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Writingeffectiveparagraphs

Criticalreadingandwriting

WritingeffectiveargumentsYoullalsofindaccesstoWritingParagraphsbyDorothyTurnerat
<www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/paragrph.html>HostedbyTheUniversityofOttawa,this
comprehensivesitedividesparagraphwritingintoeasytofollowstepsincludingoutlining,organizing,and
developingyourparagraph.ThissiteusesCanadianspelling.

PARTONE

WritinganEssay
1ThinkingAboutPurposesandAudiences
2PlanningandShaping
3DraftingandRevising
4WritingParagraphs
5CriticalThinking,Reading,andWriting
6WritingArgument


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1
THINKINGABOUTPURPOSESANDAUDIENCES
1aWhybothertowrite?
In this age of cell phones, email, and the Internet, why do you need the ability to write well? Surprisingly,
todays fastpaced, electronic world demands more, not less, writing. Whether for an entrylevel job, for later
advancement, or for a professional career, your success potential in workplaces of thetwentyfirst century relies
heavily on how well you write documents. Recent surveysof people workingin a variety of jobs and professional
fieldssaythateachdaytheyspendanaverageof30percentofthe timewriting.Theywriteletters,memos, product
evaluations, technical manuals, businesstrip reports, feasibilityreports,labreports,proposals,minutes, Webpages,
newsletters,andbrochures(thefirstfouraremostcommon).
Your success incollege is another reason to have solid writing ability. Throughout your education,youwillbe
calledontowriteessays,researchpapers,labreports,andothercollegerelatedassignments.
Yet another benefit of writing skill comes from the physical activity of writing. In theact of writing, studies
show, people significantlyin creasetheir insights, understandings, and abilities to remember the sub ject theyre
writingabout.Hereshowthisphenomenonoperates.
Writingisawayof discoveringandlearning.Thephysicalactofwritingtriggersbrainprocessesthatleadyouto
make newconnectionsamongideas.Pleasantshocksof recognitionoccurasyourmindstartsfromwhatyoualready
knowandleapstowhat you did not seebefore.Oneofmyfavorite statementscomesfromworldfamous writerE.
M. Forster:How can I know what I mean untilIve seen whatI said? Writing activates uniquementalpathways
thatenableyoutopursueknowledge,thinkthroughcomplexconcepts,andgainsolidownershipofyoureducation.
Writing is a way of thinking and reflecting.Only humans can thinkabout thinking. They can reflect on what
theyknowandhaveexperienced,aprocessgreatlyacceleratedandenhancedduringtheactof

Contents&Index

Exercises
NextChapter

1c
writing. For you as a student, this means that writing forces you to clar ify your thinking as you use words to
convey your thoughts. And when you revise a draft, you push yourself further so that your writing is as close as
possibletowhatyourethinking.
Writing is a way of owning and sharing knowledge. Few edu cated people remember specific classroom
sessions or chapters from textbooks, but nearly everyone recalls the topics of their research papers. By writing
intensively about a topic that you have thought about deeply, you become an authority on that topic. As this
happens, others beginto identifyyouasadisciplined,educatedperson.Onalargerscale,ourdemocraticsocietycan
thrive only when people are educated to assess information, raise important questions,evaluate the answers,and
exercisetheirrightsandresponsibilitiesasinformedcitizens.

1bHowiswritingdefined?
Writing communicates a message for a purpose to readers each of the four key terms in this sentence is
important. Written communica tion involves sending a message to a destination. Themessage of writ ing is its
content. The purpose of each writing task stronglyinfluences centraldecisions writers make astheyputtheirideas
intowords(1c).Readers,oraudience,arethedestinationforwriting(1d).

1cWhatarethemajorpurposesforwriting?
A writers purpose for writing is the motivating forcebehind whats being written. Some students think their
purpose is to fulfill an assign ment, but the concept of purpose relates to theactualpiece ofwriting.Everywriter,
whether student or professional, needs toget under way by choosing which ofthe four major purposesof writing,
listedinBox1,theywanttopursue.

Purposesforwriting*1

WhatAretheMajorPurposesforWriting?
BACKGROATheoryKinneavyitionandrhrists,researKinneavysfundamentuselanguagtheconcep
Purposaimofaelseinttalkedawhichmaticallargelydiscour
Kinneapotentialfscholarship
Itistheofcompresenttiledisshouldsignedandaeitherl
Othermconcentratthehighlyclassifiespandtransaofrhetoriccussedtheersexpectpurposeinoftendisco
toexpressyourself
andtheirptodraft.

toinformareader

topersuadeareader

tocreatealiterarywork
*AdaptedfromJamesL.Kinneavy,inATheoryofDiscourse(1971NewYork:Norton,1980).

1c
THINKINGABOUTPURPOSESANDAUDIENCES
lassroomBaumlinsasconwriting.itepapersngthemesselected
G
whatweletosay.AnasNin
accordingnarration,gumentaewhatoftwrittensoverlapincidentpinionantheser
ewhyofrwriting.rinstrucwooftheitefortheg)andforing).Theontheareason.eitherto

In this handbook, I concentrate on the two major purposes you need for most academic writing: toinform a
reader (1c.2) and to persuadeareader (1c.3).Ivechosenthembecausethesetwoarethemostpracticalandhelpful
for students. The two remaining purposes listed in Box 1 are important for contributing to human thought and
culture,butrelatelesstowhatmostcollegewritinginvolves.

1c.1Whatisexpressivewriting?
Expressive writing is writing to express your personal thoughts and feelings. Largely, expressive writing is
meant for the writers eyes only. When expressivewriting is intendedaspublicreading,itfallsintothecategoryof
literary writing. The excerpt here comes from the personal journalofDanielCasey,thesame studentwhosesample
essayIshowinChapter6ofthishandbook.Danielgenerouslygrantedmepermissiontopublishthisexcerpthere.
When we lived in Maine, the fall and winter holidays were my touchstonesthe calendar moved along in comforting
sequence. I wrapped the snow and foods and celebrations aroundme like asoftblanket.Iburrowedin. NowthatweliveinNew
Mexico,Idontneedthatblanket.ButIsuredomissit.
DanielCasey,student

1c.2Whatisinformativewriting?
Informative writing seeks togive information to readers andusu ally to explain it. This type ofwritingisalso
called expository writing because it expounds onsets forthobservations, ideas, facts, scientific data, and
statistics. Informative writing is found in textbooks, encyclope dias, technical and business reports, nonfiction
books,newspapers,andmanymagazines.
The essential goal of informative writing is to educate yourreadingaudience aboutsomething. Like all good
educators, you need to present your information clearly, accurately, completely, and fairly. In section 4i of this
handbook, I show you many strategies that writers use forinfor mative writing. Idiscuss and illustrate narration,
description, process, example, definition, analysis and classification, comparison and contrast, analogy, and
causeandeffect analysis. These strategies can help you deliver your message, but aboveall,yoursuccessdepends
on whether your information can be verified as accurate. Box 2 gives you a checklist toassess yourinformative
writing.Butfirst,heresaparagraphwrittentoinform.
In1914inwhatisnowAddoParkinSouthAfrica,ahunterbythenameofPretoriuswasaskedtoexterminateaherdof140
elephants.Hekilledallbut20,andthosesurvivorsbecamesocunningatevadinghim4


1cWhatAretheMajorPurposesforWriting?
that he was forced to abandon the hunt. The area became a preserve in 1930, and the elephants havebeenprotected eversince.
Nevertheless, elephants now four generations removed from those Pretorius hunted remain shy and strangelynocturnal. Young
elephantsevidentlylearn
Tobeginmightaskfromtheadultstrumpetingalarmcallstoavoidhumans.
experienceCarolGrantGould,OutoftheMouthsofBeasts

writingthatAsinformative
writing,thisparagraphworksbecauseitfocusesclearlyonits
TOPIC

*(elephantbehavior),presentsfactsthatcanbeverified(who,what,when,where),andiswrittenina
reasonable
TONE

.
started,conownexperDoyourecWhatdoyandtheexpfoundthatyoubetterChecklistforinformativewriting2
discoveredconnection

Isitsinformationclear?
hadinminatthepoin

Doesitpresentfacts,ideas,andobservationsthatcanbeverified?

Doesitsinformationseemcompleteandaccurate?

Isthewriterstonereasonableandfreeofdistortions(1e)?
Toencoexperiencesomenotescussion.Iftitintosmaspecificdirtivethanodirections1c.3Whatispersuasivewriting?

turn,eachparagraph.Persuasivewriting,alsocalledargumentwriting,seekstoconvincereadersaboutamatterof
opinion.Whenyouwritetopersuade,youdeal
youmightwholeclass

withdebatabletopics,onesthatcanbeseenfrommorethanonepointofview.Yourgoalistochangeyourreaders
mindsaboutthetopicor
WHATELatleasttobring
yourreadersopinionsclosertoyourpointofview.To
Strategiesasucceed,youwant
toevokeareactioninyouraudiencesothattheythinkbeyondtheirpresentposition(forexample,reasoningwhy
freespeechneedstobepreserved)ortakeaction(forexample,registeringtovote).Examplesofpersuasivewriting
includenewspapereditorials,letterstotheeditor,opinionessaysinnewspapersandmagazines,reviews,sermons,
booksthatargueapointofview,andbusinessproposalsthatadvocatecertainapproachesoverothers.
InChapter4ofthishandbook,Ishowyoustrategiesofparagraph

bookwritteadoptthiscoordinatespecificsofingcourseintegratingcourses,aningwriting

development that effective writers use in their persuasive writing. Also, Chapter 6 is a whole chapter devoted
entirelytoapproachestowritingarguments.
Ingeneralterms,persuasivewritingmeansyoumovebeyondmerelystatingyouropinion.Yougivethebasisfor
thatopinion.You
*Findthedefinitionofanywordprintedinsmallcapitalletters(suchas
TOPIC
)intheTermsGlossaryatthebackofthisbookdirectlybeforethe
index.

1c
THINKINGABOUTPURPOSESANDAUDIENCES

supportyouropinionsothateach
GENERALIZATION
youmakeisbackedealWorldignment

upwithspecific,illustrativedetails.Ageneralizationisabroadstatementwithoutdetails.Thefirstsentencesof
1c.1,1c.2,and1c.3aregeneralrCollege,
izations.Box3givesyouachecklisttoassessyourpersuasivewriting.ButM.Ellis
first,heresaparagraphwrittentopersuade.audiencealyzeandletters.
The search for some biological basis for math abilityordisabilityisfraught withlogical andexperimental difficulties. Since
not all mathunderachieversare women,andnot all womenare mathematicsavoidant, poor performancein math is unlikelytobe
due to some genetic or hor monal difference between the sexes. Moreover, no amount of research so far has unearthed a
mathematical competency in some tangible, mea surable substance in the body. Since masculinity cant be injected into
women to test whether or not it improves their mathematics, the theories that attribute such ability to genes or hormones must
depend for their proof on circumstantial evidence.Solongasabout7percentofthePhDsinmathematicsare earned by women,
wehavetoconcludeeitherthat
einthreeloredbyningsof).Heex
these women have genes, hormones, and brain organization different from those of the rest of us, or that certain positive
experiencesintheirliveshavelargelyundonethenegativefactthattheyrefemale,orboth.
SheilaTobias,OvercomingMathAnxietynderstoodntic,and

As persuasive writing, this passageworksbecauseitprovidesundistortedinformationonmathabilityitexpresses

a point of view that resides insound reasoning(mathabilityisntbased ongender)itoffersevidence(alogicalline
ofargument)andittriestogetthereadertoagreewiththepointofview.

Checklistforpersuasivewriting3

6
Doesitpresentapointofviewaboutwhichopinionsvary?

Doesitsupportitspointofviewwithspecifics?

Doesitbaseitspointofviewonsoundreasoningandlogic?

Arethepartsofitsargumentclear?

Doesitintendtoevokeareactionfromthereader?

EXERCISE11
Foreachparagraph,decideifthedominantpurposeisinformativeorpersuasive.ThenapplythequestionsinBox2
orBox3totheparagraph,andexplainyouranswers.

1c
BACKGROResearchsandsaytotacomparistheysaytmyreaderstoconvincminds.Inwriterscodescribe,d
NarratiofullyinChwritingstrincludingpandcontras
ANSWERA.DominmeetstheB.DominmeetstheC.Dominand/orexp
WhatAretheMajorPurposesforWriting?
A.Diabetesmellituscouldbetreatedatleasttotheextentofreducingtheelevatedbloodsugarandcorrectingthe
acidosisthatotherwiseledtodiabeticcomaanddeathbytheinsulinpreparationisolatedbyBantingandBest.
Pellagra,acommoncauseofdeathamongtheimpoverishedruralpopulationsintheSouth,hadbecomecurablewith
GoldbergersdiscoveryofthevitaminBcomplexandthesubsequentidentificationofnicotinicacid.Diphtheriacould
bepreventedbyimmunizationagainstthetoxinofdiphtheriabacilliand,whenitoccurred,treatedmoreorless
effectivelywithdiphtheriaantitoxin.
LewisThomas,1933Medicine
B.Effortstoinvolvethefatherinthebirthprocess,toenhancehis
senseofpaternityandempowermentasheadjuststohisnewrole,shouldbeincreased.Havingthefatherinvolved
inlaboranddeliverycansignificantlyincreasehissenseofhimselfasapersonwhoisimportanttohischildandto
hismate.Severalinvestigatorshaveshownthatincreasedparticipationoffathersinthecareoftheirbabies,
increasedsensitivitytotheirbabyscuesatonemonth,andsignificantlyincreasedsupportoftheirwivescanresult
fromtherathersimplemaneuverofsharingthenewbornbabysbehaviorwiththenewfatheratthreedays,usingthe
NeonatalBehavioralAssessmentScale(NBAS).Inlightoftheseapparentgains,wewoulddowelltoconsidera
periodofpaidpaternityleave,whichmightservebothsymbolicallyandinrealityasameansofstampingthefathers
roleascriticaltohisfamily.Ensuringthefathersactiveparticipationislikelytoenhancehisimageofhimselfasa
nurturingpersonandtoassisthimtowardamorematureadjustmentinhislifeasawhole.
T.BerryBrazelton,IssuesforWorkingParents
C.Afterproposingmarriagetoaneighborgirl,mygrandfatherused
thishammertobuildahouseforhisbrideonastretchofriverbottominnorthernMississippi.Thelumberforthe
place,likethehickoryforthehandle,wascutonhisownland.Bythedayofthewedding,hehadnotquitefinished
thehouse,andsorightaftertheceremony,hetookhiswifehomeandputhertowork.Mygrandmotherhadwornher
Sundaydressforthewedding,withafringeoflacetackedonaroundtheheminhonoroftheoccasion.Sheremoved
thislaceandfoldeditawaybeforegoingouttohelpmygrandfathernailsidingonthehouse.Thereshewasinher
gooddress,hetoldmesomefiftyoddyearsafterthatweddingday,holdingupthemlongpiecesofclapboardwhile
Ihammered,andtogetherwegottheplacecoveredupbeforedark.Asthefamilygrewtofour,six,eight,and
eventuallythirteen,mygrandfatherusedthishammertoenlargehishouseroombyroom,likeachamberednautilus
expandingitsshell.
ScottRussellSanders,TheInheritanceofTools

1d
THINKINGABOUTPURPOSESANDAUDIENCES
groupofgraph(oreassignedepurposeasivepurp)shouldallyorinment)thentsofthe
Gitersdontywanttoheyhada
Michener
inBasiciting,FallJohnsonringboardfindtopseofsupireventualfpurposerelatesto,usedinapter35.)
Giceoftheallyhapandfatherhertoanhavechildhborhooddredvariiendsand
.Murray

EXERCISE12
Usingeachtopiclistedhere,workindividuallyorwithyourpeerresponsegrouptothinkthroughtwodifferentessays:
oneinformative,thesecondpersuasive.Bereadytodiscussinsomedetailhowthetwoessaysoneachtopicwould
differ.Forhelp,consultsection1c.
dietstastesinmusiccurrentfadsinclothingroadrage

1dWhatdoesaudiencemeanforwriting?
Your audience consists of everyone who will read yourwriting.Aftercollege,youraudienceswillbereadersof
your business, professional, andpublic writing(Chapter42).Incollege,youaddressamixofaudiencetypes,each
of whichexpectstoreadacademicwritingthewritingassignedin yourcourses.Heresalistofoverallcategories
ofaudiencesforacademicwriting,eachofwhichisdetailedinthesectionlistedinparentheses.

yourpeers(1d.1)

ageneralaudience(1d.2)

aspecialistaudience(1d.3)

yourinstructor(whorepresentseithergeneralorspecializedreaders)(1d.4)
Themore specifics youcan assume about your audience foryouracademic writing,thebetteryourchancesof
reachingitsuccessfully.ThequestionsinBox4canserveasaguide.
8

Characteristicsofreadingaudiences4
WhatSettingAreTheyReadingIn?

academicsetting?

workplacesetting?

publicsetting?

WhoAreThey?

age,gender

ethnicbackgrounds,politicalphilosophies,religiousbeliefs

1d
TEACHINTheconcepwritersgetceptissupwriterisnotheywanttowiththerepectedtocandtouseaYoumiginhibitedw
audiencefosomestudeofaudienceshouldactingoverthavetroublthinkthatthwouldbeSomestudtheseoroconceptofclear
themtogiveyouyoustarttmightfindhelpyouge
BACKGROInStudenPromiseso&ComposEmilyGosomewritiingaudienpublishedo
WhatDoesAudienceMeanforWriting?

Characteristicsofreadingaudiences(continued)4

roles(student,parent,voter,wageearner,propertyowner,veteran,andothers)

interests,hobbies

WhatDoTheyKnow?

levelofeducation

amountofgeneralorspecializedknowledgeaboutthetopic

probablepreconceptionsandprejudicesbroughttothetopic

When you know or can reasonably assume who willbe inyour read ing audience for each assignment, your
chances of reaching it improve. For example, if youre writingasales reportforyoursupervisor,youcanuseterms
such as product life cycle, breakevenquantity,nonprice competition,and markup. In contrast,if generalreaders
were the audience for the same information, you would want to avoid specialized,technical vocabularyorifyou
hadtousesomeessentialspecializedterms,youwoulddefinetheminanontechnicalway.
ESLNOTE: As someone from a nonU.S. culture, you might be surprisedeven offendedby the directness
with which people speak and write in the United States. If so, I hope youll read my open letter tomultilingual
studentsabout honoringtheirculturesitstartsPartSevenofthishandbook. You maycomefromawrittenlanguage
tradition that expects elaborate, formal, or ceremonial language reserves the centralpointofan academicessayfor
the middle requires tactful, indirect dis cussions (at leastin comparison to the U.S. style) and, in some cultures,
accommodates digressionsthatmight, ormightnot,leadback tothemainpoint. Incontrast,U.S.writersandreaders
expect language and style that is very direct, straightforward,andwithoutembellishment(ascompared tothestyles
ofmanyothercultures).U.S.collegeinstructorsexpectessaysin
ACADEMICWRITING

tocontaina
THESISSTATEMENT

(usually at the end of the introductory paragraph), to

demonstrateatightlyorganizedpresentationofinformationfromoneparagraphtothenext,tomake
GEN
ERALIZATIONS

that are always backed up with strong supporting details, and to end with a logical concluding
paragraph.Also, forwriting in theUnitedStatesyouareexpected tousesocalledstandardEnglishgrammar. This
means following the rules used by educated speakers. Actually, the United States has arich mixture of grammar
systems,butacademicwritingrequiresstandardEnglishgrammar.Ifyouwanttohearitspoken,
9

1d
THINKINGABOUTPURPOSESANDAUDIENCES
Nstandtheeralway,gforothfollowingovercomexplorethedience.groupsofenvisionaelersfromefugeinafterbeingsand
fauepeopleetakeforenoideandsotheyemintheithheavy
ofinstrucelershowngamodillhavetotakewhatowledgeandslikefilterwillhapseven
esintensesstudentsheyknowurvisiting,youcanfocusingteraction.
Gtionisnotheeffortnkanddo
son,1933

listentotheanchorsoftelevisionandradionewsprograms.Accuratechoiceofwordsandspellingarealsoexpected.

1d.1Whatisapeeraudience?
In some writing classes, instructors divide students into peer response groups.People in your peergroup are
fellow students inyour class,andallareequalintherighttospeak.Peerresponsegroupscanbeformedforstudents
to give each other feedback on their writing. (If your instructordoes not use peerresponse groups, ask if you are
permitted to show other studentsyour writing to get theirresponses. Some instructors havevery strict rules about
suchmatters,soaskbeforeyouact.)
Participatinginapeerresponsegroupmakesyoupartofarespectedtraditionofcolleagueshelpingcolleagues.
Professionalwritersoftenseekcommentsfromotherwriterstoimprovetheirroughdrafts.Asamemberofa
peerresponsegroup,yourenotexpectedtobeawritingexpert.Rather,youreexpectedtoofferresponsesasa
practicedreaderandasafellowstudentwriterwhounderstandswhatwritersgothrough.Theroleofmembersofa
peerresponsegroupistoreactanddiscuss,nottodotheworkforsomeone.Hearingorreadingcommentsfrom
yourpeersmightbeyourfirstexperiencewithseeinghowothersreadyourwriting.Thiscanbeveryinformative,
surprising,andhelpful.Also,whenpeerssharetheirwritingwiththegroup,eachmembergetstheaddedadvantage
oflearningaboutotherstudentswritingforthesameassignment.
Peerresponse groups are set up in differentways. Onearrangement callsfor students to pass around and read
each others drafts silently, writing down reactions orquestionsinthemarginsoronaresponse formcreatedbythe
instructor. In another arrangement, students readtheirdraftsaloud,andtheneachpeerrespondseitherorallyoron a
response form. Yet another arrangement asks for focused responses to only one or two features of each draft
(perhaps each members thesis statement, or topic sentences and supporting details, oruse of transi tional words,
etc.).Stillanothermethodisforthegroupto
BRAINSTORM a topic together beforewriting, or to
discuss varioussidesof adebatabletopic,or tosharereactionsto anessayorpieceofliteraturetheclass read,andso
on.
Whateverthearrangementofyourgroup,youwanttobeclearaboutexactlywhatyouareexpectedtodo,both
asapeerresponderandasawriter.Ifyourinstructorgivesyouguidelinesforworkinginapeerresponsegroup,
followthemcarefully.Ifyouveneverbeforeparticipatedinapeerresponsegroup,orintheparticularkindyour
instructorforms,herearewaystogetstarted:ConsulttheguidelinesinBox5attheendofthissectionwatchwhat
experiencedpeersdoandaskquestionsofyourinstructor(yourinterestshowsapositive,cooperativeattitude).
Otherwise,justdiveinknowingthatyouwilllearnasyougo.10