PROCESS PAPER 1
4 PARTS Prewriting Rough Draft Peer Edit Work Sheet Final Draft
PERSONAL NARRATIVE Tell me about a time that you helped someone. OR Tell me about a time that someone helped you.
PREWRITING
PREWRITING BRAINSTORMING OR BUBBLE MAP
BRAINSTORMING LISTING IDEAS RELATED TO THE TOPIC Somebody I Helped Mom (groceries, advice) Dad (reminders, computers) Coworkers (questions, moving things) People without homes (food and shelter) Children with their homework (afterschool programs) Animals, Cats, Birds, Dogs, Bugs (get out of pain or danger) Strangers (open doors, directions) Somebody That Helped Me Mom (money, shelter) Dad (fix my car) Coworkers (questions, resources) Bosses (feedback, advice, advance) Friends (keep me from being isolated, job references) Teachers (feedback, recommendations) Police Officers (keep me safe on road)
Birds Animals BUBBLE MAP CONNECT TOPICS USING CIRCLES AND LINES Bugs Family Cats Self Discipline Somebody I Helped Carriers Students Coworkers Homework Directions Strangers Open Doors Teachers
HW 2-1 Complete one of the prewriting activities (brainstorming or bubble map) Make sure and cover both topics (we will talk about how to narrow it down to one tomorrow. Make sure you have at least 5 different ideas for each topic and one or two details I will walk around tomorrow while you take your quiz and give a you a stamp for being done on time. This will be part of the grade on the final paper.
NARROWING DOWN THE TOPIC Will your topic allow you to write a paragraph describing the problem and why it matters? Will your topic allow you to write a paragraph about a solution or an action that was taken to resolve the problem? Will your topic allow you to write a paragraph about the outcome or how the situation turned out after the help was given? Will your topic allow you reflect and state what you learned from the experience?
PREWRITING OUTLINE I. Introduction (3 Sentences Hook, Thesis, and a Road Map) II. III. Body Paragraph 1 (3-4 Sentences) State Problem, Give Details and Background, Explain why it is a problem Body Paragraph 2 (3-4 Sentences) State what was done to solve the problem, explain steps taken, give details IV. Body Paragraph 3 (3-4 Sentences) State what the outcome was, explain what happened after the help was given V. Conclusion (3 Sentences) Summarize what happened in your personal narrative. State would could have been done differently, if anything. Explain what you learned.
OUTLINE HOW I HELPED SOMEBODY (EXAMPLE) I. Introduction I. Hook II. Thesis III. Road Map II. Body Paragraph One Problem: Two baby birds fell out of a tree, they needed help or they were going to die III. Body Paragraph Two Solution: I picked them up and put them in a box, I took them to an animal shelter to get help IV. Body Paragraph Three Outcome: The animal shelter said they were in good shape and almost ready to fly; I felt really good that I stopped to help V. Conclusion I. Summary II. What to Do Differently III. What I learned
HW 2-2 Complete an outline on the back of your prewriting assignment. Make sure your outline shows your plan for each of the 5 paragraphs in your paper. For the Introduction and the Conclusion list the sentence types that you see in my example. We will get more specific about how to write them next week. If you do not finish in class, you should finish for homework. This is due at the beginning of class on Monday.
DRAFTING Introductory Paragraph
INTRODUCTION 1 st sentence = Hook 2 nd sentence = Thesis 3 rd sentence = Road Map
Provocative Question HOOK GRABS THE READER S ATTENTION Compelling detail from your story Interesting Quote about the theme
PROVOCATIVE QUESTION Have you ever experienced a time when you needed some help to accomplish a goal? Have you ever been in a situation where you felt a strong compulsion to help someone? If you found two baby birds rolling helplessly on the ground what would you do? If you had just gotten a new 5 speed car for your birthday, but you could not drive a stick shift, how would you feel?
COMPELLING DETAILS It happened again; I came home from school and there was nothing to eat. My exhausted mother was resting in her bed with a headache. I knew I was going to have to do something. There it was in the driveway; my brand new Audi TT RS. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to drive a stick shift. I couldn t move. Right there under the tree were two tiny baby birds. They were trying to stand, but they kept falling over. My heart felt like it was about to break.
THEMATIC QUOTES Mahatma Gandhi once said, The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. According to Barack Obama, The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope. No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another (Charles Dickens).
HW 3-1 Write a 1-2 sentence hook for your introductory paragraph. Chose one of the following for your format: Provocative question Compelling Detail Thematic Quote (if you use the quote, remember that you are going to have give credit for it using a citation in your final paper) This is due tomorrow at the beginning of class.
THESIS STATEMENT A one or two sentence summary of what your personal narrative is about. In this paper, I will describe how my uncle taught me to drive that stick shift. In what follows, I will layout the steps I took to save two baby birds from dying. In this essay, I will show you how I stepped up to make sure my family had a healthy dinner on the table every night.
HW 3-2 Please write a one or two sentence summary of the main point of your personal narrative. This will be your thesis for your paper. Due tomorrow on the desk at the beginning of class.
ROAD MAP Tells what each paragraph in your paper is about. Gives the reader an order to follow as they process your story. Gives the reader a framework that they can fill in as they read your story. First, I will describe why I just had to learn how to work a stick shift. Then, I will tell how my uncle stepped into to teach and practice with me. Finally, I will share the way I felt when I first took my Audi out on the road by myself. First, I will tell you why I felt compelled to help these two helpless creatures. Next, I will tell you my plan to rescue them. Finally, I will tell you how everything turned out.
COMPLETE INTRODUCTION EXAMPLES Mahatma Gandhi once said, The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. In the following essay, I will tell you how I rescued two baby birds that I came across last summer. First, I will tell you why I felt compelled to help these two helpless creatures. Next, I will tell you my plan to rescue them. Finally, I will tell you how everything turned out. There it was in the driveway; my brand new Audi TT RS. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to drive a stick shift. In this paper, I will describe how my uncle helped me learn to drive this awesome car. First, I will describe why I just had to learn how to work a stick shift. Then, I will tell how my uncle stepped into to teach and practice with me. Finally, I will share how it felt the first time I took my Audi out on the road by myself.
HW 3-3 Add a road map below your hook and your thesis statement. You should have one complete introductory paragraph by the time you come to class tomorrow. This is due on the desk at the beginning of class.
DRAFTING Body Paragraphs
BODY PARAGRAPH 1 - PROBLEM 3-5 sentences Set up the problem you are helping with or the problem someone is helping you with Describe exposition set the scene Time Place People involved Tell why the problem matters, why it is important
BODY PARAGRAPH 1 PROBLEM - EXAMPLE It was a bright and windy morning. I was walking to my tennis class when out of the corner of my eye, I saw two tiny balls of feathers rolling around on the sidewalk under a tree. After taking a closer look, I realized they were baby birds, and I concluded that they must have fallen out of a nest somewhere in the tree. They obviously could not stand or fly, so I knew I would have to do something or they would definitely die.
HW 4-1 Write the first body paragraph for your personal narrative 3-5 sentences Make sure that you communicate the problem Make sure you include exposition elements or important background information Make sure you tell why the problem is important
3-5 sentences BODY PARAGRAPH 2 - SOLUTION Lay out the steps that were taken by you or someone else to solve the problem Give details for each action that you describe Keep the steps in sequence tell what happened first, what happened in the middle, and what happened last
BODY PARAGRAPH 2 SOLUTION - EXAMPLE I immediately sprung into action. First I went into the locker room to look for a container to put the birds in. I found the cardboard bottom of a box of files, and I decided it would have to work. Next I grabbed a swim paddle off the lifeguard s counter so that I could nudge them into the box without picking them up and damaging their feathers and wings. When I returned outside with my equipment, one them had rolled off the curb and into the street. I knew I had to move fast before a car hit them. I went to the one in the laying in the street and pushed it with swim paddle into the box. One of its wings already looked mangled, so I tried to be careful. When I had corralled it into the box, I carefully approached the other baby and gently pushed it until it hopped into the box as well. Now that they were both in the box and safe from predators and cars, I went to tell my teacher I would have to miss class because I needed to take them to an animal shelter. It was earlier in the morning, so it was difficult to find a place that was open, but I called around and finally found a shelter. I drove them over to the shelter and showed them to the woman who was working inside. I told her I knew that often times birds that fall out of the nest end up dying, but that I had to try to save them anyway.
HW 4-2 Write the second body paragraph for your personal narrative 3-5 sentences Make sure that lay out the steps you or someone else took to solve the problem Make sure you have at least three actions in the solution Make sure that you include details for each action/step
3-5 sentences BODY PARAGRAPH 3 - OUTCOME Write about what happened after the help was given Talk about the results even if they did not turn out as you expected
BODY PARAGRAPH 3 OUTCOME - EXAMPLE The shelter worker picked them each up carefully and looked at their wings. She said they looked good, but that they needed some food and water. I asked her if she thought they would make it. She said they looked to be fully developed and almost ready to fly. She felt confident that they had a good chance if they stayed in the shelter s recovery center for a few days. I knew in my heart that they still might die, but I felt much knowing that they were going to be taken care of and given food, water and a safe shelter, instead of laying out on the ground to suffer and die.
Write the third body paragraph for your personal narrative 3-5 sentences Make sure that you communicate the outcome that occurred after the help was given HW 4-3 Write about what happened afterwards, even if it did not turn out well
CONCLUSION - REFLECTION Do you think you did the right thing and why? What did you learn? What would you change or do differently?
CONCLUSION - EXAMPLE Overall, my experience with the baby birds was a good one. Although in my head I know that baby birds falling out of the nest and being eaten by predators is the way nature sometimes operates, in my heart I know I did the right thing. In the end, not only did I get to save two lives, but I also was able to improve my perception of myself and reinforce my belief that small acts of kindness really do matter in this worlds. Somewhere in the bible there is a poem that talks about time a time to be born and a time to die. On that summer day, it wasn t time for two birds to die; it was time for them to live, and I believe that is the reason that I found them, so I would do it all over again. However perhaps next time, I would try to find a way to put them back in the tree with their family.
HW 4-4 Write the conclusion for your personal narrative Make sure that answer all three reflection questions 3-5 Sentences
ROUGH DRAFT GUIDELINES Due Monday September 8 th in class. 5 paragraphs total all on the same page Introductory Paragraph Body Paragraph I - Problem Body Paragraph II - Outcome Body Paragraph III - Solution Conclusion Keep all other work you have done for the paper to turn in with final draft Does not have to be perfect, but make sure another student can read your work use pen and decent handwriting Make sure you have a creative title for your essay