A+ Guide to the Freshman Five: A+ Guides to Writing, #7

By Alison Plus

Note: This is a boxed set containing each of the following five A+ Guides: Firve-Paragraph Essays, Short Answer Essays, Compare and Contrast Essays, Persuasive Essays, and Narrative Essays.

The first year of college can be challenging for many reasons. The classes are harder, the schedule is more demanding, and you will be expected to manage everything on your own, perhaps for the first time in your life.

And the papers! You have to write so many papers! 

But there is help available for the papers, at least.

The Freshman Five Boxed Set contains the five Alison Plus Guides to Writing for the five types of papers most college freshmen will have to write: five-paragraph essays, short answer essays, compare and contrast essays, persuasive essays, and narrative essays. Each assignment type has different challenges and goals, but now one collection makes all five writing guides available in one boxed set.

About the A+ Method

You are looking for help with a writing assignment. Good news! Help is here!

The A+ Method was developed through years spent working with student writers on a variety of writing assignments. Regardless of the specific assignment type (five-paragraph essay, persuasive essay, narrative essay, literature review, etc.), it soon became clear that students shared one strong concern. They wanted to know what to put where. They had ideas about their topics, and they knew what they wanted to say, but they didn’t know how to present those ideas in an organized manner so that the paper could “flow” well.

The A+ Method assists the students with overcoming that concern. Each type of assignment follows a unique writing pattern, and each A+ Method booklet presents that pattern in easy-to-follow steps. The pattern shows the writer what to put where. Along the way, each booklet also addresses other writing concerns typical to a specific assignment type. By focusing on assignment type rather than on writing essays in general, each specific booklet targets the pedagogical goals in a way that leads to a greater likelihood of student success.

Choose the booklet that corresponds to your assignment type, and then follow the steps in the booklet. Working the steps carefully the first time will not only lead to a finished paper, but to a better understanding of how to write a specific type of paper. Then, with subsequent similar assignments, use the booklet as a refresher to guarantee that you will hit the assignment targets each time.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alison Plus
• Release date: Feb 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524278533

Book preview

Freshman Five Boxed Set

By Alison Plus

Copyright 2016 by Alison Plus

Published by Four-Ply Publishing

License Notes

All rights reserved. This e-book is licensed for your personal use only. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without the express written permission of the publisher. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this e-book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite bookseller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Praise for A+ Writing Guides

From Students:

Thank you for the guidance. I have made a breakthrough!

Awesome!

The grid made a big job seem really manageable.

The method for turning a thesis statement into topic sentences was very useful and easy to apply.

I thought proofreading meant you should read the paper and hope you spot the mistakes. Now I have a better way to do that, using the layered technique.

I thought outlining was a waste of time and a headache. But the 'working outline' was actually very helpful and made me see that an outline isn't about roman numerals and indents.

This made it all seem really easy.

I thought I should just write about what happened. If I had done that, I would have left out some important things. Thanks for showing me what was missing!

Whew! I tried this, and wrote my paper in record time!

From online reviews at bookseller websites:

I am currently writing the literature review chapter of my dissertation and this book has been and is very helpful during my writing.

This book saved my bacon. I had a week to write a lit review paper for my PhD program and until I read the sample I didn't even know what a literature review paper was. The author does a great job in breaking it down into an easy to follow method. Everything from how to organize your paper to how to compose the topic sentence, body and conclusions for each paragraph. I'm almost done reading the book and feel so much more confident that I can do this. Just wish there was an audio companion. Already told all my classmates about the book. Thanks Alison!

Wow! I have only read a few of the sections in this text and have already found it significantly more helpful than any other book I have purchased so far. I was really struggling with structuring my literature review, but this text offers great insight on organizing the material and flowing between paragraphs. Definitely worth the $3.99.

About the A+ Method

You have purchased this booklet because you are looking for help with a writing assignment. Good news! Help is here!

The A+ Method was developed through years spent working with student writers on a variety of writing assignments. Regardless of the specific assignment type (five-paragraph essay, persuasive essay, narrative essay, literature review, etc.), it soon became clear that students shared one strong concern. They wanted to know what to put where. They had ideas about their topics, and they knew what they wanted to say, but they didn’t know how to present those ideas in an organized manner so that the paper could flow well.

The A+ Method assists the students with overcoming that concern. Each type of assignment follows a unique writing pattern, and each A+ Method booklet presents that pattern in easy-to-follow steps. The pattern shows the writer what to put where. Along the way, each booklet also addresses other writing concerns typical to a specific assignment type. By focusing on assignment type rather than on writing essays in general, each specific booklet targets the pedagogical goals in a way that leads to a greater likelihood of student success.

Choose the booklet that corresponds to your assignment type, and then follow the steps in the booklet. Working the steps carefully the first time will not only lead to a finished paper, but to a better understanding of how to write a specific type of paper. Then, with subsequent similar assignments, use the booklet as a refresher to guarantee that you will hit the assignment targets each time.

Book One: Five-Paragraph Essays

Five-Paragraph

Essays

By

Alison Plus

Five-Paragraph Essays

By Alison Plus

Copyright 2012 by Alison Plus

Published by Four-Ply Publishing

License Notes

All rights reserved. This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-trasferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without the express written permission of the publisher. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite bookseller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Book One: How to Use This Booklet

Your instructor has asked you to write a two-to-three-page paper, or what writing instructors call a five-paragraph essay. However, there is a problem. Even though you have assignment instructions, you are not sure where to start or how to proceed. Maybe you have never written a paper like this before and do not know what it should look like. Maybe you have written a paper like this in the past, but you were unhappy with your grade and you want to do better this time. Maybe, no matter your skills and experiences, you are just looking for extra help so that this kind of assignment will be easier to complete.

If you find it difficult to plan and draft a paper, it is probably not your fault. Writing instructors often focus on aspects of grammar and theory that students do not use when planning and drafting a paper. Although these aspects of writing are important for the improving the way we think about writing and for the way we proofread papers, planning and drafting rely upon a different skill set. Therefore, you might find it difficult to draft a paper simply because the skills you have been taught, while important, are related to other aspects of the writing process.

For example, maybe your instructor spent some time explaining the differences between expository writing, persuasive writing, narrative writing, and other types of writing. This can help you understand a lot about the mood and style and goal of a type of paper. But will it tell you how to organize your ideas? No. Will it tell you what to put in each paragraph? No. For that, a different kind of instruction is needed.

This booklet can help you by showing you the complete process of writing a paper. This practical, systematic method will start with your assignment and end with a final proofreading. In between that first and last step, this writing method relies upon templates to help you build a well-organized paper. These templates show you exactly what to include in different places within the paper. You will no longer need to guess what to write and where to write it. By using the templates, the various pieces of the paper will work together to create a coherent draft.

Follow the steps in order, from the first to the last, and do not skip any along the way. Each step builds on the previous steps. Assignment analysis turns into a working outline, the draft thesis statement turns into topic sentences, the working outline turns into supporting points, and so on. By completing each step before moving on to the next, the next step will be easier. And so will the one after that.

This booklet not only helps you write a complete paper, but it shows you a method to apply in any similar five-paragraph or two-to-three-page paper. Working the steps carefully the first time will teach you the method. Then, when you must write another five-paragraph essay, use this booklet as a reference to refresh your memory on the steps and templates. The more you use the method, the easier it will be.

Are we ready to begin? Yes! So then, it is time to begin at the beginning, with the first step, understanding your assignment.

Book One: Step One: Understand Your Assignment

TIP:

This step will provide the foundation for every other step in the process. Do not skip it!

Your instructor wants you to write an essay of about two to three pages or roughly 500-800 words. This is what composition instructors sometimes call a five-paragraph essay, even when they do not tell you exactly how many paragraphs to write. Why do instructors assign a five-paragraph essay? What are they looking for in your paper, and what do they expect you to do?

The five-paragraph essay (or 2-3 page paper) is like a mini-paper that has all of the organizational tools you will need to write a longer, more complex paper. By assigning you a five-paragraph essay, your instructor is giving you a chance to grasp this basic organizational style. The length might be short, but the format can be adapted for longer papers when you start taking advanced classes.

The key to this assignment is the format. The five-paragraph essay relies on a specific pattern of presentation to communication information to the reader. Become adept in this format now, in a short form, and it will be easier for you to write longer, more challenging papers later.

What is that format? Although this essay contains five or so paragraphs, there are three types of paragraphs in it:

- The Introductory Paragraph (Paragraph 1)

- The Body Paragraphs (Paragraphs 2, 3, and 4)

- The Conclusion Paragraph (Paragraph 5)

Each of these paragraph types follows a particular format, too. We will look at the format for each of these paragraph types in detail below, but for now, we will remain focused on understanding your assignment.

When you receive your assignment, your first job should be to break down the assignment requirements. Read the assignment closely and turn it into a checklist, then use this checklist to make sure you have done everything the instructor has asked you to do. Here we will practice on a sample assignment, and then you can do this step for your particular assignment.

Here is a typical assignment for this kind of essay:

——-

Write a paper describing your career plans. When you graduate, what will be your field? What will be your specific role in that field? Discuss the educational requirements, the tasks performed by people in this occupation, and the available opportunities and employment outlook for the people entering the field.

Your paper should be 600-800 words (not including title page and references, if you use references), with 1" margins, double-spaced paragraphs, and numbered pages. Use APA for the format.

——-

If we were to turn this assignment into a checklist, it might look something like this:

* Describe career plans.

* Identify field after graduation.

* Identify role in that field.

* Educational requirements.

* Tasks performed by people in this occupation,

* Opportunities and employment outlook.

* 600-800 words.

* Title page.

* References are optional.

* 1" margins.

* Double-spaced.

* Numbered pages.

* APA format.

That is not too hard, is it? You will notice that some of those requirements are related to content (the ideas you discuss in your paper), and some are related to format (the way the paper should look on the page or screen). Both kinds of requirements are important, and both should be included on your assignment checklist. Doing this will make it easier for you to do two things: meet all of the assignment requirements and plan your outline. So next, we will create a working outline of your paper. This will be much easier than you think!

Book One: Step Two: The Working Outline

TIP:

Forget about old-fashioned outlines with rigorous formats. This is a different kind of outline, and it will make your research and drafting much easier!

Now that you understand the assignment and you have made a checklist of the requirements, the next step is turning that checklist into a working outline. If you look at the example assignment requirements closely, you might notice that it does not require you to turn in an outline. In fact, it does not even mention an outline. Does this mean you can skip the outline? No, but it does mean you have been liberated from formal outline formats.

Instead of writing a formal outline with roman numerals and indents and all that detailed format work, just write a checklist-style outline to help you organize your thoughts and meet the assignment requirements. This is the step where you begin to transform your assignment checklist into an actual paper, and the rest of our steps depend on it. Therefore, it is important to do this step, but it is not important to make the outline have any particular appearance. It can look like a checklist, or a list of sentences, or a bullet list, or any other format that is flexible, easy to scan, and easy to change.

Start by writing your subject at the top of the page. We will continue to use the career paper assignment as our example. In this case, the subject of the paper is easy to identify. What will be your career when you get out of school? This is your subject. Write it at the top of your assignment checklist.

——-

Subject: My career

——-

Next, look at the content requirements for your paper. Remember, the content requirements are the ideas your paper should contain, and the format requirements are the way the paper should look on the page or screen. For now, we will look only at the content requirements. In our sample assignment, these are the content requirements.

——-

* Describe career plans.

* Identify field after graduation.

* Identify role in that field.

* Educational requirements.

* Tasks performed by people in this occupation.

* Opportunities and employment outlook.

——-

Next, using this as a checklist, jot down a note that directly answers each point on this checklist. If you were writing a career paper about becoming a nurse, your answers might look like this:

——-

* Describe career plans: Be a nurse in a pediatric hospital or school.

* Identify field after graduation: Nursing/medical field.

* Identify role in that field: Specifically want to work with children.

* Educational requirements: An associate’s degree to start as an LPN, and a bachelor’s degree to be an RN.

* Tasks performed: Being able to quickly assess someone’s physical condition, monitor vital statistics, perform first aid, draw blood, administer medications

* Opportunities: Nurses usually have strong job prospects, but the bad economy and state budget shortfalls have slowed the demand for new nurses.

——-

That is what a working outline can look like. We now have several ideas for things to discuss in the paper. These ideas are organized in groups according to topics. We know these topics meet the assignment requirements head-on because we used the assignment to create the working outline. We have a good blueprint for how to develop the paper, which is the entire purpose of a working outline.

As we work on our papers, sometimes we might think of new ideas that would fit into our papers. Use the outline to decide where to put this new idea. For example, if you remember that pediatric nurses sometimes have to talk to parents who might be worried or upset – which is different from typical patient counseling – you could look at your outline and add it where it fits in most easily:

——-

* Tasks performed: Being able to assess someone’s physical condition, monitor vital statistics, perform first aid, draw blood, administer medications, patient counseling, parent counseling

——-

In addition, if you do research on your subject and find an interesting fact or statistic, you can add that detail along with the citation information right where it fits in the outline. For now, you do not have to worry about writing a citation in perfect format. Just jot down the information that will help you find the source again later so that you can build a proper citation when the time comes. Like this:

——-

* Opportunities: Nurses usually have strong job prospects, but the bad economy and state budget shortfalls have slowed the demand for new nurses.

- Easier to find jobs in rural areas than in cities. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/August/28/medill-nurses.aspx Nurses, Once in High Demand, Face Job Shortages By Chris Linden and Melissa Suran, Retrieved 1/15/12.

——-

That note contains most of the information you might need for a proper citation: article title, author names, web address, and date. If you forget to print out or save a copy of this article, you will probably still be able to use it in your paper as long as you have this information available. At worst, you will have the web address and can return to the article to gather additional information for your citation. So make your citation notes now, because it will make it easier to create your citations later.

Sometimes, in the course of our research or idea development, we think of something that does not quite fit the outline. Perhaps our nursing student remembers the time she broke her arm on the school playground, and that the school nurse inspired her to want to study nursing and work with children. This inspiration for her career choice is very interesting, but where does it fit in the assignment requirements? That biographical information is not about education needs, employment outlook, or typical job duties. It might fit a little bit with her career goals, but it has more to do with the inspiration for those goals than with the goals themselves.

Does this mean the nursing student should ignore this idea? Not necessarily. She might discover later that she needs more ideas to meet the length requirement for her paper. In that case, she would be glad to have made a note of this idea so she will not have to scramble to come up with something new. Alternatively, she might choose to use it in her introduction or conclusion. But the idea does not fit neatly into this outline, so instead of trying to jam it in where it does not belong, she can make a note at the bottom of her working outline. Like this:

——-

Possible idea: The time I broke my arm and Mrs. Kelly took care of me, and how that gave me the idea to be a pediatric nurse.

——-

Now, if she needs it later, the idea is already there and ready to go. At that time, she can decide how to make it fit, but she does not have to spend time on that unless she needs to use the idea. She will not have to worry about coming up with new ideas then, because she will already have them handy.

As you can see, preparing a working outline early, before you start the research or development of the actual paper, can help organize the material as you go. This makes it easier to write the actual paper later, and it makes it less likely that you will be sidetracked by interesting research or ideas that do not fit the assignment requirements. For a simple paper like a five-paragraph essay, you will probably only have the simplest working outline that uses these tips and techniques in a simple way. But it will still help you write a better five-paragraph paper, and it will give you solid practice in these techniques so that you are more comfortable using them with longer, more challenging assignments later on.

Now that you’ve created your working outline, the next step is writing your thesis statement. This is the most important sentence in your entire paper, so it is worth taking a little extra time to get it right.

Book One: Step Three: The Thesis Statement

TIP:

Write a draft thesis statement before you start writing because this will help you focus your paper. You can always change it later if you need to!

After have broken down your assignment requirements and created a working outline, the next step is writing a thesis statement. A thesis statement, sometimes also called a controlling idea, is a one-sentence summary of the subject of your paper. It is the most important sentence in your paper, so it is worth taking a little time to make sure you make it as good as it can be.

There are many ways to categorize or describe thesis statements. For example, many professors teach the difference between expository, argumentative, and analytical thesis statements. What do these terms mean? Expository papers are meant to explain or describe something. They provide information without any additional insight or opinion. Argumentative papers, though, rely on educated opinion to persuade the reader of the correctness of a certain conclusion. Facts will support an argument, but the goal is to persuade rather than to inform. Analytical papers break down the facts of the subject into components but also attempt to persuade the reader to accept a particular conclusion.

Now that you know about these three broad types of papers, do you know how to write a thesis statement? Of course not. These are important concepts to understand, but they might not help you craft a thesis statement specific to your particular assignment. Another approach is needed, one that shows you how to put words together into a clear, purposeful sentence. Using the approach discussed here will help you write a thesis statement for this specific assignment, a five-paragraph essay, regardless of the specifics of that assignment.

* Introducing The Map Thesis Formula

The map formula is a simple pattern which allows you to plug specifics from your assignment into a template. It is called a map thesis because it provides a brief map of the body of the paper. This formula is particularly suited to the five-paragraph essay because the organization of the paper and the organization of the map formula support each other in a logical way. There are three body paragraphs, and there are three points on the map: one map point for each body paragraph. Let’s take a closer look at how that works.

Here’s the basic map formula:

[Subject] + [Map Point One] + [Map Point Two] + [Map Point Three]

Filling in