Module 1: Tools for Success
POWER Up Your Writing
Now that you have completed the "Prewriting" and "Organizing" steps of the writing process, it is time to continue POWERing up your writing. Using your prewriting and outline materials from the application assignment in The Writing Process topic, and the information below, you are going to write a short essay. Take a few moments to review the same prompt from The Writing Process topic:
Prompt: You have entered into a contest to win one million dollars. One of the requirements of the contest is to name the first three purchases you would make with this money, and explain why. Make sure to explain your reasons clearly.
W = Writing
Using your prewriting and outline materials from the application assignment in The Writing Process, create a rough draft for the writing prompt above. Your draft should include an introduction with a thesis statement, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion with a restated thesis statement. Each paragraph should include three to five sentences. Remember, this is a rough draft. You should try to clearly communicate your ideas, but you will have the opportunity to make revisions in the next part of the process. While you are creating your draft, use the Writing Checklist below, or download a printable version of the Writing Checklist. Please note: all of your responses on the checklist should be "Yes" before you move on to the revision portion of your essay.
| Does your essay include the following elements? | Yes |
No |
| Introduction | ||
| Does your introduction paragraph have a hook? | ||
| Does your introduction paragraph have a bridge? | ||
| Does your introduction paragraph have a thesis statement? | ||
| Body Paragraphs | ||
| Does each body paragraph have a topic sentence? | ||
| Does each body paragraph have supporting details? | ||
| Does each body paragraph have a concluding sentence? | ||
| Conclusion | ||
| Did you restate your thesis statement? | ||
| Did you include a clincher sentence to make your reader remember your essay? | ||
E = Editing and R = Revising
You have now completed a rough draft of your essay. You are almost finished with the entire writing process! Now it is time to apply the "Editing" and "Revising" steps of the writing process. As you are editing and revising your work, use the Editing and Revising Checklist below, or download a printable version of the Editing and Revising Checklist. Please note: all of your responses on the checklist should be "Yes" before you submit your work.
It may be helpful to have someone else look over your work for corrections that you might have missed. Once you have completed your edits and revisions, give your essay to a friend, parent, or sibling to review. You can provide them with the same Editing and Revising Checklist that you use to revise your essay.
| Please check your essay for the following items: | Yes |
No |
| Are proper nouns capitalized? | ||
| Does each sentence start with a capital letter? | ||
| Does each sentence end with the appropriate punctuation? | ||
| Are commas, apostrophes, and quotation marks used correctly? | ||
| Is the beginning of each paragraph indented? | ||
| Are all words spelled correctly? | ||
| Does the essay avoid the use of contractions (ex. don’t, can’t, shouldn’t)? | ||
| Are commonly-confused words (ex. their, there, they’re, its, it’s) used correctly? | ||
| Does the essay avoid the use of run-on sentences? | ||
| Does the essay avoid the use of sentence fragments? | ||
| Are subjects and verbs in agreement? | ||
| Is the verb tense consistent throughout the essay? | ||
| Have confusing pronouns been removed? | ||
| Is there a variety of sentence lengths used? | ||
| Is the language appropriate for the subject and audience? | ||
| Is the language clear and easily understood? | ||
| Are the reasons provided clearly explained and supported by details? | ||
| Does the essay avoid the use of repetitive language or repeated sentences? | ||
| Are details arranged in a logical sequence? |
Congratulations! You have reached the end of the writing process! All that is left is for you to make any needed modifications to your essay. Make sure that you use the following header on your essay:
Reflection
Think about all of the reading and writing strategies with which you have been presented in this module. Take some time to consider the following questions:
- Which of these strategies can help you in your other courses? How can active reading work in math, science, or social studies courses?
- Why will you need this information for college or when you get a "real job" outside of school? When might you need to write formal reports or correspondence for a job?
In a digital document separate from your essay, compose three to four sentences reponding to these questions.
Once you have completed your essay and reflection, please submit your essay draft, revisions, final copy, and reflection activity to the dropbox.
Once you have completed this module, please complete the module test.