A&B 17.5, 17.6, 22.2, and pg. 588

You may know how to start and end your paper well, but it's important to still use good writing skills in between.  The body paragraph should still follow the old information to new rule.  Each paragraph should start and end on the same topic.  It sounds silly, but it is important, because it not only helps keep your thoughts organized, it also helps with the flow of your paper.  Another way to help your paper flow is transition words.  Transition words help you get from one idea to the next, or they can be helpful when starting a new paragraph. Another important part of your body paragraphs is your evidence, often in the form of quotes.  Having multiple sources is important and knowing how to properly source them is equally important. That being said you can't have just quotes for your paper.  You also should include your own explanation of the quote, and how it supports your argument.  Quotes is what I most want to  improve on for my research paper, so that way I know how to properly site and use them to support my claim.  This will be important for making my research paper strong.

A&B 17.3

Before you start your paper a helpful trick is an outline.  The out line helps you organised your paper and divide up you key point so when you write your paper, your ideas flow. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing gives a list as a good stater outline.  Later braking up your thought in to several main points. The Allyn Bacon Guide to writing says, "As you begin drafting, you will find your ideas gradually becoming clearer, and more focused."  This can be very helpful when formulating a thesis. The Ally Bacon Guide uses what they call the  "nutshell exercise".  This is to help you figure out what it is that you want your audience to think  so you can focus your thesis on them.  Once you have your thesis than you can use another outline to map out each point, and where you want them to go. I will use an outline for mine, because not only will it help me know what to write, it will also be helpful when trying to make my paper flow, because it can help to pair up related points.  I also like the out line because it can help you to know where to start.  Getting started is the most daunting part of writing, so I will be using an out line to make the paper feel more managable.

A&B: 23.1, 23.2, 23.3 Penguin Handbook: 68-113

Citing your sources is a very important part of and written work.  The words that you say, or anything that is common knowledge doesn't have to be sourced, but anything pulled from someone else's work or is "controversy" as they say in the Allyn Bacon Guide, should be cited.  The main way of citing is known as an in-text citation. "An in-text citation identifies a source in the body of the paper." (Allyn & Bacon 526) The in-text citation is small is pared with another more complete citation in the works cited.  In the works cited page the sources should be in alphabetical order giving the publisher, date of publication, full title, and any other important information, while the in text citation simply gives the authors last name, and the page number from where the source was found.  Knowing how to cite your sources is important, because it will save you from plagiarism.  I personally need to improve of this skill, because it is easy to get lazy, when it comes to sourcing.  It will be very helpful in my research project to know how to cite a source properly.

A&B 21.2, 7.4, pg 439-441, pg 384-387, pg 393

An Important part of writing  research project is your source. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing says you should look at "reliability, credibility, and of division and degree of advocacy."  Having a proper source will make for a better research project.  Another important part is citing your sources properly.  One way to keep track of what you used from each source is an annotated bibliography.  There are two types of annotated biblographies

A&B 1.1, A&B 20.1

The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing says, "Experienced writers immerse themselves in subject matter questions in pursuit of answers or solutions."  A good writer is trying to discover something in their writing, and some of the best questions that can be asked don't pick a side on the subject matter. They are questions that explores both sides, also known as open ended questions. These question will help when writing a research paper.  A good research paper should avoid "data dumps" or papers with a bunch of random facts.  The Allyn & Bacon, Guide to Writing, says a research paper should have a "interesting problem, a contestable thesis, and ethically use sources."  The hardest part for people is coming up with a question.  The best way to come up with a question is to think about things  in your life and the world around you.  Then Allyn and Bacon Guide the suggests you think about your interest in, the significance, and  the ability of the question to get you to your desired length.  Think about all those will help you come up with your question and then you can "establish your role as a researcher"(Allyn,Bacon).  In other words you will go on to find your stance, and eventually write your paper.  With a good question it becomes so  much easier to write a paper so I plan on  using the Allyn and Bacon suggestions, to help me better formulate mine, so that way I can have real direction in my writing.

Chapter 17, 17.4

An important part of any written work is the tittle.  A tittle should be intriguing, but relevant to the topic.  A good tip for the tittle is to place an old idea next to a new one.  Tittles can be questions or in two parts separated by a semi colon.  You will know your turtles good if it attracts your readers.  Following the tittle is the introduction.  The introduction is what frames your price and should include a thesis.  The Allyn Bacon Guide to Writing gives us four things an introduction should have. The intro paragraph needs an engaging lead, anexplanation of what the question is about, some background information, and a thesis. The thesis is the most important part, because it out lines what we are talking about. On the opposite end of thing we have the conclusion. The conclusion summarizes what what said, emphasises the points made in the thesis and wraps it up. I particularly want to improve on my introduction and conclusion, because they are what people read first and last.  I find that the hardest part of an essay is where to start, and how to end. With a better sense of what should be in both the introduction and conclusion, I believe in the future they will be less daunting.

A&B Chapter 12 Analyzing and Synthesizing

What is analyzing and synthesizing?  According to The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing, to "analyze something, you break it down into its parts to see the relationships among them.  When you synthesize you take one more step, putting the parts together in some new fashion." Both analysing and synthesizing are important writing skills, especially in an argument.  Analysing is like problemizing a topic in that you look at both sides of an argument.  You evaluate all the parts of a text tell you find.  Then when you've thought through all the parts you synthesize them into what you find is the heart of the matter. In an argumentative essay the synthesizing of all the ideas usually equals you thesis or your stance, because through all your analysing you can now synthesize a strong opinion.  Often in an essay where you synthesize, you will summarize text that you heartburn analyze it.  This shows the logic behind  your synthesis conclusion.  In my writing plan to use this tactic of analysing then synthesizing, because it will make my arguments stronger, and help me to formulate my ideas at college level thinking.

A&B 82-88, A&B 93, A&B 95, A&B 102-104

In college it is important to understand how to read rhetorically.  Many college students find her level reading difficult.  The Allyn Bacon Guide to Writing gives several reasons of why the reading can be so difficult.  The first major reason is "the complexity of the subject matter."  The concept in the reading is hard and with that  the text, can be just as confusing.  Somethings that can make  the reading hard is the "vocabulary, unfamiliar rhetorical context, unfamiliar genre or lack of background knowledge."  They use things like big vocabulary to almost give false ethos, thinking that it is a sign of education, but often they can lead to more confusion. In order to rhetorically analyze the different types of writing you have to look at it in two different ways, "Reading with the grain and against the grain."  To read "with the grain" is just like believing and doubting, which we talked about where you read it thinking like the author and then  think the opposite.

A&B Chapter 13, 13.1

What is an argument? The Allyn Bacon Guide to writing explains it in two components, truth seeking, and persuasion. This is an accurate way to explain an argument, because there are a lot of misconception about arguments that someone has to be right or wrong, but true arguments aren't necessarily that way.  A true argument asks a question, and then research it's done to develop a claim, or opinion, and in an argument, you "persuade" people see what your truth seeking has lead you to believe is right.  Some components of an argument are the claim and reasons. A true truth seeking evaluates the claims of both sides and a gives a clam based on the best reasons.  The Allyn & Bacon guide also tells us that having a good "issue, which we can define as a question that invites more than one reasonable answer." The better the issue the easier it will be to have a good argument.  Knowing about an argument, will help me with future argumentative papers, because will be helpful to make a better argument. I plan on using the truth seeking skill to better develop my thoughts and ideas.

A&B Chapter 3, 3.2 "Appeals to Ethos & Pathos"

When writing it is important to use the rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos and logos.  Logos is the logic or facts.  Logos is important, but if you really want to make a good argument you need ethos and pathos as well.  Ethos is credibility or trustworthiness.  If you want to have a strong argument then you and your sources need to be  valid sources of information.  Pathos on the other hand is passion or an appeal to peoples emotions.  If you channel your writing to your audiences emotions you "can also arouse audiences interest and deepen understanding. " as the Allyn Bacon Guide to Writing says.  Pathos can be a really useful tool if you are trying to call people to action.  Overall though you need all three to make your argument complete.  In any persuasive argument I write I plan on using ethos, pathos, and logos.  I know that appealing to pathos will help motivate my audience to action, while logos will back up my claim and ethos will create credit ability overall creating a strong argument.

A&B Ch 18 skills 18.2, 18.4 and Little Penguin Handbook Part 6

An important rhetorical skill is imagery.  The Allyn Bacon guide says to use concrete words that evoke images and sensations. They say that sometimes even using complex language can be good, because it forces the reader to stop and think, and often leads to better understanding. The writer should use words that trigger memory.  The writer can also use "trope" or figurative language to help aid them in their writing. The Allyn Bacon Guide says, "figurative language abounds when literal words fail."  You can use figurative language to better describe feelings, emotions, and thing that other people haven't experience, but you have.  A writer should use trope to help explain images and sensory.  I plan on trying to use figurative language in my own personal narrative, to help describe the climax, because if I use it correctly I know it will help my readers get closer to actually understanding what it was like to be experiencing what I did. Also figurative language is what makes novels so much better than text books, so I wan't to use it to be a better writer.  ( The Penguin Handbook talks about punctuation, but I didn't reference it, because it didn't make sense with everything else.)

A&B Chapter6 125-130, 133-135,137-141 and A&B 18 475-479

When writing a narrative there are several things you should think about.  First we must think about the type of narrative. Is it free verse or does it have a clear thesis?  Next you should think about your audience and the theme of narrative.  For an Auto biographical narrative  it is important that as you tell the story an events that happen, you show a change in the character.  The Allyn Bacon Guide calls this change "old self versus new self", or the point where the main character changes in some way.  The Allyn Bacon guide also talks of the importance of plot, or an order of events with a rising action. You story should follow a plot bit also have a them.  Once your paper is written it should be able to be expressed in both plot and theme perspective. The difference between the two is plot perspective is specific to the story while theme is broad and can be applied liberally to other written works. Often theme perspective is more relatable. One skill I better want to work on is the difference between theme and plot perspective because if I can pick out the theme perspective in other writing then it will help me be able to do it for my own, and will make my narratives much better.

A&B Chapter 16 skill 16.4

Rough Drafting and revising your own work is important, but it is also good to get a second opinion.  Peer editing can be a great way to get helpful criticism and on your writing assignments.  When you have someone else read your work they may notice things that you as the writer wouldn't.  Along with heaving someone revise your paper the Allyn Bacon Guide to writing suggests revising a peers paper as well. Learning to revise other works can be a helpful tool as a writer because It helps you learn to look at a paper as a new reader.  When you revise it is important to talk as a reader would not a writer. this will help your peer better understand what they need to fix to make it better for their audience.  I plan on using peer editing, because a peer editing because they are reading the prose for the first time, so they tend to pick up on mistakes that you who have read it so many times might get lazy and over look.  I find that using a roommate or friend can be an easy way to get helpful feed back on a prose. They will at least be able to help with grammar and tell you if your passage makes sense. I think peer editing is an easy thing that can make all the difference.

A&B Chapter 1 concept 1.3 and Chapter 17 skill 17.8

The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing states that there is more than one way to write an essay, which can be shocking for college freshmen. In high school we are taught a closed-form of writing, which is a great way to write, but in some forms of writing a open-form prose is much better. The difference between open-form and closed-form prose is closed form has a clear and recognizable thesis and open form does not. Though having a thesis is a good writing tool it is also important to let people formulate their own opinions. One skill I plan to improve is my ability to write and open-form prose. I plan on doing this by writing more papers in open-form verses the closed-form that I'm used to. Also I want to revise my essays more carefully to make sure that I don't over use this as a pronoun, because the Allyn And Bacon Guide to Writing points out that it creates a lazy prose, and when arguing a topic it is important to not be lazy. Also good transition word can be an asset to writing and making the prose flow better along with keeping ideas organised. You will find by following the first, second, third and finally format in the Allyn and Bacon Guide to writing that your ideas will be more organized.

A&B Chapter 2 concept 2.1

To "wallow in complexity" as the Allyn and Bacon Guide to writing calls it, is to think through all the side of question and to evaluate why each option has merit. This is a valuable writing skill because it allows writers to write an open ended essay that asks all the right questions without saying what is right or wrong. In The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing they suggest playing the believing and doubting game, in which you take both sides of the argument and try to argue them. This is a great way to help you wallow because you have find why both sides could be valid, whether or not you truly believe. I plan to use this method when writing, because not only does it help you wallow in complexity it also can help you decide which side you have a stronger case for which could help when writing a persuasive essay. I also plan on using focused free writing as a part of drafting because it forces you to write something and allows you to see in which areas your lacking. If i do I free write before I start the first draft I believe it will help it to go smoother. You can also write your believing and doubting in free form. Which is a great technique to get your thoughts out quickly.

A&B Chapter 16 skills 16.1, 16.2 &16.3 and Chapter 14 Generating and Exploring Ideas

In my reading of the Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing and Reading I learned to be an expert writer is to revise. Expert writers write multiple rough drafts, opposed to novice writers who try to finish they're piece in one draft. The more drafts a writer writes, the more opportunities they have to compose their ideas and make them flow. Writing multiple drafts also takes off the pressure to have everything perfect the first time which helps to prevent writers block, by allowing writers to get ideas out before worrying about grammar.   My goal as an inexperienced writer is to implement the revision process into my writing. Specifically to write at least two rough drafts before I make my finished written piece.   A way to accomplish this goal is to start writing several days before the final written work is due.  By writing over the course of a couple days I will have more time to brainstorm ideas for my piece without spending tons of time all at once. Writing over the course of a few days will hopefully be the trick to taking my High school level writing skills to the next level, and hopefully make me a college level student.