English Test

When writing, the two basic goals are:

1. To make a point

2. To support that point

Effective writing is

not biased

Bias

favoritism or preference toward a specific point of view or idea.

Paragraph

a series of sentences about one main idea, or point

How is an effective paragraph structured?

a paragraph typically starts with a point (also called the topic sentence) and the rest of the paragraph provides specific details (reasons, examples) to support and develop that point

Readers are like ___

juries: they want to see the evidence for themselves so that they can make their own judgements

Essay

a series of paragraphs about one main idea or point — called the central point or thesis

A well-written paragraph will:

Gain the reader’s interest and present the thesis statement

The 4 common methods of introduction are

1. Telling a brief story

2. Asking one or more questions

3. Shifting to the opposite

4. Going from the broad to the narrow