Notes on Writing Effective Paragraphs - English Composition | ENGL 102, Study notes of English Language

Download Notes on Writing Effective Paragraphs - English Composition | ENGL 102 and more Study notes English Language in PDF only on Docsity! Writing Effective Paragraphs One frequent problem among beginning college writers is having enough to say to meet the length of a given assignment. Since playing with the font, spacing and margins is out of the question, here are some ways to bulk up your paragraphs from Graff and Birkenstein’s “They Say”/ “I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. 1. Plant a naysayer, critic or skeptic in your text. Then respond. When you give voice to others’ opinions, especially those contrary to yours, you demonstrate the kind of critical thinking professors are looking for. You prove you are aware of the multiple opinions about your issue. By including and responding to skeptics or people who disagree with you, you stand a better chance of convincing them of your own argument. What’s that look like when a writer does it? Example One: “At this point I would like to raise certain objections raised by the skeptic in me. She feels that I have been ignoring some of the most common assumptions we all make about our bodies and she wishes to see these addressed. For example: “You know perfectly well,” she says to me, “that you feel better when you lose weight. You buy new clothes. You look at yourself more eagerly in the mirror.[….] You feel sexier. Admit it. You like yourself better.” Can I deny these things? No woman who has managed to lose weight would wish to argue with this. Most people feel better about themselves when they become slender. And yet, upon reflection, it seems to me that there is something precarious about this well-being.” Kim Chernin, The Obsession: Reflections on the Tyranny of Slenderness Example Two: “I like a couple of cigarettes or a cigar with a drink, and like many other people, I only smoke in bars or nightclubs. Now I can’t go to any of my favorite haunts. Bartenders who were friends have turned into cops, forcing me outside to shiver in the cold and curse under my breath…It’s no fun. Smokers are being demonized and victimized all out of proportion. “Get over it, “say the anti-smokers. “You’re in the minority.” I thought a great city was a place where all kinds of minorities could thrive…”Smoking kills,” they say. As an occasional smoker with otherwise healthy habits, I’ll take my chances. Health consciousness is important but so are pleasure and freedom of choice.” Joe Jackson, “Want to Smoke? Go to Hamburg” How do you see Chernin and Jackson making room for others’ opinions while still maintaining their ground? Fine. How do I do that? Templates for Entertaining Critics in Your Writing Defenders/Proponents of _________ will probably object that I have misrepresented X’s work here, and I concede that X never says ___________ in so many words. Nevertheless, __________________. Some readers may challenge my view that ___________. After all, many believe that _______________. Indeed, my own argument that __________________________ seems to ignore ____________ and ______. Of course, many will probably disagree with this assertion that _______________. Such critics are likely to claim that __________________. But is my [proposal/argument/claim/idea] realistic? What are the chances of its actually being adopted? Yet is it always true that _________? Is it always the case, as I have been suggesting, that ________________? However, does the evidence I have cited prove conclusively that ___________________? If possible, name your critics’ positions Here many feminists would probably object that _____________. But social Darwinists would certainly take issue with the argument that ____________. Biologists, of course, may want to dispute my claim that __________________. Nevertheless, both followers and critics of Malcolm X will probably suggest otherwise and argue that ______________________. Once you’ve named your critics and stated their objections, make a concession, but stand your ground. Although I grant that _______________, I still maintain ____________. Proponents of X are right to argue that ____________. But they exaggerate when they claim that __________. While it is true that __________, it does not necessarily follow that _____________. While I agree with X that __________________, I still insist that ____________________.