Notes

Outline

Titles, Paragraphs, and Conclusions Successful Writing Chapters 7 and 9

Titles, p. 90 Predict the paper’s content Avoid being too broad Broad: “Irony in Shakespeare’s Histories” Specific: “Richard’s Manipulation of Women in Richard III”

Titles, p. 90 Catch the reader’s interest Provocative titles Question titles “Does Sex Education Cause Sex?” “What’s Behind the Gender Gap Among Voters?”

Titles, p. 90 Reflect the document’s focus Titles with colons Broad topic:  Specific focus “This Pen for Hire: On Grinding Out Papers for College Students”

Titles, p. 90 Use key words “How to Work Your Way Through College by Starting a Small Business”

Paragraphs, p. 126 Break up material in a document into manageable units Choose paragraph length appropriate to audience Use single-sentence paragraphs sparingly for emphasis

Paragraphs: Length Short Paragraph:  3 to 6 sentences Medium Paragraph:  7 or 8 sentences Long Paragraph:  more than 10 sentences, or more than half a printed page

Breaking Paragraphs New idea Shift in time—after, first, next, at that time Shift in place—elsewhere, in the meantime

Breaking Paragraphs Shift showing contrast—however, on the other hand, nevertheless Shift in emphasis—also, in addition, if that happens

Conclusions, p. 140 Summarize main points and restate thesis Discuss the future—speculate on future outcome regarding issue Make a recommendation or suggest a solution

Conclusions Raise further questions or implications regarding issue Quote an authority Give a final anecdote or example

Conclusions Relate your issue to a broader context of issues (reverse funnel method) Tie last paragraph to first paragraph