Course Recap for Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Description

Description is the text structure whose main goal is to describe a person, place, or thing using sensory details.  Descriptive pieces appeal to one or more of the five senses.  It paints a picture in the reader's head.  As the writer, you have control over how your reader views your object.  You and your classmates won't see things the same way.  You may love the gym while your classmate hates it, so your descriptions of the same place will probably differ in many ways.  It's up to you to determine how you want to depict the object you are describing. 

When formulating the topic sentence for a descriptive paragraph, ask yourself, what's the main thing I want my reader to know about this thing.  What's the overall impression I want them to have.  Write a sentence that expresses this and then include details that'll help your reader see the object in that light. 

Homework

• Aplia Assignment- Diagnostic Assessment Due Sunday
• Thursday's Blog Post Prompt:  Write a paragraph describing your favorite food without saying it's name.  Make sure you have a strong topic sentence. 

Course Recap for Monday, January 26, 2015

The Main Idea

We discussed the main idea of paragraphs today and how to craft topic sentences.  The main idea of a paragraph is the central point of the paragraph.  It what all the other details are there to support.  Think of it like math.....Supporting detail 1 + Supporting detail 2 + Supporting Detail 3 = The Main Idea.  Another way to determine the main idea is to ask yourself what is the main topic of the paragraph.  For instance the main topic of this paragraph is....you guessed it....the concept of the main idea.  Now ask yourself what is this paragraph trying to tell you about the main idea.  It is trying to tell you what it is and how to find it.  So the main idea of this paragraph is The main idea and how to find them. 

We went over examples in class that should help this make a lot more sense to you.  The main idea help us organize our writing.  It tells the reader what to expect from our paper and lets us know what information we should include and what information we should keep out of assignment.  Every supporting detail you include must somehow relate to your main idea (not your main topic).  For instance if I'm writing a paper about how cool I think horror movies are, I'm not going to include information about how corny and stupid they can be sometimes because this contradicts my main idea, even though I'm still talking about horror movies.  Now if I say that the corniness of horror movies is sometimes what make the movie fun, I can use this detail because it supports my main idea.  When revising your paragraphs, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is my topic?
2. What do I want to say about my topic?
3. Does every sentence I have in my paragraph relate to my main topic?

For this class, your goal is to be sure that your topic sentence is at the beginning of each or your paragraphs.  As you grow as writers, you will be able to write paragraphs where the main idea is implied instead of explicitly written out, but for now the first one or two sentences of your paragraphs should contain your main idea. 

Homework

• First Blog Post on Blogger.com Due tonight by midnight.  This post can be about whatever you want.  It's your first post so it might be a good idea to introduce yourself to your readers.
• Aplia Assignment- Chapter 3 The Process of Writing Paragraphs Due Wednesday when you come into class
• Aplia Assignment- Diagnostic Assessment Due Sunday by 11:00PM 

Welcome to TSEN 95 Writing Improvement!

Hello I'm Mickey Moses, and I am your instructor for TSEN 95.  Welcome to the class, and welcome to our blog.  This blog is our class's central hub.  Here you can find class recaps, homework assignments, readings, and helpful links.

Our class syllabus is located to the right of this post underneath Class Documents.  It lists the rules and expectations for this course.  We will read through the entire document in class, but some of the major points you want to remember are....

1. Come to class everyday.  Attendance is important and necessary in order for you to pass this class.
   
2. Complete all your assignments.  You cannot get points for work you do not complete.
   
3. Be respectful of me and your classmates. 
   
4. Don't cheat. 
   
5. Ask questions and participate in class discussions.   

How you should be in class.





I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you.


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