Assignment Overview

This week, you will use the writing process steps to develop a well-written narration 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.

Step 1: Prewriting
A narrative paragraph tells a story. Your first step is to decide what story you would like to tell.

Once you have a topic, spend about 10 minutes gathering your thoughts about your topic.

Ask yourself:

· What is the main point of the story?

· 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 chronologically. You can use the following template. See the reading from this week for an example.

Topic sentence with a point

First event

Detail 1

Detail 2

Second event

Detail 1

Detail 2

Third event

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 points actually support the main idea? Delete anything off topic

· Do you have enough supporting points and examples? You should have at least three

· Are your supporting points organized in a logical 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

· Review the reading for this week in your textbook for a list of transitions for a narrative 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 www.thesaurus.com (Links to an external site.) become your new best friend.

Running the spell-checker is not a substitute for proofreading your work carefully.

Review the rubric below. MLA format is required

Plagiarism

You are expected to write primarily in your own voice, using paraphrase, summary, and synthesis techniques when integrating information from class and outside sources. Use an author’s exact words only when the language is especially vivid, unique, or needed for technical accuracy. Failure to do so may result in charges of Academic Dishonesty.

Overusing an author’s exact words, such as including block quotations to meet word counts, may lead your readers to conclude that you lack appropriate comprehension of the subject matter or that you are neither an original thinker nor a skillful writer.