writing: Use quotation marks in your writing to tell the reader that someone is speaking. This type of written dialogue makes your writing more interesting. Use quotation marks around the exact words of a speaker. Here are some general rules for using quotation marks in your writing and guidance on how to properly insert other punctuation with a quote. Just a note: Using too much dialogue can sometimes take away interest from your story. Use dialogue to reflect exciting moments between characters in your story and be sure to accurately reflect the characters personalities in your dialogue. 1. Always begin a quote with a capital letter. 2. Only use quotation marks around the exact words of a speaker. Do not use quotation marks with indirect quotations, which do not use the person s exact words. Example Direct Quotation: I m going to skip school today, Mary groaned. Example Indirect Quotation: Mary said she would skip school today. Page 4
3. Start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes in a dialogue. 4. Use the following rules for punctuation if the quote comes BEFORE the person who spoke. If the person who spoke tells something or makes a general statement, place a comma inside the ending quotation mark. Example: We were poor, frowned Grandfather. If the person who spoke asks a question or says something with strong emotion, place the proper punctuation inside the ending quotation mark. Example: What happened to the dog? questioned Father. Example: I am furious! roared Peter. 5. Use the following rules for punctuation if quote comes AFTER the person who spoke. It is always necessary to place a comma after the person who spoke, before the opening quotation mark. If the person who spoke makes a statement, asks a question, or says something with strong emotion, place the proper sentence end punctuation inside the ending quotation mark. Example: Grandfather frowned, We were poor. Example: Father questioned, What happened to the dog? Example: Peter roared, I am furious! Now you try it: 1. Write a direct quotation. The person who is speaking must come after the quote. Use the information from #4 to help you punctuate your quote. 2. Write another direct quotation, but this time the person who is speaking must come before the quote. Use the information from #5 to help you punctuate your quote. 3. Take one of your direct quotations from above and rewrite it as an indirect quotation. Look over #2 if you need help remembering how to write an indirect quotation. Page 5
Part 3: Grammar Parts of Speech - Prepositions: In this lesson, you will learn how to recognize a preposition in a sentence. A preposition is a word that shows how a noun or pronoun relates to another part of the sentence. Prepositions usually show relationship in regards to location or time. Example: The dog is inside the house. The preposition inside shows a location relationship between where the dog is in relation to the house. Example: She ate popcorn during the movie. The preposition during shows a time relationship of when she ate the popcorn in relationship to the movie. Here are some common prepositions: about before except off toward above behind for on under across below from onto underneath after beside in outside until against between inside over up along but except into past upon amid by like since with around down near through within at during of to without Now you try it: 1. Read the sentence below, paying attention to the underlined word. Look at the list above and choose a preposition that could take the place of the underlined word. Insert the new preposition into the original sentence and then notice how the meaning of the original sentence changes when you replace the original preposition with your choice. Example: Austin raced through the jungle. Your example: 2. Choose another preposition from the list above. Write your own sentence using this word. Your Sentence: Page 6
Part 4: Using Reference Materials as an Aid in Writing In the last lesson, you uncovered the exciting world of encyclopedias. In this lesson, the wonders of the Internet will become visible. The amount of information on the Internet is fascinating and most of it is free. Let s go over how you can use the Internet to find reliable information you can use in your writing. Online Information: Surfing the web for reliable information can be overwhelming because of all the information that is available. Finding reputable sites that have information you can trust can be tricky. Always ask your parents first if it is ok for you to use the Internet to research a subject. Many websites are not intended for young viewers and surfing the web can get you into places you really are not supposed to be. Links to a Few Good Web Sites: One way to surf safely is to only access sites you know are safe. Some family friendly web sites are: www.discovery.com, www.historyforkids.org, www.nationalgeographic.com, www.pbs.org, and www.worldbook.com. Using a Search Engine: With your parent s permission, you can also find what you are looking for by using a search engine such as www.google.com. A search engine will search the entire Internet for the information you request. To start a search, put in the main words that describe what you are looking for and hit enter. For example, if you are looking for red spiders in Mexico, put in spiders+red+mexico and see what comes up. Quite often, you will get thousands of hits. Narrowing your search by putting in exactly what you are looking for will help to weed out the information you are not interested in. Good luck, and remember, ALWAYS ask your parents before you use the Internet. Page 7
Now you try it: 1. With your parent s permission, go to www.google.com. In the search engine s search box, type the following: spiders+nationalgeographic Click on Google Search. You will get many hits on your word combination, but choose just one entry that looks interesting. After skimming over the information, answer the following questions. Name of spider: Brief description: Its habitat: Poisonous to humans? Fundamentals of Writing 1 - Lesson 5 Assignments: When typing your assignments in Word, please make sure to use MLA format. When you e-mail me your assignments, please make sure that the Subject line on your e-mail includes the class name (Fundamentals1), your name and the assignment number or numbers. Example: Subject: Fundamentals1- George-5A Or (if sending more than one): Subject: Fundamentals1-George-5B and 5C (and so on...) 5A. Here are your vocabulary words to learn this week: impair, terrestrial, hoard, and plod. Please follow the steps that you learned in Lesson 1 (Part 1- Vocabulary) to complete this week s vocabulary assignment. Name your assignment the same as your subject line shown above. For example: Fundamentals1-George-5A.doc. E-mail this assignment to me as an attachment. Don t forget MLA format! 5B. This assignment will require that you review what you learned in this and previous lessons on parts of speech, punctuation, and writing. Please follow the directions below to complete this assignment. The purpose of this paragraph is to persuade or convince, and your audience will be your parents. Please type your work in a Word document and name it the same as your subject line shown above. For example: Fundamentals1-George-5B.doc. E-mail this assignment to me as an attachment. Don t forget MLA format! Start by following these steps: Page 8
1. Think of something you would like to have. This can be a physical thing or it can be a privilege. 2. Write down four persuasive reasons why your parents should believe you deserve this desired thing or privlege. Now, write your paragraph: Make sure your document is in MLA format. 3. Your topic sentence will say: is something I would like to have. Fill in the blank with the thing you would like. 4. Use your reasons to write at least four descriptive sentences that persuade your parents to believe that you deserve this desired thing. Start each sentence in a different way and use a combination of simple and compound sentences. 5. Your closing sentence will say: makes sense and. In the first blank, you will restate your opinion or belief. In the second blank, you will give one final reason to persuade your audience. Go back through your paragraph to make sure your sentences are expressive. Use a thesaurus to find the right words that accurately express your views on the topic. 5C. Typing Practice: I have shared many online typing programs with you. Now it is your turn to share a typing program with me and the rest of the class. You can share one that you have used at home or you can use the Internet to find one or two that you like. If you want to find one on the Internet, try using a search engine like Google. Go to www.google.com. In the search box, type in: online typing tutor+children or online typing program+children. See what you come up with. You may need your mom or dad to help you choose a couple to try. Please type the name of the typing tutor or the web address of the typing tutor you found online in an e-mail and send it to me. Important! Please make sure to ask your mom and dad for permission before using the internet. The subject line will read as explained above. Example: Fundamentals1-George-5C. Page 9