Transcript “There is no such thing as good writing. There is only good rewriting

“There is no such thing as
good writing. There is
only good rewriting.”
-Oliver Wendell Homes
Revising
And
Editing
Check Your Thesis

Do you mention the name of the book?

Is the title in italics?

Do you mention the first and last name of
the author?

Do you mention the three narrative
techniques you discuss in your essay?
 Do you mention the theme you discuss in
your essay?
Check your Topic Sentences
Look at your thesis. What things did you
mention? These become your topic
sentences.
 Through the characterization of Ralph,
Golding establishes his idea that even
good people can do evil things.

Quote Check
Do you have 5 quotes within the essay?
 Is each quote embedded?
 Do you cite each quote?

Embedding Your Quotes

Use quotes (with page numbers) from the
book. Blend them in with your context, by
having quotes and context share sentences.
For example:

Not embedded: Piggy values the conch and
the order it represents. “He cradles it in his
arms” (72).

Embedded: Because Piggy valued the conch
and the order it represents, he “cradles it in
his arms” (72).
Citations
(page #).
 Period comes after citation
 Citation comes at end of sentence
where quote is used
 Example:

– Simon discovers that “evil resides” in all
human beings (45).
11 sentence paragraph

TS
 CD
 CM—this shows that- sentence links cd to theme
 CM
 CD
 CM
 CM
 CD
 CM
 Cm
 CS
Body Paragraphs
If all you do in one body paragraph is give a few
examples of the symbol from the text and simply
identify them, then you haven't analyzed anything.
The analysis part involves explaining how the
symbol contributes to the development of theme
(your point).
But to be sophisticated in your analysis, you must
have ideas that are "in-depth" - not just the superficial
facts of what you see on the page. You must interpret
what the author has given you to work with and show
that you understand the theme.
Strategies for Eliminating
To Be Verbs
(am, is, are, was, were, be , being, been)

Change the to be verb to a stronger, livelier
verb.
– She is unwilling to clean her room.
– She refuses to clean her room

Combine the sentence with the one before or
after it using a phrase or a clause.
– When I was six, I went to the circus. I was thrilled
at what I saw.
– At the age of six, going to the circus thrilled me.
Techniques Used to Combine
Sentences

Combine sentences using coordinating
conjunctions: FANBOYS
– Example:The bell rings to dismiss class.
The students pour into the halls.
– Revised:The bell rings to dismiss class,
and the students pour into the halls.

Find 3 sentences where you can use
FANBOYS
Introduction

Start with a quote
Get the reader's attention. Set the tone
of the essay. State the controlling idea
(thesis) of the essay.
 Orient Reader: In 1-5 sentences,
identify the title, author, and subject of
the novel.

Example Introduction
Aristotle once wrote, “Man, when perfected, is
the best of animals, but, when separated from
law and justice, he is the worst.” Aristotle’s
idea comes to life in William Golding’s Lord of
the Flies. Golding shares Aristotle’s low
opinion of mankind and Golding realizes that
the only thing keeping humanity civil, law and
justice, can easily be destroyed…………
Pattern
Introduce a quote about good and evil
that fits your theme statement
 Explain what the quote means
 Connect it to LOTF
 Put thesis

Conclusion
Why is this novel important to us?
 The conclusion should tie together the
main ideas of the essay.
 It should not simply summarize or
repeat the ideas, but should extend
them by establishing a relationship
between the novel and why we should
understand it.
 It’s helpful to think of this as the answer
to the “so what” question
