Week 10

Hi everyone, and welcome back after your Midterm Exams and Meetings Week! 

Post-Midterm Exam Overview

For the rest of semester, we’ll be diving into specific paragraph types that are covered in the second half of Great Writing 2. In order, those types of paragraphs are:

• Unit 6: Definition Paragraphs
• Unit 7: Process Paragraphs
• Unit 8: Opinion Paragraphs

(That’s about as far as I ever get with this class, so I don’t expect to reach Unit 9.)

The point of this second half of the course is to focus on these types of paragraphs, but also to show you how different purposes shape the structure and contents of a paragraph. We’ll be looking closely at examples of each type, and you’ll be writing examples of each time. On the Final Exam, you’re going to be asked to write one specific type of paragraph that we’ve studied, correctly using the structure and contents for that type of paragraph.

The idea is that longer pieces of writing are built out of paragraphs that each do a specific job. As a writer, it’s up to you to figure out which job each paragraph needs to do, and build it so that it does that job efficiently—sometimes explaining a concept, sometimes outlining a process, sometimes presenting an opinion sometimes telling a story about events in the past, somtimes comparing two things, and so on. 

(If you think about Unit 1, you’ve already seen a Comparison Paragraph—”Brazil and Chile”—along with several other types of paragraphs. What we’re doing now is a deeper dive into specific types, but the idea is that you’ll get a feel for building any type of paragraph you need, based on the function that paragraph serves within a bigger piece of writing.)

Okay, so let’s get started with Unit 6: Definition Paragraphs. 

Lesson 1

In Part 1, we had a discussion in class about a Definition Paragraph. We analyzed its structure and contents, and talked about how the writer considered their audience. We also talked about practical concerns you should consider when writing as a specialist for a generalist audience. Below is a link for the handouts I may have used in this lesson:

The videos in today’s Non-Textbook Videos folder cover these topics. You can skip them if you were in class on Day 1 of Week 10, and go directly to Part 2, below. 

Lesson 1 Classroom Exercise: Choose a Topic and Explain it to Someone

We also did this classroom exercise today. If you were in class, skip this section. 

You’re going to write a Definition Paragraph about some kind of “specialized knowledge” that you have about a specific thing, for an audience that has no knowledge of that thing. Here are some examples:

• Some kind of specialized concept from your major, that people who don’t study the same major won’t understand without help. For example:
  • “intertextuality” (for Literature majors)
  • “resonance frequency” in structures (for a Structural Engineering major)
  • “anomie” for a Sociology major
• Some kind of special concept or term used by people who share your hobby, unknown to the rest of the world.  For example:
  • “ollie” for a skateboarder
  • “tune” or “chart” for a jazz musician
  • “calibration” for a hobby 3D printer enthusiast
• Something from your culture that is unknown to most people who live somewhere else. You should write about an example from your own culture. (If you’re a foreign student, don’t write about a Korean thing, choose something from where you’re from.) Some Korea-specific examples include:
  • “hwaeshik” (food and drinking outings with coworkers).
  • MT (“Membership Training”) retreats in University Departments.
  • “san nakji” (“live octopus”), an unusual cuisine in Korea.  

The topic can be whatever you like, but try to choose something that is interesting, challenging, and unknown to a certain audience of readers. (By “audience” I mean, think about who you are writing for. If you’re explaining something from Korean culture, who are you explaining it to? If you are explaining a specialized concept from your major or your hobby, who do you imagine you’re trying to explain it to?) 

You may also want to search online for how this topic has been discussed in English, especially if you have questions about what vocabulary you might need in order to write about it in English. This is especially helpful for finding the kind of English vocabulary you need in order to discuss the topic. 

What Do I Need To Do?

If you were in class on Day 1 of this week, you already did this! This was the discussion in the last part of class!

If you missed class:

You’re going to start by explaining this thing to someone who doesn’t know about it. This is, for most people, a very useful step, and I usually do this when I’m writing something that explains a complex or difficult topic to non-specialists. 

Your job in this is to explain the thing you’re writing about to someone who is (unlike you) does not share your specialized knowledge about the topic of your Paragraph, but who is comfortable enough with English to understand you. For example, you might explain the content of your paragraph to a classmate, parent or family member, or to a friend who is in a different major (or who doesn’t share your hobby). There are two ways to do this:

• Speaking: Just chat with the person. Explain the idea(s) that you plan to cover in your paragraph. Allow the person to interrupt you and answer questions, and pay attention to the questions. The other person’s questions will help you to notice which ideas or terms need to be explained more in your writing. 
• Reading: For this method, you need to finish Homework 2 first. Then share your Second Draft of your paragraph with the person, and ask them to circle anything they don’t understand. Try to explain those things to them, and ask them if your explanation makes sense. 

Whichever method you use, at the end you should ask your friend to explain the idea back to you, and listen for any misunderstandings. Think about how to avoid those misunderstandings when people read your paragraph.

Lesson 2

For our small-group meetings on Day 2, be ready to discuss the thing you explained to your partner on Lesson 1. We’ll be discussing everyone’s topic and getting some tips specific to those topics.

Textbook-Related Materials and Exercises

Here are the materials and tasks for Part 2 of this week’s class. As always, watching the videos is optional, but either way you should complete the accompanying textbook work provided, as well as checking out the handouts included. After you finish with the videos and exercises, please return here to continue with Homework 2, below. 

In Great Writing 2, please do the following:

• Read What is a Definition Paragraph? (pg. 104)
• Complete Activities 1–2 (pg. 104–106)

In Great Writing 2, please do the following:

• Read Citing Exact Words from a Source (pg. 107)
• Complete Activity 3 (107)

Please also review the handouts linked below on citations, paraphrasing, and quotation. 

In Great Writing 2, please do the following:

• Read Grammar: Adjective Clauses (pg. 108)
• Complete Activities 4–7 (pg. 109–112)

In Great Writing 2, please do the following:

• Read Grammar: Sentence Variety (pg. 112)
• Complete Activities 8–9 (pg. 112–113)

Optional Textbook Homework

You can also do the following review work if you want to (but it is optional):

• Complete Activities 15–17 (pg. 117–118)

Optional Paragraph Practice for Week 10

Remember the topic you explained to someone in Lesson 1? I mean the exercise up above on this page titled Lesson 1 Classroom Exercise. Now you should write a paragraph about it. Follow the process:

• Brainstorming (Free Writing, What’s Interesting Here, Mind Map, Topic Sentence), Your conversation with your partner in class today can replace the Brainstorming step for today. 
• Template Sentence Extraction (from a paragraph in Unit 6 of the textbook, or from the Gumbo paragraph I handed out in class today)
• Build a Paragraph Skeleton, and use questions that you imagine readers might ask to add information in the Secondary Supporting Sentences.
• Transform the Paragraph Skeleton into a rough draft of your paragraph.
• Edit the paragraph, checking for good structure, unrelated sentences, and any grammar problems we’ve covered this semester—including grammar issues discussed in Unit 6. Try to build good Sentence Variety, especially. 

After you’ve finished, print enough copies of your paragraph for everyone (including the professor) in your small group meeting on Day 2 this week. We will work our way through everyone’s paragraphs during our Day 2 meetings for the next few weeks.

---