6/14 (flag day)

Today we worked on several key points in writing, namely: why and how.

WHY:  There are many purposes in writing

• to express personal thoughts and feelings
• to explain or inform 
• to entertain
• to commemorate or remember
• to study or to seek to gain a better understandingto argue or persuade

However, no matter which purpose we have, one thing remains crucial...we write to communicate our ideas with an audience!  


How: In order to express our ideas fully, we follow the writing process

1. Prewriting (this is where you generate and organize some ideas BEFORE you start really writing)
2. Drafting and Revision (the vicious cycle of drafting, revising, reworking and creating new drafts)
3. Publishing (taking a best draft and cleaning it up so it is actually ready for a reader to enjoy)

Make sure to reflect on the writing process, especially the prewriting strategies found in Scary.  


Process Analysis:  a method of development in which writers explain how something works or how something is done with a focus not on just the HOW, but also the WHY.  


Check out this sample: 
 First make sure that you are using eggs that are several days old. If this is Easter time, and everyone is buying their eggs at the last minute, buy your eggs 5 days in advance of boiling. Hard boiling farm fresh eggs will invariably lead to eggs that are difficult to peel. If you have boiled a batch that are difficult to peel, try putting them in the refrigerator for a few days; they should be easier to peel then.


Notice that the red sentence focuses on why the eggs must be old.  Without this little sentence, many egg boilers may choose to ignore that crucial step and just boil whatever eggs they have on hand.  When their eggs do not come out right, they'll never even get why because they will think they did follow the steps.  


We will use Process Analysis for the second draft of the essay.  For the second paragraph, you'll explain to readers HOW you found out the information about your topic.  You'll also explain WHY you took the steps you did.  I strongly suggest that you take about 30 minutes before class on Thursday to review your first draft and to think about all the steps you took to complete the investigation sheet.