Writing Homework Help

Restaurants

European cafes 

Sidewalk coffee shops           

2. Beaches

Wind surfing 

Cruises

Scuba diving  

3. Shops

Street vendors

Boutiques

4. Entertainment

Museums

Folk dancing

Music

Clubs

Review Question

A. Use your own list and reduce to main points.You may include more than four (4) main points.   

1.

2.

3.

4.

Please Write Your Answer Below:

Lesson 11: Order of Main Points

Objectives:

• Sort main points from strongest to weakest
• Organize main points according to writing purpose

Decide how you want to arrange your points:

A. If you are writing a narrative or describing a process, you will want to organize your paper chronologically, that is, in the order of time.

B. If you are describing space, you will organize your main points according to the order in which you want to describe the object, area, or person. 

C. If you are presenting an argument or persuading someone, then you will move from the weakest to the strongest points.

When the young American military members chose their main points, they decided to arrange them according to how important they thought the places were and how often they visited the places on the list. 

They could have also used a spatial order by starting at a particular geographical location of Glyfada and moving to different points of interest in the resort town. 

Example: 

Note: This is just an example – there are different ways the topics could be reduced and ordered depending on the audience and purpose of the essay. 

Inventory of Topic  Reduced to 4 Main Points:   

1. Restaurants

2. Beaches

3. European cafes 

4. Shops 

Order of main points:

1. Beaches

2. Restaurants

3. European cafes

4. ShopsNote how the order of the topics changed to present the beaches first, the restaurants and European cafes next, and shopping last. The writer may want to elaborate on the fabulous beaches and water as the main attraction for tourists, followed by fine dining, and finally shopping. 
  
The order of your main points depends on the audience and purpose of your essay.

Review Question

Directions: Decide how you want to arrange your points by following the steps below. 

Inventory of Topic:  Reduced to 4 points
1.
2.
3.
4

Order of Main Points
1.
2.
3.

4

Lesson 12: Basic Working Thesis

Objective: 

• Write a thesis statement

After completing the inventory, reducing the inventory to main points, and deciding on the order of the points, it is time to put everything together. It is easy if you think of it as a formula.

topic + so what? + main points

This statement a basic thesis because it is your essay in a nutshell. From this thesis statement you develop your direction, argument, organization, and target audience. Although the basic thesis appears rigid, it forces you to examine the skeleton of your paper. Stating the thesis in a single sentence is a valuable skill. If you cannot condense what you want to say into one sentence, you do not know what you want to say about the topic.

When you can actually put your topic and points on paper, you will begin to form a plan for your essay. A single sentence eliminates the problem of a thesis going in two different directions. 

If you state your thesis in a compound sentence (two independent clauses), you will find yourself coming to a fork in the road, and the paper will go two directions.

Poor Example: Glyfada is a good place to visit, and people like to buy property there. 

Does the writer want to talk about Glyfada being a good vacation spot, or does the writer want to discuss real estate? In this example, the writer has two topics.

Also be aware of parallelism. You must keep your main points parallel as you list them in the basic thesis. 

Keep the words of your main points concrete (something you touch like a ball) or abstract (something you cannot touch like sadness or happiness). 

Keep your main points in the same grammatical construction (singing, running, swimming; not singing, running, and to swim). 

Be consistent in the concepts you use (apples, oranges, and bananas; not apples, oranges, and zebras).

Our military members needed to be able to say, “Glyfada is a good place to visit because the prices and the climate are outstanding for shops, beaches, bars, and restaurants.” 

Example: Basic Working Thesis

topic + so what? + main points.

Glyfada is a reasonably priced vacation spot that offers a variety of shops, beautiful beaches, quality restaurants, and European cafes.

Review Question

Using your information from previous lessons, write a basis thesis for your essay.

Basic Working Thesis = topic + so what? + main points.

Please Write Your Answer Below:

Lesson 13: Mapping

Objective: 

• Organize writing points to include details that support thesis

Mapping determines whether or not you have enough material to support your main points. Under each main point, list supporting details. You do not have to use all the words you list, but at least you will have a starting point to develop and support your main ideas.

Example of Mapping:

Here is an example of an inventory of each main point that was identified in the previous lessons. Notice that the main points are still in order of Beaches, Dining, and Shopping. 

1. Beaches

sand

clean

skiing

wind surf

boats

weather

scuba diving

2. Restaurants

cafes

snack shops

price ranges

ethnic food

peasant type

seafood

souflaki

moussaki

3. European cafes

music

folk dancing

gathering spots

atmosphere

family

open air

music

clubs

4. Shops

gold

wool

ceramics

souvenirs

marble

brass

rugs

Review Question

A. Map your main points and determine if you have enough material to talk about each one.

1. 

a.

b.
c.

2.

a.
b.
c.

3.

a.
b.
c.

4.

a.
b.
c.

sson 14: Sub-Points

Lesson 15: Sorting (Working Outline)

Objective: 

• Create an outline using key words from the thesis statement

Using key words from your basic thesis, you must make a short outline using single words or phrases. The key words used for Main Points should be the same ones used in the basic thesis and should also follow the same order. Then you must add support for the sub-points.

Example of Sorting: 

Note: In the example below there are new sub-points added. This will happen as you add to, or revise, your essay.

I. Introduction

 A. General statement

 B. So what

 C. Working thesis

Glyfada is a reasonably priced vacation spot that offers beautiful beaches, quality restaurants, and a variety of shops. 

II. Beaches/Activities

 A. Sand

 B. Water

III. Restaurants

 A. Cafes

 B. Ethnic food

 C. Taverns

IV. European cafes

 A. Greek dancing

 B. Meeting place (family/friends)

 C. Darts