What is MLA format?
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
How do I cite sources?
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/03/
How do I format quotes?
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/04/
List of topics (OWL-Purdue)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/06/#resourcenav
Diana Hacker's website
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_o.html
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
How to write an intro
Step 1: Think of an intro
Step 2: Trash that intro, because it's probably a cliche, something that's been done a million times before. Have you ever read an essay that started with a question like "Have you ever...?"
Step 3: Look at professional examples. (Yes, I know, if you follow a professional example, then you are being unoriginal again. But you've got to start somewhere.)
Some examples.
Idea #1: narrative (a brief story)
Author: Steve Chapman's
Title of article: "Smile, you're on cop-car camera"
Publication: Chicago Tribune
Publication date: March 15, 2009
What makes this a narrative opening? Chapman begins by telling a story about a police officer who falsely accused a man of drunk driving.
Idea #2: description
Author: Barbara Brotman
Title of article: "Student Financial Aid"
Publication: Chicago Tribune
Publication date: March 17, 2009
What makes this a descriptive opening? Brotman begins by showing a series of related images that appeal to the five senses: shaking hands (sight and touch), a messy desk (sight), bitten fingernails (sight and touch), and profanities (sound).
Idea #3: connection to current events
Authors: Alice Waters and Katrina Heron
Title of article: "No Lunch Left Behind"
Publication: New York Times
Publication date: February 19, 2009
What makes this a "connection to current events" opening? Waters and Heron begin by linking their proposal to items in the news: government bailouts and "concern over wasteful spending."
Idea #4: attention-getting fact or statistic
Author: Paul Levi
Title of paper: "Cell Phones in the Hands of Drivers: A Risk or a Benefit?"
Publication: Diana Hacker website
Publication date: 2006
Step 2: Trash that intro, because it's probably a cliche, something that's been done a million times before. Have you ever read an essay that started with a question like "Have you ever...?"
Step 3: Look at professional examples. (Yes, I know, if you follow a professional example, then you are being unoriginal again. But you've got to start somewhere.)
Some examples.
Idea #1: narrative (a brief story)
Author: Steve Chapman's
Title of article: "Smile, you're on cop-car camera"
Publication: Chicago Tribune
Publication date: March 15, 2009
What makes this a narrative opening? Chapman begins by telling a story about a police officer who falsely accused a man of drunk driving.
Idea #2: description
Author: Barbara Brotman
Title of article: "Student Financial Aid"
Publication: Chicago Tribune
Publication date: March 17, 2009
What makes this a descriptive opening? Brotman begins by showing a series of related images that appeal to the five senses: shaking hands (sight and touch), a messy desk (sight), bitten fingernails (sight and touch), and profanities (sound).
Idea #3: connection to current events
Authors: Alice Waters and Katrina Heron
Title of article: "No Lunch Left Behind"
Publication: New York Times
Publication date: February 19, 2009
What makes this a "connection to current events" opening? Waters and Heron begin by linking their proposal to items in the news: government bailouts and "concern over wasteful spending."
Idea #4: attention-getting fact or statistic
Author: Paul Levi
Title of paper: "Cell Phones in the Hands of Drivers: A Risk or a Benefit?"
Publication: Diana Hacker website
Publication date: 2006
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