Introduction to Academic Writing

92 Part 1 I The Paragraph • Use transition signals to show the divisions of your topic. • Pay attention to sentence structure. Write both simple and compound sentences, and punctuate them correctly. Step 4 Polish the rough draft . • Exchange papers with a classmate and ask him or her to check your rough draft using Peer-Editing Worksheet 5 on page 206. Then discuss the completed worksheet and decide what changes you should make. Write a second draft. • Use Self-Editing Worksheet 5 on page 207 to check your second draft for grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. Step 5 Write a final copy. Hand in your rough draft , your second draft, your final copy, and the page containing the two editing worksheets. Your teacher may also ask you to hand in your prewriting paper. Alternative Become a restaurant reviewer. Write a one-paragraph review of a restaurant in Writing your area. J\\ssignment You may want to work with another student or in a small group to develop ideas for your restaurant review. ( Each student should write his or her own review, however, because you may want to write about different points.) Use the Restaurant Reviewer's Notebook form on the next page to make notes and organize information. Your review is only one paragraph, so do not use all the points suggested on the form. Choose no more than three points, such as food, service, prices, or decor, to write about. Once you have decided on your points and examples, make an outline. Then complete steps 3, 4, and 5 in the preceding Writing Assignment. Begin your review with a topic sentence that names the restaurant and makes a general statement about it. Papa Joe's has the best pizza in the city. For a delicious but inexpensive meal, try Alice's Restaurant. In the supporting sentences, discuss each point separately. Use at least one specific example to support each point. Second, the prices are reasonable. For example, a large vegetarian pizza costs just $8.00. End your review with a recommendation: Should people go to the restaurant, and why (or why not)? Summarize the points in your review. For great pizza, go to Papa Joe's, but expect slow service. To sum up, you get good food at cheap prices at Alice's Restaurant.

Restaurant Name Chapter 5 I logical Division of ldeas 93 Restaurant J\\ddress Restaurant Reviewer's Notebook Location (easy to find? Number parking available?) of Stars1 lnterior . (clean? noisy? pleasant decor?) Food Service (efficient? friendly?) Prices 1Give your restaurant 0-5 stars. Excellent ***** Very good **** Average *** Below Average ** Poor * Don't eat here (®)

































































126 Part 1 I The Paragraph Organization People who are interested in your culture may ask you to explain a word that they have heard but do not understand, such as Spanish machismo or German Gemutlichkeit, or an interesting custom or practice such as casual Friday or Saint Patrick's Day in the United States, 0-bon festivals in Japan, holi festivals in India, or quinceafiera parties i n Spanish-influenced cultures. Tests of general writing abiljty sometimes ask you to define abstract1 terms such as love, friendship, courage, or happiness. Tests in college classes may contain questions such as these: lAW ENFORCEMENT What are Miranda rights? lANDSCAPE DESIGN What are organic soil amendments, and how do they improve soil? U.S. HISTORY What was the Underground Railroad? HEALTH SCIENCES What is the Rh factor, and why is it important to pregnant women and their babies? These kinds of questions ask you to define or explain something; for our purposes, we will simply call them definition paragraphs. MODELS Paragraph 1 Definition The Underground Railroad2 Paragraphs 1The Underground Railroad was a secret system that helped slaves escape from slavery in the United States during the mid-1 800s. 21t was not a real railroad; rather, it was a loosely organized chain of people and safe houses3 that stretched from the slave states of the South to the free states of the North and Canada. 3The escapees traveled mostly on foot at night and hid during the day. 4Free blacks and some whites helped the escapees, giving them food, clothing, places to hide, and directions to the next safe house. 5lndeed, the Underground Railroad was a remarkable system that helped thousands of slaves find safety and freedom. 1abstract: cannot be touched or seen; exists only in a person's mind 2The picture on page 125 shows slaves escaping to freedom on the Underground Railroad. 3safe houses: houses where people can hide when their enemies are looking for them

Chapter 8 I Definition Paragraphs 127 Paragraph 2 Courage 1Courage is the quality of being brave when you are facing something that is dangerous or that you fear. 2For example, a soldier who goes into battle shows courage. 3A paramedic4 who crawls into a collapsed building to help an injured person also shows courage. 4However, you don't have to be a soldier or a paramedic to be courageous. 5You can display courage in everyday situations, too. 6For instance, a shy person who is afraid of speaking in public shows courage when he or she gives a speech at school or at work. 7A teenager who resists peer pressure to smoke, drink, or try drugs shows courage. 8To give another example, my friend Angela, who is terrified of flying, recently took her first airplane flight. 9As she walked onto the plane, she was trembling with fear, but she didn't give in to her fright. 10To me, Angela entering that airplane was as brave as a soldier entering battle. Questions on the Models 1 . In each model paragraph, identify the three parts of the topic sentence: topic, category or group, distinguishing characteristics. (Read the information and chart below first.) 2. Which paragraph uses examples in the supporting sentences? 3 . Which paragraph uses facts to answer who, what, where, why, when, and how questions? One way to write the topic sentence of a definition paragraph is to give three pieces of information: 1 . The word or thing you will define or explain (the topic) 2. The large category or group to wh.ich the word or thing belongs 3. The distinguishing characteristics that make it different from other members of the category Tertn /Person/Concept Category or Group Distinguishing Characteristics The Underground Railroad was . . . a secret system . . . Courage is . . . the quality . . . that helped slaves escape from the South to Casual Friday refers to . . . the custom . . . freedom in the North during the mid-1 800s. of being brave when you are facing something that is dangerous or that you fear. of office workers wearing casual clothes to work on Fridays. 4paramcdic: a person who is trained to give emergency medical help