WRIT 1702 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Relative Pronoun, Topic Sentence, Thesis Statement
WRIT 1702
November 1, 2017
Paragraphing and Structure
Grammar Module: Incomplete Sentences
● Most often, there is a predicate but no subject
● Someone did something (Subject, verb, object) SVO
● Example: Titus abandons violet. Which is not a good decision.
○ There is no subject in the second half
○ “Which” is a relative pronoun, it modifies a noun or clause in the SAME
sentence
■ Which house do you want? (interrogative)
■ Our house, which was red and blue, was a neighbourhood favourite.
(non-restrictive clause) - follows a comma, which it always should
○ Which cannot be the subject of a sentence, it can only modify a sentence
● Test A: Does the sentence make sense by itself on a page?
● Test B: Does it have a subject and a predicate?
○ A sentence must express a complete idea
● Restrictive clause - “this” is exactly what it is.
○ “This” can only refer to something in the absolute immediate area.
○ “That” is past tense, something further away from you not in the immediate
area
Five Paragraph Essay Model
● Nothing wrong with the idea, but too simple for what we are asking you to do.
● University needs more complex essay analysis, connected series of statements in
order to pose a proposition
● Being prepared and organized! A good plan!
● Use topic sentences to break up your ideas
● Stay connected to your thesis
● Every paragraph is a proposition intended to establish an argument
Beginnings, Middles and Ends
● The beginning should focus on everything we need to know before you start to
prove your case.
○ Your beginning is as long as it takes before we know what we need to know
before you start analysis
○ Transition us into the paper
■ Title does this, Title/Discipline/Genre/Discourse Community
○ Genre transitions us into the paper, something the audience needs to know
○ If you’re writing a Humanities paper you should start putting in Humanities
discourse to let the reader know
● What are you proving?
○ Thesis/Argument
○ Source text + author
○ Major themes
● How does this fit into the conversation? Are there major theories/approaches
informing your paper?
● Your own biases? If you are completely against what you’re talking about, you should
bring that up instead of the audience assuming that you are neutral
● Why does your topic matter? So what?
● A beginning does not have to be one paragraph
● Define key concepts for your essay
○ If your paper is about capitalism, you should define it so we know you know
what you’re talking about
○ What is the “feed”? People won’t know what you’re talking about if you do not
describe it
○ Do we need to know what that is to understand your thesis or argument?
○ If you’re only going to talk about something once, then it doesn’t have to be
part of your beginning
● I might know what resonance means, but do I know what you know? Make the terms
your own
○ Cite lectures in this course
The Middle
● Shows your audience the evidence for your idea: Your own unique interpretation
● Make your thought process clear. Since A,B. Since B, C.
● The middle does not begin in the second paragraph, it begins once the beginning is
finished
○ You don’t want it to be a list in bullet point form, you’re not presenting a list
○ You’re presenting a connected series of statements intended to form a
proposition.
○ Consider how to arrange your paragraphs so they are the most convincing
The Ending
● The significance of the evidence in the middle
● You do not introduce new evidence or quotation
● When you get to the ending, now that you’ve proved your point, what else can we
say about the significance?
● In the beginning you introduce your idea, then give them a way to think about it,
you’re doing this aware that they’ve never heard of it before
● In the end, return to the thesis but discuss it as if your reader was already convinced.
Reflect. Don’t repeat. You don’t repeat exactly what you said the first time.
● The “so what” question. To reflect is to demonstrate the significance of your topic.
○ So my thesis is true, so what? Why does it matter? Why should the audience
care? Why should it resonate?
○ What wisdom or insight can we take away?
Madelaine Pries
Beginning
● Creative title, with two parts. Academics love two part titles.
○ Part one: quote from the book may be shocking, or most controversial
sentence in your essay
○ Part two: explaining the idea of the essay
Document Summary
Most often, there is a predicate but no subject. Someone did something (subject, verb, object) svo. There is no subject in the second half. Which is a relative pronoun, it modifies a noun or clause in the same sentence. Our house, which was red and blue, was a neighbourhood favourite. (non-restrictive clause) - follows a comma, which it always should. Which cannot be the subject of a sentence, it can only modify a sentence. A sentence must express a complete idea. Restrictive clause - this is exactly what it is. This can only refer to something in the absolute immediate area. That is past tense, something further away from you not in the immediate area. Nothing wrong with the idea, but too simple for what we are asking you to do. University needs more complex essay analysis, connected series of statements in order to pose a proposition. Use topic sentences to break up your ideas.
