WEBVTT

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>> Thank you for watching
"Getting Started on Your Essay,"

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a Sacramento City College
Writing Center workshop

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which is designed to help
you start writing papers

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for classes.

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Every writer has their own
process for writing, but,

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in general, most good
writers involve three things

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in their writing
process; prewriting,

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drafting, and revision.

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Prewriting is what we
do before we write,

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and it's mostly what we're
going to focus on here.

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It involves generally
three things; making a plan

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for the essay by interpreting
the assignment, brainstorming

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and generating ideas, and
then organizing those ideas

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that we've generated into some
kind of a plan going forward.

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After prewriting, we spend
a lot of time drafting.

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This is probably the part

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that most people definitely
do every single time,

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because otherwise they
couldn't turn in a paper.

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This is where we take the ideas
that we have created and come

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up with during our prewriting,

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and turn it into
full paragraphs.

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The point of drafting is to get
the ideas out, to write them

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down and make sense out of
them, but not to be perfect,

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because we're going
to spend some time

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after we finish writing
doing revision.

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And, revision involves doing
things like re-reading the essay

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for clarity, making sure

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that the thesis matches
the essay's organization,

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checking for a clear thesis,
making sure you have transitions

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between ideas, and making sure
you have a good conclusion,

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and searching for and correcting
any errors, misspellings

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or confusing sentences.

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But, as I said, this workshop
is going to focus mostly

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on the ideas of prewriting.

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The first thing we have to
do when we get an assignment,

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before we can do anything
towards getting ideas out,

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is figure out what the
assignment is asking us to do.

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So, some things to think about.

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You're going to read the prompt
very carefully, probably going

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to read it several times.

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If you assume that
you can understand it

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by reading it just one time
through, you're probably going

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to miss some information, so
make sure you read it a couple

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of times, and think
about some things.

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What are you being asked to do?

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A good way to figure that
out is look for verbs.

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If there are verbs in there,
those are the action words

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that you are supposed
to be taking.

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So, if they say "evaluate,"
you're going

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to be doing some evaluation.

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If they say "summarize," you're
going to be doing some summary.

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We're going to talk about
what those words mean.

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You want to think about
how this assignment relates

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to the other work you're
doing in the course,

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if you have already done some
readings about the topic,

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or some other writing,
free-writing in class,

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or discussions in class.

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Those should be things
that you are thinking

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about as you're working
on this project.

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What are you confused about?

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What doesn't make sense?

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I know that when I
read assignments,

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there's often things that don't
make sense to me in those,

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so figure out what parts of
it don't make sense to you,

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and then start thinking

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about how you can
clarify that information.

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One of the best ways to clarify
information you're confused

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about is by asking
your instructor.

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They are the person
who wrote the prompt.

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They are the person who
knows how they are going

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to be evaluating the prompt and
your answers to that prompt,

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so they are a good
person to ask.

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If you feel awkward going up to
your instructors and asking them

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in person, you can send them
an email or you can visit them

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in their office hours
after class

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so nobody can see you
asking the questions,

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but it's a really
good idea to ask them.

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If you really feel awkward
talking to your instructors,

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come in to the Writing Center,
and we are happy to help you try

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to parse out what your
teachers are asking for.

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But remember, they're the
ones who wrote the prompt.

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They know what they meant
far better than anybody else.

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What expectations must you meet,

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and who set these expectations
are things to think about, too.

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If your teacher expects
you to write a certain way,

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they expect you to write in
first person and say "I think,"

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all the time, you should
follow those expectations,

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even if they're not
what you're supposed

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to do for any other class.

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So, think about what this
particular teacher wants you

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to do.

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Think about also what the
expectations for the course are.

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If you're in English
Writing 51, the expectations

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for citation are very different
from a psychology class,

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because you're probably using
a different citation style.

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So, that's something to
be very aware of, as well.

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And, the last thing to think
about, how long do you have

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to work on this assignment?

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This helps you plan
out your time.

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I'm going to play your mom
for a very quick second

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and remind you not
to procrastinate.

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When you know how long you
have to work on the assignment,

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that tells you how
soon you have to start

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and how much you can break
down the assignment to work

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on it piece by piece over
the time before its due.

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So, let's talk about some
of the language that's used

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when talking about prompts, and
what language our teachers use

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when they tell us what to do.

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One word you're going to
see a lot is "describe."

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We do this all the time.

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You describe your friends, or
you describe what you're doing,

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and this is just
to give an account

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of something using
specific details.

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Tell us about it.

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So, if we were describing
this image here, we would say

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that it's a picture of a
waterfall with a rainbow

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above it, and we can get
into a lot of detail here,

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talking about the clouds and
the greenery, the mountainside,

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the lake at the bottom.

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As many details as possible when
you're being asked to describe.

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Something else you might be
asked to do is to summarize.

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This means to explain the main
idea or ideas of something,

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usually in your own words.

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You are not giving a personal
opinion when you summarize,

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you are just telling us
what the source said.

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Okay, so, they said this.

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They argued this, these
were their main points,

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and this was their conclusion.

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No personal opinion whatsoever.

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But, when you have to evaluate
something, that's another story.

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Here, you're going to tell
us how good something is,

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whether it's smart or dumb,
whether it's fancy or dull,

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how good or bad is it?

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This is your opinion.

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It's not just your opinion,
you have to give some evidence,

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but you're telling us,
"This is what I think

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about it, and this is why."

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Another thing you might be asked
to do is to compare something.

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You're going to show, then,

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how those things are
similar to one another.

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So, if you have two
cars, you might talk

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about how these two
cars are similar.

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You also want to tell us
why those similarities

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are important.

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Why do we care about
the similarities?

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Likewise, with contrast,
you're going to show how two

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or more things are
different from one another,

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and why those differences
are important.

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>> "Analyze" is something
that we have to do very often

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in writing for college, and
this means to break something

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down into pieces and
to examine each part,

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in order to answer larger
questions about the whole.

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So, you might ask, "What
caused this to happen?"

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or "What are the
effects of this?"

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or "How can it be solved?"

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So, in analysis we spend a
lot of time looking at details

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to tell us how the details
create the big picture.

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We have a sample writing prompt
that's been used in a couple

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of classes on this campus,
and so we're going to use this

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to work through the second
stage of the prewriting process.

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For a variety of reasons,

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many American students are
finding it increasingly

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difficult to complete
their college careers.

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A 2009 New York Times
article reports,

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"Only 33% of the freshmen
who enter the University

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of Massachusetts, Boston,
graduate within six years.

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Less than 41% graduate from
the University of Montana,

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and 44% from the
University of New Mexico.

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Using your own knowledge of
what it's like to be a student,

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discuss what you believe are the
main reasons for this increase

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in college dropout rates

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in the U.S. You may explain
these reasons by referring

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to your own experiences

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or by describing any relevant
situations you've heard

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about from other students.

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You may also analyze the larger
subject of American education

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in order to express
your opinion.

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>> A successful paper will
present a clear argument

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through a well-chosen
thesis statement

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which controls the
organization of the paper.

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This argument will be
logically developed

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with relevant examples, and it
will contain a limited amount

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of grammatical errors.

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Allow your expert
knowledge of being a student

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to guide your writing process.

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So, that's our first
read-through on this prompt.

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As I said, it's good to
read prompts more than once.

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So, let's look at this second
paragraph here and talk

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about some of the things
that we can see in it

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that are telling us
what we should do.

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We've got a verb in
this first sentence,

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"discuss what you believe
are the main reasons,"

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so we want to discuss.

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Talk about what I,
as the writer,

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think are the main
reasons for this.

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Okay. You may explain
these reasons.

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So, I have to give some more
details about those reasons.

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Or by describing, so we want
to refer to our own experiences

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and describe relevant
situations.

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So, I'm going to tell about,
and I'm going to go back

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to things I've already
talked about.

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And, you may also analyze,
so there's another one

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of those words, the larger
subject of American education.

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So, we want to use those verbs

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to help shape what we're
going to do as we write.

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So, second step of
prewriting is brainstorming.

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Once we understand the prompt,

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we can start writing
down some ideas.

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One way to brainstorm is
just to list out ideas.

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So, reasons students drop out of
college, lack of study skills,

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work, job, expensive
books, family obligations,

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time management, financial
difficulties, kids,

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daycare, transportation.

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And, some of these might
connect to one another.

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Kids and daycare goes
with family obligations.

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Time management might be
something that relates to work

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and job, it might relate to
family obligations, as well.

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Financial obligations
might have something to do

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with expensive books or
transportation issues.

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So, a lot of these ideas
might overlap with one another

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and they might connect
to one another.

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A strategy for brainstorming

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that lets you show those
connections is clustering,

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where we take the main idea,
we put it in the middle,

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and then we put the
secondary ideas

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into little circles around it.

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Once we have done
that, we can expand

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on these ideas with
more details.

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So, financial difficulties,
cost of school supplies,

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expensive books, tuition.

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We can do that with all of them.

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If we wanted to, we could go
through and give the same kind

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of information about time
management, or the same kind

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of information about
transportation

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or family obligations.

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And, we can even draw little
arrows between these big,

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main ideas to show how they're
connected to one another.

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>> Another way of brainstorming
that I find particularly useful

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for myself is freewriting, and
this is where you just sit down

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and start writing
about the topic.

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Write down whatever
you think of.

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It doesn't have to make sense,
doesn't have to be good ideas,

00:13:25.776 --> 00:13:28.926 A:middle
just get out what you
think about the topic.

00:13:29.866 --> 00:13:31.096 A:middle
It's not all you do with it.

00:13:31.406 --> 00:13:35.016 A:middle
After you've written, you go
back through and you re-read

00:13:35.016 --> 00:13:38.126 A:middle
and note the important ideas.

00:13:38.806 --> 00:13:41.546 A:middle
So, the first thing that
comes to mind is money.

00:13:42.336 --> 00:13:45.256 A:middle
So, that's a big, important
idea, so let's circle that

00:13:45.256 --> 00:13:46.856 A:middle
or put an underline
underneath it.

00:13:47.966 --> 00:13:50.486 A:middle
Family obligations,
there's another big idea.

00:13:52.396 --> 00:13:55.446 A:middle
The advantage to
doing freewriting is,

00:13:55.446 --> 00:13:57.406 A:middle
you've already added
some details,

00:13:58.456 --> 00:14:00.916 A:middle
so you have some
sentences to start yourself

00:14:00.916 --> 00:14:02.476 A:middle
when you go to start drafting.

00:14:02.956 --> 00:14:08.256 A:middle
Once you get your
ideas out, you're going

00:14:08.256 --> 00:14:11.356 A:middle
to spent some time organizing
those ideas to make it easier

00:14:11.356 --> 00:14:12.426 A:middle
when you start drafting.

00:14:12.916 --> 00:14:19.696 A:middle
Some people just take
their brainstorming

00:14:19.786 --> 00:14:21.276 A:middle
and put numbers on it.

00:14:22.006 --> 00:14:26.226 A:middle
Other people will actually
cut and paste things

00:14:26.226 --> 00:14:27.356 A:middle
into a different order.

00:14:28.186 --> 00:14:30.196 A:middle
Some people make a
detailed outline.

00:14:30.886 --> 00:14:33.976 A:middle
It really doesn't
matter how you organize,

00:14:34.406 --> 00:14:36.896 A:middle
but it's important to organize.

00:14:37.766 --> 00:14:41.146 A:middle
Whatever works best for
you is what you should do,

00:14:41.546 --> 00:14:43.826 A:middle
but make sure you spend
some time figuring

00:14:43.826 --> 00:14:48.096 A:middle
out what your organization will
be before you start writing,

00:14:48.376 --> 00:14:51.406 A:middle
to save yourself the time and
frustration of trying to figure

00:14:51.406 --> 00:14:52.916 A:middle
that out while writing.

00:14:53.326 --> 00:14:59.446 A:middle
So, this is a very, very brief
sample outline that you can use

00:14:59.446 --> 00:15:02.146 A:middle
to help you organize, if
you want to use an outline.

00:15:03.096 --> 00:15:06.206 A:middle
So, you have an introduction,
which covers your hook,

00:15:06.716 --> 00:15:08.836 A:middle
some background information
about the topic,

00:15:09.106 --> 00:15:10.356 A:middle
and your thesis statement.

00:15:10.836 --> 00:15:14.046 A:middle
Remember, your thesis
statement is one sentence,

00:15:14.176 --> 00:15:17.986 A:middle
maybe two in a long paper,
that tells us the subject,

00:15:18.566 --> 00:15:22.876 A:middle
your opinion about that
subject, and your reasons

00:15:22.966 --> 00:15:24.266 A:middle
for having that opinion.

00:15:24.606 --> 00:15:28.716 A:middle
Okay? You'll have
some body paragraphs.

00:15:29.016 --> 00:15:30.136 A:middle
There's going to
be a lot of those

00:15:30.136 --> 00:15:31.386 A:middle
in every paper that you do.

00:15:32.016 --> 00:15:34.686 A:middle
You're never going to have
just one body paragraph,

00:15:34.686 --> 00:15:36.166 A:middle
except for maybe
during timed writing.

00:15:37.136 --> 00:15:41.586 A:middle
Each body paragraph will have a
topic sentence, some explanation

00:15:41.586 --> 00:15:42.776 A:middle
of what you're talking about.

00:15:42.826 --> 00:15:44.856 A:middle
So, clarify that topic sentence.

00:15:45.646 --> 00:15:50.586 A:middle
At least one piece of evidence
to support what your claim is

00:15:50.586 --> 00:15:54.336 A:middle
in the topic sentence,
and some analysis of how

00:15:54.336 --> 00:15:59.756 A:middle
that evidence proves your
topic sentence is true.

00:15:59.966 --> 00:16:04.266 A:middle
And, you will have a conclusion,
where you restate your thesis,

00:16:04.956 --> 00:16:09.306 A:middle
give us any closing ideas, tell
us maybe why it was important

00:16:09.306 --> 00:16:10.386 A:middle
that we read this paper,

00:16:11.026 --> 00:16:13.356 A:middle
and give us perhaps
a call to action.

00:16:13.736 --> 00:16:14.966 A:middle
What should we do, now

00:16:14.966 --> 00:16:16.436 A:middle
that we've finished
reading your paper?

00:16:21.456 --> 00:16:24.586 A:middle
>> Some final tips on
drafting and revision.

00:16:28.256 --> 00:16:30.716 A:middle
While you're drafting,
make sure you plan ahead.

00:16:31.076 --> 00:16:34.596 A:middle
Remember, I told you earlier
that it's important to think

00:16:34.596 --> 00:16:36.506 A:middle
about how long you have
to write your paper.

00:16:37.246 --> 00:16:38.446 A:middle
This will help you plan.

00:16:38.936 --> 00:16:41.896 A:middle
Find a comfortable
place to write.

00:16:41.966 --> 00:16:45.596 A:middle
Don't try to write on
a subway or in a place

00:16:45.596 --> 00:16:47.986 A:middle
where it's very loud,
unless that's a thing

00:16:47.986 --> 00:16:49.556 A:middle
that helps you to concentrate.

00:16:50.076 --> 00:16:53.216 A:middle
Find what works best for
you, and go there and write.

00:16:54.436 --> 00:16:55.736 A:middle
Write when you're
most productive.

00:16:56.346 --> 00:17:00.266 A:middle
If you can't think past 10 p.m.,
don't try to write your paper

00:17:00.266 --> 00:17:01.216 A:middle
at 2 o'clock in the morning.

00:17:02.026 --> 00:17:04.506 A:middle
And, if you think best
first thing in the morning,

00:17:05.236 --> 00:17:08.626 A:middle
maybe get up a little early
to work on your paper.

00:17:08.796 --> 00:17:11.906 A:middle
Whatever is the time when
your brain works best,

00:17:12.246 --> 00:17:14.106 A:middle
that's the best time
for you to be writing.

00:17:15.576 --> 00:17:17.106 A:middle
Avoid distractions.

00:17:17.766 --> 00:17:20.806 A:middle
If you've got kids or
pets or family members,

00:17:21.346 --> 00:17:24.246 A:middle
tell them they need to leave you
alone so you can do your work.

00:17:24.246 --> 00:17:27.346 A:middle
I know that's not always
possible, but as best you can,

00:17:27.346 --> 00:17:29.406 A:middle
try to avoid distractions
while you're working.

00:17:29.776 --> 00:17:33.946 A:middle
For revision, oh, I
forgot, take breaks.

00:17:34.726 --> 00:17:36.326 A:middle
Don't try to do it
all in one session.

00:17:36.746 --> 00:17:38.246 A:middle
This goes back to
the planning ahead.

00:17:39.626 --> 00:17:43.566 A:middle
Take your time, give yourself
enough time so you don't have

00:17:43.616 --> 00:17:47.486 A:middle
to write your entire 10-page
final paper the night before

00:17:47.486 --> 00:17:48.596 A:middle
it's due in four hours.

00:17:49.326 --> 00:17:52.136 A:middle
It's not going to be your
best work, and you're going

00:17:52.136 --> 00:17:55.716 A:middle
to be exhausted and hate
life, so, try to avoid that.

00:17:56.136 --> 00:17:57.366 A:middle
Take breaks.

00:17:57.946 --> 00:18:01.406 A:middle
For revision, focus
first on what are called,

00:18:01.406 --> 00:18:02.906 A:middle
"higher-order concerns."

00:18:03.666 --> 00:18:09.706 A:middle
These include being on topic,
making sure it's clear,

00:18:10.386 --> 00:18:11.986 A:middle
making sure it's well organized,

00:18:12.736 --> 00:18:16.116 A:middle
making sure that you have
answered the question

00:18:16.116 --> 00:18:20.276 A:middle
that you are being asked.

00:18:20.486 --> 00:18:24.996 A:middle
We're not talking first
about things like grammar,

00:18:24.996 --> 00:18:26.106 A:middle
spelling, and punctuation.

00:18:26.866 --> 00:18:29.736 A:middle
That's what you're going
to look at afterwards,

00:18:30.326 --> 00:18:35.426 A:middle
after everything is clear and
well organized and on topic,

00:18:35.476 --> 00:18:37.056 A:middle
then you can start
worrying about,

00:18:37.716 --> 00:18:39.246 A:middle
is that comma in
the right place?

00:18:39.656 --> 00:18:40.766 A:middle
Do I need a period here?

00:18:42.336 --> 00:18:46.366 A:middle
The reason is, if you
spend a lot of time

00:18:46.366 --> 00:18:49.156 A:middle
on a sentence making it
perfectly grammatically correct,

00:18:49.596 --> 00:18:53.456 A:middle
only to find out that it's off
topic and you have to cut it,

00:18:54.516 --> 00:18:55.936 A:middle
you're going to really
regret spending all

00:18:55.936 --> 00:18:58.826 A:middle
that time on making it perfect.

00:18:59.116 --> 00:19:02.406 A:middle
And, sometimes it makes it very
hard to get rid of sentences

00:19:02.986 --> 00:19:06.146 A:middle
or even paragraphs that are
off topic, because we've spent

00:19:06.146 --> 00:19:08.796 A:middle
so much time on them and
we get connected to them.

00:19:08.796 --> 00:19:09.526 A:middle
We want to keep them.

00:19:10.946 --> 00:19:15.086 A:middle
Don't spend time on any kind
of grammatical corrections

00:19:15.086 --> 00:19:18.186 A:middle
until after you're sure
that it makes sense.

00:19:19.856 --> 00:19:21.286 A:middle
Pay attention to detail.

00:19:22.126 --> 00:19:23.766 A:middle
Your teachers are going to
pay attention to detail,

00:19:23.766 --> 00:19:27.206 A:middle
so as you're writing,
you should too.

00:19:27.416 --> 00:19:29.696 A:middle
Have someone else read
what you've written.

00:19:30.836 --> 00:19:33.626 A:middle
The more time you spend with
something, the less you are able

00:19:33.626 --> 00:19:37.936 A:middle
to see the flaws in it, so let
somebody else spend some time

00:19:37.936 --> 00:19:40.416 A:middle
with it and let them figure
out what your flaws are,

00:19:40.636 --> 00:19:42.276 A:middle
or what your writing's
flaws are, anyway.

00:19:42.886 --> 00:19:46.086 A:middle
And, a good place to do
that is the Writing Center.

00:19:46.666 --> 00:19:50.046 A:middle
We are here in the LRC on
the first floor, so come

00:19:50.046 --> 00:19:53.516 A:middle
and visit us, and we're happy
to help you get another pair

00:19:53.516 --> 00:19:54.446 A:middle
of eyes on your writing.

00:19:59.616 --> 00:20:02.256 A:middle
>> Thank you for watching,
have a wonderful day.

00:20:02.476 --> 00:20:03.876 A:middle
Good luck with writing
your papers.