Writing Workshop 2.0

Introduction

Word art is constructed from words having to do with creating an essay. After reviewing the various genres of essays and MLA format, writing the paper becomes an important issue. Learning how to interest the reader with an intriguing introduction and a high-quality thesis will start a paper on the right track. Each body paragraph must contain enough information to prove the writer knows the subject area and has reasonable ideas regarding the topic. In-text citations reveal where the writer found the support in their essays to prove his or her point, and using citations correctly keeps the writer from plagiarizing, or using another person's work without permission.

Essential Questions

What are the four types of writings used to convey ideas, and when do I use each type?
How do I effectively brainstorm before writing an essay?
What are sources, and how do I find reliable sources to support my ideas?
How do I effectively create a thesis statement for an essay?
How do I create a well-organized text with evidence that supports my ideas?
What is MLA Format, and how do I use MLA in my papers?
How do I use textual evidence to support my ideas in writing?
How do I use in-text citations to document my sources?
How do I create a proper Works Cited page for my paper?

Key Terms

Essay: A piece of writing on a particular subject.
Thesis statement: One sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay.
Ideas: The opinions or thoughts of the writer.
Organization: Arranging an essay in a way that keeps similar ideas in groups known as paragraphs.
Paragraph: A group of sentences that explains the ideas of the writer.
Topic sentence: The sentence that begins each paragraph and reveals what the paragraph will be about.
Conclusion sentence: The sentence that appears at the end of each paragraph and wraps up the information from the paragraph.
Brainstorming: The way for writers to think of the ideas to include in an essay.
Support: Ideas from other people that writers use as evidence to back up and prove their own ideas.
In-text citation: The author's last name and the page number of the source that follows the proof in an essay and leads to the Works Cited entry to reveal the publication information about the source.
MLA Format: MLA stands for Modern Language Association. MLA format is the way that a writer sets up an essay: 12-point font, Times New Roman, double spaced, one-inch margins, header, and heading
Sources: The various books, essays, and other places a writer finds the support for an essay.
Primary source: The main work of literature a writer focuses on and uses for an essay.
Secondary source: Various texts a writer uses to find support for an essay.
Works Cited entry: The publishing information of a certain source that is set up in a certain format to appear in the Works Cited.
Works Cited: An alphabetized list of all sources used in the essay written in MLA format.
Bibliography: An alphabetized list of all sources read that relate to a certain topic of an essay and written in MLA format.
Expository: An essay written for the purpose of informing, explaining, or describing the author’s subject matter.
Descriptive: An essay that asks a student to describe something in particular.
Narrative: An essay where the writer tells a story.
Persuasive: An essay that requires the writers to convince readers to agree with their position or opinion on a topic.

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