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Normal Community High School

Mr. McManis

English/Speech Department

 

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Written and Oral Communication

Basic Fiction

Literature and Composition

ALC

Gems II

 

unit5 online

 

Need Grammar Help?

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Conjunctions

Grammar Bytes! Interactive Grammar Review

IMC - Internet Gateway

Punctuation Reminders

Big Dog

Transitional Words and Phrases

Using Quotations Effectively

Using Semicolons

Grammar Gorillas

OWL at Purdue

EnglishClub

6+1 Traits

Citing Shakespeare

Writing With Style 

 

WRITING LAB/ ESSAY GUIDELINES

All formal essays must be typed in the lab and saved to your "h-drive" at school.  

Lab Guidelines:

·        NO FOOD OR DRINKS IN THE COMPUTER LABS!!!

·        Use lab time wisely; talking/socializing should be kept to a minimum. You should use Microsoft Word to work on your papers unless I direct you to do otherwise. Lab time is precious! Notice: Inappropriate use of lab time may lower your grade.

·        HOW TO LOG IN:      

Graduation year  First 5 letters of last name  First initial

Password is student ID number without leading zeros

Example: 

User ID:  02smithb
Password:  1234

 

Format Guidelines:     

·        Use Times New Roman 12 Point Font.

·        Your header should include:

YOUR NAME

CLASS/ HOUR

THE DATE

·        All papers should be double-spaced with 1" margins.

·        All Formal Papers should have a "catchy" and appropriate title. You may use BOLD type for your title.

Save your work frequently.  All work that we do in the lab should be saved with the following information in the file name:

last name first name title class hour

Here is an example:

janedoe this is a superior writing assignment alcII 2ndhr

 

 

 

 

ESSAY GRADING POLICY

 

All Formal Papers will be graded using the following criteria:

 

Organization:  Is the essay clearly organized? 

 

Support:  Is there enough  evidence to support the ideas expressed in the essay?

 

Mechanics:  Has the writer followed the rules of spelling and grammar throughout the essay?

 

Focus/Clarity:  Is the essay related to the assigned topic?  Did the writer stick to the topic throughout the essay?  Is the paper confusing?

 

Style:  Did the writer follow formal conventions?  Is the writing wordy or choppy?  Does the essay use too much repetition? Has the writer made use of active verbs?

 

Process:  Did the writer make appropriate use of  lab time?  Did the writer participate in the feedback process?  Did the writer attach prewriting and feedback to the final draft?

 

 

 

 

 

Writing is a process; it is ongoing and dynamic.  Each formal paper in the class will go through the following process:

Step One: Prewriting

Step Two:  Outline draft.  I require a formal sentence outline for this step.  This means that each item for the outline is in the form of a complete sentence.  (This step is useful for showing how each topic sentence of your paper relates to your thesis and how each sentence of a paragraph relates to and/or supports the topic sentence.)

Step Three:  Final Draft/ Published Draft

OUTLINE FORM

 

I.                    Introduction

A.    Attention-Getter

B.     Background Information/Preview

C.    Thesis Statement

 

II.                 Topic Sentence

A.    Supporting Statement

1.      Example/Detail

a.       supporting detail

b.      supporting detail

2.      Example/Detail

B.     Supporting Statement

1.      Example Detail

2.      Example Detail

C.    Transition

 

 

III.               Topic Sentence

A.    Supporting Statement

1.      Example/Detail

2.      Example/Detail

B.     Supporting Statement

1.      Example/Detail

2.      Example Detail

C.    Transition

 

 

IV.              Conclusion

A.    Refer to attention-getter

B.     Review main points

C.    Restate Thesis/Strong closing statement, memorable “clincher” statement

 

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