31 Aug Writing Assignment: Descriptive Paragraph
Assignment Overview
This week, you will use the writing process steps to develop a well-written descriptive paragraph. Keep in mind that the three characteristics of a good paragraph are unity, support, and coherence.
The paragraph should be 250 to 350 words long, using Times New Roman or Calibri font, size 12, double-spaced. Your paragraph should also include a heading, a title, and an indent.
The final draft of the paragraph, with all supporting work (reflection, prewriting notes, outline, and first draft), is due via the Submit Assignment button, which uploads it to TurnItIn and the course digital drop box, by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET. Please upload a single document containing all of your work.
Reflecting
Before starting this assignment, review the comments and corrections on your last writing assignment. At the top of your prewriting, write down two areas you wish to improve on or two goals you wish to accomplish in this assignment.
Step 1: Prewriting
A descriptive paragraph shows what a person, place, thing, or situation is like. Your first step is to decide what you would like to describe. See the reading from this week for possible topics.
Once you have a topic, spend about 10 minutes gathering your thoughts about your topic. See Week 1 readings for tips on prewriting.
Ask yourself:
- What is the main point of the description?
- What are the important details?
Step 2: Planning
Consider the material you gathered in your prewriting and create an outline for your paragraph. Organize your ideas spatially. You can use the following template for spatial organization. See this weeks reading for an example.
Topic sentence
On the right
Detail 1
Detail 2
In front
Detail 1
Detail 2
Behind
Detail 1
Detail 2
On the left
Detail 1
Detail 2
Conclusion
Check your outline for unity, development, and coherence by asking yourself:
- Is your main idea or topic sentence clear?
- Do your supporting details actually support the main idea? Delete anything off topic
- Do you have enough details? You should have at least three
- Are your details organized in a logical spacial order?
Step 3: Drafting
- Using that outline, write the first draft
- Flesh out the ideas from your outline
- Include transitional words and phrases to create a flow between sentences. See this weeks reading for a list of transitions for a descriptive paragraph
- Compose a title for your work
Step 4: Polishing
Ask yourself:
- Are my sentences too long or too short?
- Do I have enough sentence variety?
- Are my words appropriate for academic purposes?
- Do I have any major grammatical errors (e.g., fragments, comma splices, or run-on sentences)?
- Do I have any spelling or mechanical errors?
- Are my verb tenses or persons (first, second, third) consistent?
- Are there verbs or adjectives I could replace with better ones (e.g., nice = cordial, amiable, gracious; do = accomplish, undertake, perform)? Let become your new best friend.
