TYPES OF

WRITING

At least two different ways of thinking about

types of writing; 1) As English 28 training
exercises
Kind of like different types of weight machines:

Most of the things you will write in other classes (and more generally in
life) involve multiple types of writing, just as most natural physical
exertion involves multiple muscle groups

But it can be useful to practice skills/work specific muscle groups in

isolation.

At least two different ways of thinking about

types of writing; 2) As buzzwords that show
up in more complicated academic tasks

This is where the direction words approach comes in

From among the three general purposes for writing outlined on p.

25 oc Language Awareness, 11th Editionexpressive, informative,
and argumentative--most academic writing is informative
writing, so most of the direction words pertain to this writing type.

But this doesnt mean that academic writing doesnt have an

argumentjust, most often the argument doesnt directly relate
to value judgments or to pushing directly for a course of action.

For instance, an academic paper might argue that newspaper

articles display various types of slantingbut often such papers
would not directly argue that slanting is good or bad, or that
anything should be done about it.

The two approaches: English 28 exercises likened

to direction words in Language Awareness (=LA)
Illustration:

Using examples to illustrate a point or idea (= LA )

In LA, Illustrate
Narration:

Telling a story or giving an account of an event

In LA, Tell (bottom of p. 22)

Description:

Presenting a picture with words

In LA, Describe
Process

Analysis/Process: Explaining how something is done or happens

In LA, Analyze
Definition:

Explaining what something is

In LA, Define
Division

and Classification: Dividing a subject into its parts and placing them in appropriate categories

In LA, Categorize
Comparison

and Contrast: Demonstrating Likenesses and Differences

In LA, Compare, and Contrast

Cause

and Effect: Explaining the cause of an event or the effects of an action

In LAno exact equivalent, but perhaps Explain (bottom of p. 22), Interpret, or Synthesize
Argument:

Using reason or logic to persuade someone to your way of thinking

In LA, Argue (bottom pf p. 22)

In-class exercise: read some paragraphs,

determine the English 28type of writing

Read a few paragraphs treating the subject of love, written by

a fellow LAVC student (beginning of worksheet).

Next to each paragraph, you have a space to jot down the type
of writing you think that this paragraph represents.

Point of exercise: there is a lot of overlap between different

types of writing, even when we try to practice them in isolation

English 28 writing types/Academic essay buzzwords:

Relationship to longer capstone tasks in this course
and to tasks in more advanced courses

In this section of English 28, we have done a short narrative essay, and
we will also do a short argumentative essay. Most of the other types of
writing will be practiced in paragraph form, or in combination with each
other as part of more complicated assignments.

Outside of English 28, distinctions dont tend to be made between

informative and argumentative. Informative academic essays that require
you to define, analyze, categorize and synthesize often respond to prompts
that include the word Arguefor instance, Choose a traditional story,
and, using a particular definition of mythology, argue that is a myth.

Because I have those types of assignments in mind for English 101, I will
design my argumentative essay prompts a bit differently.

Direction wordsimportant to
academia, but also beyond

Look at the diagram on the following slide; it is is also in your

handout. How does the information describe relate to direction
words?

Diagram taken from p.14 the following document: http://

www.youth4justice.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/04-01-13You
thofColorResponsetoSchoolShootingsFinalStatement.pdf

Direction wordsimportant to
academia, but also beyond

Hint: you could reorganize the information presented in the picture

into paragraphs with the following topic sentences:

When we examine the unique traits of intervention workers (as opposed

to other professionals in the public safety sector) we see that they include
a distinct appearance, perspective, and different means of measuring
their labor and success.

All of these aspects of intervention workers contrast with the relevant

traits of law enforcement officers.

Also, ultimately, the Youth Justice Coalition uses this graphic as part
of a larger argument that schools and surrounding communities
need more intervention workers and less armed officers.

In-class exercise in preparation for Capstone

Task: combining types of writing/responses
to direction words

Building off of what we just saw:

We will start by analyzing (examining closely and breaking down)

elements of a picture (1 paragraph)

Then you will use that analysis to compare and contrast that picture
with another, related picture

Finally, you will categorize some of the differences as instances of

slanting.

But first: we should review the relevant types of slanting.

Review categories of slanting:

type one

Please categorize the type of slanting that is discussed in this

video.

https://www.facebook.com/Powerfulblackstories/videos/vb.14570
8032139774/1067956983248203/?type=2&theater
This type of slanting is another name for lying by omission, the
reason that we dont know about Lewis Latimer, Patricia Bath,
Daniel Hale Williams.

Review categories of slanting:

type two

Categorize the type of slanting revealed by comparing these two

labels for the same process:

Lying by omission vs. Slanting by selection of facts

Hint: compare connotations of lying vs slanting

Review: categories of slanting:

type two

Those two labels reveal slanting by use of charged words:

Two problems with peoples attempts to show this slanting

process

1: Your two descriptions werent similar enough that I could figure out
what words to compare. (Example: Fluffy tended to shed quite a
lot, versus, Fluffy loved a good bath.)

2: Your two descriptions had different, contradictory denotations as

opposed to different connotations. (Example: ugly vs. beautiful,
or too made-up vs. too plain.)

Review categories of slanting:

type three

First of all--because its relevant to the task at hand--lets take the

opportunity to review the English passive voice.

Passive voice = form of verb to be (like is, are, were) + past

participle (examples: eaten, taken, bought, released). If
youre not sure what the past participle of a particular verb is, check
the second set of forms at dictionary.com:

The significance of the passive voice in relation to slanting is

that it removes the need to mention who did an action.

(Thomas Jefferson designed --active voice--vs. The doors were

installed--passive voice)

Review categories of slantingtype 3

Categorize the slanting technique represented by NYTs use of
active and passive voice:

One way to think about the difference

between types two three of slanting

Type 2 (charged language) relates to diction :to word choice

Type 3 (emphasis) relates to syntax: how you string these

words together to make a sentence.

Yet another way of saying this: type 2 (charged language) often

relates to content words (nouns, adjectives, main verbs),
and type 3 often relates to function words (helping verbs like
to be, conjunctions like and or but), the glue that
joins content words into a sentence.

Back to in-class exercise: combining types of

writing/responses to direction words
We will start by analyzing (examining closely and breaking down) elements of a
picture (1 paragraph).

Topic sentence of analysis paragraph: Examining the Homeland poster closely, we

can break it down into the following components. First, we can see that the central
character has a striking facial expression, and we can examine the type and color of
her outfit. Then, we can look at the clothing of the surrounding characters.

Analysis paragraph: closely examining and

breaking down the Homeland poster

Fearful diagonal glance

Bright red headscarf

Dark burkas

With no other faces in sight

Back to in-class exercise: combining types of

writing/responses to direction words

Then you will use the information in your analysis paragraph to

compare and contrast that picture with another, related picture.

Compare/Contrast Paragraph: Noticing some

differences
Elements in Homeland
poster

Elements in Time Magazine

photo

Fearful diagonal glance

Bright red headscarf

Calm direct eye contact

Dark burkas

White and pastel pink headscarf

and dress

With no other faces in sight

Pastel blue burkas

Mesh screen visible, indicating

presence of other womens faces

Back to in-class exercise: combining types of

writing/responses to direction words

Finally, you will categorize some of the differences as instances

of slanting, designed to influence your opinion of the place in
which that particular Homeland season was set (which was
Pakistan). Dont worry about the types of slanting right now, just
worry about the basic concept of slanting.

Remember also the role of pictures like the following:

Categorization paragraph: Categorizing some

differences as negative slanting
Elements in Homeland
poster

Elements in Time Magazine

photo

Fearful diagonal glance

Bright red headscarf

Calm direct eye contact

Dark burkas

White and pastel pink headscarf

and dress

With no other faces in sight

Pastel blue burkas

Mesh screen visible, indicating

presence of other womens faces

Starting Homework exercise

Look at the two other in your handoutone from the Sistine Chapel and
one from Zahras Paradise.

First examine the picture from Zahras Paradise. Write a paragraph

analyzing it according to the central characters positions, clothing and
appearance, and the figures or objects that appear on the edge of the
picture.

Homework: for Monday

For Homework: Capstone Task 2three paragraphs

Finalize and type up your first Zahras Paradise paragraph analyzing the
images basic visual features.

Then, at home, you will write a second paragraph in which you compare
and contrast these basic visual features with related features from the Sistine
Chapel detail in the worksheet http://
www.italianrenaissance.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/michelangelo-creatio
n-of-adam.jpg
. (Just like the image of Law Enforcement Officer vs. Intervention Worker
or like the compare/contrast that we did with Homeland.)

Then, you will write a third paragraph categorizing some of the differences
as forms of slanting designed to influence your opinion of the Islamic Republic
of Iran.

Also for homework: edit your narrative essay (Capstone Task 1), to be
turned in along with Mondays Peer Editin worksheet.

One Final Note on Homework for Monday:

MLA Format Necessary for both Capstone
Tasks

This means:

Typed up

1-inch margins on all sides

Double-spaced

Last name and page numbers in top right-hand corner of all pages

Header on top left-hand corner of first page: Name, Class, Date