Informative Writing

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Foundation Unit Informative Writing High School

ISBN: 978-1-40261-256-5 ISBN 978-5-90801-649-0 Pearson Washington, DC Foundation Foundation 800.221.3641 202.783.3672 fax www.pearson.com

ISBN: 978-1-40261-256-5 Pearson Washington, DC Foundation InformativeFoundation Writing 800.221.3641 202.783.3672 fax www.pearson.com

ONLINE RESOURCES PACKET

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ISBN: 978-5-90801-651-3 Resources Informative Writing

PRE-ASSESSMENT Writing an Informative/Explanatory Essay Scoring Guide

LESSONS Lesson 1: Setting Up a Writer’s Notebook

Lesson 6: “Rattled”: Final Paragraph Pondering Possibilities

Lesson 7: Hearing Images “Democracy” Democracy: Dictionary Definition E.B. White’s Sentence Frames Friendship: Notes Friendship: A Mimicry of White’s Essay

Lesson 8: Grice: On Death

Lesson 10: What Is Spam? (food)

Lesson 11 All Over But the Shoutin’ Excerpt “Your Trusted Friends” Trading Places

Lesson 12: Questioning Introduction to Wikipedia

Lesson 14: Classroom Conversation Gathering Your Thoughts

Lesson 15: Evaluating and Citing Resources Article Format

Lesson 16: Writing a Draft Resources Informative Writing

Lesson 17: Notes about Sammy’s Sammy’s: Subtopic 5 Great Introductions Distinctive Characteristics Background Information Introductions That Provide Definitions of Purpose Definition of Purpose

Lesson 19: Terms of Informative Writing

Lesson 20: “Wikipedia: Five Pillars” “Wikipedia: Wikipedia in Eight Words”

Lesson 21: Developing Leads “Democracy” Excerpt All Over But the Shoutin’ Excerpt “Gettysburg Address”

Lesson 22: Signal Words Sammy’s: Subtopic 1 Sammy’s: Subtopic 2 Creating Transitions

Lesson 23: “Rattled” Excerpt

Lesson 24: Guide for Response Groups What to Do When Revising

Lesson 25: Frequently Asked Questions

Lesson 26: What To Do When Editing “Sammy’s” Excerpt Quick Editing

POST-ASSESSMENT Writing an Informative/Explanatory Essay Scoring Guide Pre-Assessment • 1/3

Writing an Informative/Explanatory Essay

Directions Read the following article and prompt carefully. As you read, make notes about your initial responses, questions, and insights. Use your notes to write a well-organized essay. Prompt A publishing company’s editors are asking high school students to write articles about topics that teens need to know about. They plan to publish a book for junior high school students. This book will have sections that focus on such topics as how to succeed in school, dating, how to get a job, how to balance studying, work, and social life, etc. One section will focus on the topic of friendship.

This is an important section, and the editors know that friendship is essential to success during high school. They would like you to write an article for this section, focusing on an aspect of friendship, such as

• how to be a good friend, • how to make friends, • how to make a good friend, • what to look for in a friend, • the best friend you have ever had, or • any other approach that might be of interest.

Write an article about friendship. The editors are looking for articles that

• would be of interest and value to young teens; • provide interesting details about how and why friendship is important; • draw information from a range of sources, including the article, “With a Little Help from Our Friends;” and • clearly, concisely provide interesting, useful information.

Writing an Informative/Explanatory Essay (continued)

With a Little Help from Our Friends

According to 20th-century psychologist Erik Erikson, humans develop their identities— their conscious sense of themselves—throughout their lifetimes. Erikson believed that psychosocial development proceeds through eight stages that span from early childhood through old age. Each stage, he said, poses a conflict, and that conflict forces humans to make decisions about who they are and how they want to live. The first four stages occur during childhood, and the last three during adulthood. At each stage, Erikson said, people re-define themselves. One of the most important stages, Stage Five, occurs during adolescence. At this stage, the conflict centers around self-identity, as bodies grow and change almost as rapidly as relationships. The child turns into an adult, and family life is replaced with social life. Adolescents become more independent, and they must figure out how the world functions outside the familiar parameters of home and family. Before Stage Five, children learn their roles from their families. Patterns among parents, siblings, and extended family define who and what they are: the oldest son may be treated quite differently from the twin, for example, and ideas about how men and women interact are derived from watching parents. During childhood, friendships are often based on proximity: friends live in their neighborhoods, go to the same schools, take part in the same activities, have parents who spend time together. In early adolescence, however, the process for selecting friends changes radically. Beginning in middle school, friends are chosen because of their personalities, common interests, values, and social status. Teens begin to divide their social connections among acquaintances and friends, and initially, in early adolescence, those who are regarded as “friends” are similar to themselves. The early part of Stage Five is when cliques are formed. At this point in their lives, teens define themselves by surrounding themselves with what they hope are mirror images … only better. Their friends need to share their values, opinions, and styles and, more importantly, they need to model the best in what the teen wants to be. Early adolescence is such a time of physical and emotional change that young teens tend to see peers as either good or bad. No one is in-between … especially themselves. This is a time when most teens feel that all eyes are on them, waiting to find their flaws. Through friends, teens learn about social standing and power—who’s in, who’s out, how to lead and how to follow, what’s fair and what’s not. They learn that different people and different situations call for a wide range of behaviors, and over time, teens come to understand the viewpoints of people who are not from the same background, the same family, or experiences.

Writing an Informative/Explanatory Essay (continued)

As teens get older and more comfortable in the bigger world, their need for “mirror friends,” and for control and constant validation diminishes. Friendships change—and, often, friends change as well. As they mature, teens learn about the necessary gives and takes demanded by an ever-widening set of social interactions. They learn how to set up rules, how to listen to things both spoken and unspoken, how to weigh alternatives, and how to make decisions when faced with dilemmas. They experience fear, anger, aggression, and rejection. They learn how to win, how to lose, what’s appropriate, what’s not. Throughout adolescence, friends serve as a bridge between the predictability of family and the myriad of demands and opportunities of the outside world. Friends provide opportunities to see the world in new ways. Since they come from different families, friends offer each other chances explore possible roles, weigh alternative ways of being and doing things, and learn to accept differences. Through friends, teens also learn to develop empathy for the plight of others. They learn social skills—the give and take and compromise necessary for adult relationships. They learn to understand and consider the needs of a myriad of others, and they learn to balance these needs with their own. During adolescence, friends need friends who are respectful, trustworthy, and, above all, good listeners. Teens often need to talk about their experiences and challenges, and they need friends who will celebrate their increasing insight and independence while being open to new ideas and possibilities. For teenagers, good friends can be like a personal support group. Good friends often replace parents because good friends share common experiences. They can share information about physical changes, social roles and rules, music, clothing, appearance, and other factors of adolescent life that parents just don’t understand. To have friends, one must be a friend, listening and watching to offer solace and support, challenge and protection. Friends acknowledge difficulty and listen deeply. Friends must be good listeners and be encouraging, but, as the teen matures, friends must also be honest enough to talk about conflicts, respect differences, and apologize when appropriate. These behaviors are difficult for many, especially those who are grappling with issues of their own. At all stages of life, friends are reciprocal relationships that foster growth, exploration, flexibility, and, hopefully, fun. They are especially important during adolescence. According to Erikson, having friends and learning to be a friend are the essential conflicts of adolescent life. Only by successfully navigating these challenges can humans develop the sense of self necessary for the truly important aspects of adult life: adventure, work, family, friends, old age, and the ongoing joy of simply being alive.

Scoring Guide

Informative/Explanatory Essay Date:

Student’s Name: Student ID:

Read each of the statements below, and circle the number on the scale that most accurately reflects your assessment of the essay.

4 = strong 3 = moderately strong 2 = somewhat weak 1 = weak

1. The essay focuses entirely on the topic of friendship. 4 3 2 1

2. The opening introduces the topic. 4 3 2 1

3. The opening provides useful background information, a descriptive 4 3 2 1 definition, or a definition of purpose.

4. The writer organizes the ideas, concepts, and information to make important 4 3 2 1 connections and distinctions.

5. The essay includes multiple, organized subtopics. 4 3 2 1

6. The topic is developed with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient 4 3 2 1 facts, anecdotes, details, and/or examples (including information drawn from the article) that are appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of friendship.

7. Varied and appropriate transitions link the major sections of the essay, create 4 3 2 1 cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

8. The closing follows from and supports the information presented. 4 3 2 1

9. The closing provides a sense of closure and completeness. 4 3 2 1

10. Standard English conventions are controlled. Surface errors do not impede 4 3 2 1 the reader’s ability to understand the information that is presented.

Additional comments:

Setting Up a Writer’s Notebook

Step 1: At the center top of the very first page, Date Table of Contents Page # I. Writing Explorations 1 write the title Table II. Glossary of Informative/ # 10 pages Explanatory Writing from the of Contents. end of the notebook Step 2: To the left of the title, write Date.

Step 3: To the right of the title, write Page #.

Step 4: On the seventh page, create a title page for Writing Explorations, and place a number “1” in the lower right i corner. This is the first page of your writer’s notebook.

Step 5: About 10 pages from the end of the notebook, create a section titled Glossary of Informative/Explanatory Writing.

“Rattled”: Final Paragraph

I watch his body spasm into twisting arcs, the white belly and patterned back showing by turns. It is the old dance of animal flesh: the dying, and the determination not to die.

– Gordon Grice

© iStockphoto.com/catay “Rattled” from THE RED HOURGLASS: LIVES OF THE PREDATORS by Gordon Grice, copyright © 1998 by Gordon Grice. Used by permission of Delacorte Press, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.

Pondering Possibilities

Choose a partner.

• Decide whose list you will consider first.

• Have the first writer read his or her list of topics.

• Have the partner select one idea that is especially interesting, and ask the writer to tell the story behind it.

• Work together to list the scenes in the story.

• Have the writer write this list in the writer’s notebook.

• Work together to identify subtopics that might be connected to the scenes. What might a reader want to know more about?

• Have the writer list these possible subtopics.

Repeat the process, exploring the other partner’s topics and scenes.

Hearing Images

Work in groups of three. • Writer 1 should read his or her quick write aloud.

• Writers 2 and 3 should repeat back the best images and phrases.

• Writer 1 should highlight these sections in the quick write.

Repeat the process for Writer 2 and then Writer 3.

Democracy

July 3, 1944

We received a letter from the Writers’ War Board the other day, asking for a statement on “The Meaning of Democracy.” It presumably is our duty to comply with such a request, and it is certainly our pleasure. Surely the Board knows what democracy is. It is the line that Old School Terms: forms on the right. It is the don’t in don’t shove. It is the hole in the stuffed shirt: indicates stuffed shirt through which the sawdust slowly trickles; it is the dent someone who is pompous, snooty in the high hat. Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time. It is the sawdust: indicates that they are fake feeling of privacy in the voting booths, the feeling of communion in the libraries, the feeling of vitality everywhere. Democracy is the high hat: another indication that someone is score at the beginning of the ninth. It is an idea which hasn’t been pompous; rich men wore disproved yet, a song the words of which have not gone bad. It’s high hats the mustard on the hot dog and the cream in the rationed coffee. rationed: during the war, Democracy is a request from a War Board, in the middle of a there was not enough coffee, so people were morning in the middle of a war, wanting to know what democracy is. able to buy only limited quantities

– E. B. White

Democracy: Dictionary Definition

democracy, n. 1. Government by the people: a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral process. – Random House Webster’s College Dictionary

E. B. White’s Sentence Frames

Introduction: • We received ______. • It presumably is ______.

Definition: • Surely the Board knows what democracy is. • It is ______. • It is ______. • Democracy is ______. • It is ______. • Democracy is ______. • It is ______. • It’s ______. • Democracy is ______.

Friendship: Notes

Got my back

Comfortable

Safe—doesn’t tell all my stuff. Private.

Nice, not mean

Like a comfortable piece of clothing—Bathrobe? Socks? Sweatshirt?

Friendship: A Mimicry of White’s Essay

I received a letter from some friends the other day, asking for a statement on “The Meaning of Friendship.” It presumably is my duty to comply with such a request, and it is certainly my pleasure.

A. Surely my friends know what friendship is. It is the person who stands by my side. It is the Don’t in Don’t Tell. It is the comfort of a new sweatshirt on a Saturday morning; it is the high in the high five.

B. Surely my friends know what friendship is. It is the person who covers your back. It is the Don’t in Don’t Be Mean. It is the hole in the darkness through which light slowly beams. It is the understanding smile in the grim world.

Grice: On Death

We would like to think death is a crisp fracture: living, and then not living. In fact, there is no clear division between life and death in any animal. Death isn’t still. It is a continuation of what has gone before. The digestive juices in our gut lose their inhibitions and go to work on the organs that hold them. The bacteria that have been part of our bodies go on living. Suddenly freed to partake of the feast they have always dwelt inside, they prosper as never before. Our tissues, if left alone, take on an array of strange forms as microscopic life converts them. The blood gels, the breath quiets, the tiny strands of lightning inside the nerve tissues disappear. Death is real, but it is slow and sloppy. Dead, we are not stilled; we are activated, changed. – “Rattled”

“Rattled” from THE RED HOURGLASS: LIVES OF THE PREDATORS by Gordon Grice, copyright © 1998 by Gordon Grice. Used by permission of Delacorte Press, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.

What Is Spam (food)?

1 This article is about canned meat. For other uses, see Spam. For spam in Wikipedia, please see WP:SPAM.

2 Spam is a canned meat product. It is made by the Hormel Foods Corporation in (among other places) Austin, Minnesota (aka Spam Town USA).

3 Although Spam is simply a meat product, it has gained a infamy, n. particularly bad peculiar infamy despite being a mere grocery store item, and reputation has even entered into folklore and legend.

4 The labeled ingredients in the original variety of Spam are chopped pork shoulder meat with ham meat added, salt, water, sugar and sodium nitrite. Other varieties of Spam differ; Spam Lite contains pork and chicken, and Spam Oven Roasted Turkey is a halaal food, meaning that it is allowed under Islamic law, and is especially popular in Muslim markets. Image: (cc) Matthew W. Jackson. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(food)

What Is Spam (food)? (continued)

How Did Spam Get Its Name? 5 Introduced in 1937, the name “Spam” was chosen in the 1930s when the product, whose original name—“Hormel Spiced Ham”—was far less memorable, began to lose market share. The name was chosen from multiple entries in a naming contest. A Hormel official once stated that the original meaning of the name SPAM was “Shoulder of Pork and hAM”. According to writer Marguerite Patten in Spam – The Cookbook, the name was suggested by Kenneth Daigneau, brother of the Hormel vice president and an actor. The current official explanation is that the name is a portmanteau of “SPiced hAM”, and that the portmanteau, n. a word that blends the sound of originator was given a $100 prize for coming up with the name. two words

6 Other explanations of the origin of the term include the definitions “Spiced Pork And haM” and “SPAre hAM”; there are also some jocular definitions, such as “Synthetically Produced jocular, adj. humorous, Artificial Meat”, ”Steam Pressed Amalgamated Meat”, “Some informal Parts Are Meat”, “Specially Processed American Meat”, “Someone’s Pigs Are Missing”, “Slime Posing As Meat”, “Spare Parts and Animal Mucus”, “meat left over from the SPanish AMerican war”, or “Squirrels Possums And Mice” amongst a multitude of other similar parody names.

7 The humorous radio show Ask Dr. Science claimed it is an for “Scientifically Produced Animal Matter”, a product acronym acronym, n. a word made of the food synthesis experiments of the 1950s, whose “closest from the first letters of other words living relative was the Velveeta, a kind of synthetic jellyfish.”

8 According to Hormel’s trademark guidelines, Spam should be spelled with all capital letters and treated as an adjective, as in the phrase SPAM luncheon meat. However, barring having entered into a contract requiring one to do so, no one is legally obliged to follow such trademark guidelines. As with many other trademarks, such as Lego or Kleenex, people often refer to similar meat products as “spam”.

What Is Spam (food)? (continued)

How Is Spam Celebrated Around the World? 9 Like most other luncheon meats, Spam is precooked. However, Spam is often pan- fried or otherwise heated through again to impart a pleasing texture and flavor.

10 Spam is celebrated in a small local festival in Austin, Minnesota, United States, where Hormel corporate headquarters are located. The event, known as Spam Jam is a carnival-type celebration, which coincides with local Fourth of July festivities, featuring parades and fireworks which often relate to the popular luncheon meat. Austin is also home to the Spam Museum, and the plant that produces the Spam for most of North America and Europe.

Hormel Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota. 11 The Spam Jam is not to be confused with SPAMARAMA, which is a yearly festival held on April Fool’s Day in Austin, Texas. The theme of SPAMARAMA is gentle parody of Spam, rather than straightforward celebration: the event at the heart of the festival is a Spam cook-off that originated as a challenge to produce an appetizing recipe for the meat. The festival includes light sporting activities and numerous musical acts, in addition to the cook-off.

12 In the United States, the residents of the state of Hawaii and the territory of Guam consume the most Spam per capita. On average, each person on Guam consumes 16 tins of spam each year. Guam and Hawaii have the only McDonald’s restaurants that feature Spam on the menu. One popular

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(food)

What Is Spam (food)? (continued)

Spam dish in Hawaii is Spam musubi, in which cooked Spam is combined with rice and nori seaweed in a manner similar to a pressed sushi roll. The curious popularity of Spam in Hawaii and Guam is explained by two factors: (1) It is an economical meat product, where most food is expensive because of high shipping costs to the islands, and (2) the presence of US troops there during World War II. Spam was one of the very few meat products allowed in Hawaii and Guam during that time due to shortages and scarcity of modern refrigerated shipping.

13 In Okinawa, Spam has become very popular for much the same reason as in Hawaii. Spam is even used in traditional Okinawan dish Chanpur, and there is also a Spam burger sold by local fast food chain Jef.

14 In South Korea, Spam gained popularity following the Korean War and the large presence of American troops there. It became a staple ingredient of “budae-chiggae”—literally “military post stew”—a composite of various meats and vegetables and hot pepper sauce that remains a very popular South Korean dish, especially in late night eateries. The main ingredient of budae- Spam is often served with rice in Asia. chiggae is Spam (or some similar meat product), something that was relatively easily procured from American military posts at a time when any other meat was prohibitively expensive.

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(food)

What Is Spam (food)? (continued)

15 In Greece, Spam is often called “Godzilla” or “Godzilla meat” by army conscripts, the characterism humorously implying an “unknown origin” with regards to the ingredients.

16 As of 2003, Spam is sold in 41 countries worldwide. The largest consumers of Spam after the United States are the United Kingdom and South Korea. It is also a favorite among the people of Saipan (part of a U.S. insular area), of the Philippines, of Okinawa, and among Pacific Islanders.

17 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev credited donations of American supplies of Spam for the ability of the Soviet Union to feed the Red Army during World War II.

18 As of 1997 there were over 5 billion tins sold.

Cultural References 19 Spam has had and continues to have a curious presence in popular culture:

20 Spam was one of the few meat products excluded from the British food rationing that began in World War II (and continued for a number of years after the war), and the British grew heartily tired of it. The British comedy troupe Monty Python used this as the context for their Spam sketch, which gave rise to the term Spam as the common term for unsolicited bulk electronic messages. Hormel does not object to the term, but insists that it be spelled in lower case so as to distinguish it from its capitalized Spam trademark. Hormel objects to Spam’s “product identity” (for example, images of Spam cans) being used in relation to spamming, and has filed lawsuits against companies which have attempted to trademark words containing “spam”.

21 An Internet joke exists around the notion of a little known religion called “Spammism” which worships the meat.

What Is Spam (food)? (continued)

22 Two NASCAR Winston Cup drivers have driven cars with Spam sponsorship: Lake Speed in 1995-1996, and Mike Wallace for several races in 1997.

23 The Internet also spawned the not-so-subtle art form of Spam Haiku; see for example The Spam Haiku Archive. “Oh, spam on the table at home 24 “Weird Al” Yankovic recorded a song called “Spam” that is (ham and pork) a parody of the R.E.M. song “Stand”. The song’s lyrics are all about the world-famous luncheon meat. The song is included Think about on the soundtrack album for Yankovic’s film UHF. selection, are there 25 Save Ferris also recorded a song parody called “Spam” on different flavors now (let's eat) their album “It Means Everything” that says “it’s pink and it’s oval” and “it’s made in Chernobyl”. Spam in my office 26 The 1996 movie Muppet Treasure Island featured a character, at work (it's the a chieftain islander pig named “Spa’am”. Hormel Foods best) Corporation sued Jim Henson Productions over the name in a court case that Hormel Foods eventually lost before the film Think about the was released. stuff its made from, wonder if it's 27 The Monty Python musical Spamalot opened on Broadway in mystery of meat” New York City in early 2005. It combines themes of the quest for the Holy Grail and Spam. As of April 2005, it was sold out —Weird Al Yankovic, for most performances. Hormel released a collector’s edition “Spam” “honey” Spam in connection with the musical.

28 According to comedian Bill Engvall, Spam stands for Stuff Posing As Meat as heard in his album Dork Fish Drunk Food.

29 The TV series M*A*S*H frequently made fun of the many uses of the product.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPAM) was last modified 08:36, 20 April 2006. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Music notes image: © iStockphoto.com

All Over But the Shoutin’ Excerpt

My mother and father were born in the most beautiful place on earth, in the foothills of the Appalachians along the Alabama-Georgia line. It was a place where gray mists hid the tops of low, deep-green mountains, where redbone and bluetick hounds flashed through the pines as they chased possums into the sacks of old men in frayed overalls, where old women in bonnets dipped Bruton snuff and hummed “Faded Love and Winter Roses” as they shelled purple hulls, canned peaches and made biscuits too good for this world. It was a place where playing the church piano loud was near as important as playing it right, where fearless young men steered long, black Buicks loaded with yellow whiskey down roads the color of dried blood, where the first frost meant hog killin’ time and the mouthwatering smell of cracklin’s would drift for acres from giant, bubbling pots. It was a place where the screams of panthers, like a woman’s anguished cry, still haunted the most remote ridges and hollows in the dead of night, where children believed they could choke off the cries of night birds by circling one wrist with a thumb and forefinger and squeezing tight, and where the cotton blew off the wagons and hung like scraps of cloud in the branches of trees.

– Rick Bragg

Your Trusted Friends

1 Before entering the Ray A. Kroc Museum, you have to walk through McStore. Both sit on the ground floor of McDonald’s corporate headquarters, located at One McDonald’s Plaza in Oak Brook, Illinois. The headquarters building has oval windows and a gray concrete facade—a look that must have seemed space-age when the building opened three decades ago. Now it seems stolid and drab, an architectural relic of the Nixon era. It resembles the American embassy compounds that always used to attract antiwar protesters, student demonstrators, flag burners. The eighty-acre campus of Hamburger University, McDonald’s managerial training center, is a short drive from headquarters. Shuttle buses constantly go back and forth between the campus and McDonald’s Plaza, ferrying clean-cut young men and women in khakis who’ve come to study for their “Degree in Hamburgerology.” The course lasts two weeks and trains a few thousand managers, executives, and franchisees each year. Students from out of town stay at the Hyatt on the McDonald’s campus. Most of the classes are devoted to personnel issues, teaching lessons in teamwork and employee motivation, promoting “a common McDonald’s language” and “a common McDonald’s culture.” Three flagpoles stand in front of McDonald’s Plaza, the heart of the hamburger empire. One flies the Stars and Stripes, another flies the Illinois state flag, and the third flies a bright red flag with golden arches.

2 You can buy bean-bag McBurglar dolls at McStore, telephones shaped like french fries, ties, clocks, key chains, golf bags and duffel bags, jewelry, baby clothes, lunch boxes, mouse pads, leather jackets, postcards, toy trucks, and much more, all of it bearing the stamp of McDonald’s. You can buy T-shirts decorated with a new version of the American flag. The fifty white stars have been replaced by a pair of golden arches.

Image: Rob LaRosa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mcdonalds

Your Trusted Friends (continued)

3 At the back of McStore, past the footsteps of Ronald McDonald stenciled on the floor, past the shelves of dishes and glassware, a bronze bust of Ray Kroc marks the entrance to his museum. Kroc was the founder of the McDonald’s Corporation, and his philosophy of QSC and V—Quality, Service, Cleanliness, and Value—still guide it. The man immortalized in bronze is balding and middle-aged, with smooth cheeks and an intense look in his eyes. A glass display case nearby holds plaques, awards, and letters of praise. “One of the highlights of my sixty-first birthday celebration,” President Richard Nixon wrote in 1974, “was when Tricia suggested we needed a ‘break’ on our drive to Palm Springs, and we turned in at McDonald’s. I had heard for years from our girls that the ‘Big Mac’ was really something special, and while I’ve often credited Mrs. Nixon with making the best hamburgers in the world, we are both convinced that McDonald’s runs a close second...The next time the cook has a night off we will know where to go for fast service, cheerful hospitality—and probably one of the best food buys in America.” Other glass cases contain artifacts of Kroc’s life, mementos of his long years of struggle and his twilight as a billionaire. The museum is small and dimly lit, displaying each object with reverence. The day I visited, the place was empty and still. It didn’t feel like a traditional museum, where objects are coolly numbered, catalogued, and described. It felt more like a shrine.

4 Many of the exhibits at the Ray A. Kroc Museum incorporate neat technological tricks. Dioramas appear and then disappear when certain buttons are pushed. The voices of Kroc’s friends and coworkers—one of them identified as a McDonald’s “vice president of individuality”—boom from speakers at the appropriate cue. Darkened glass cases are suddenly illuminated from within, revealing their contents. An artwork on the wall, when viewed from the left, displays an image of Ray Kroc. Viewed from the right, it shows the letters QSC and V. The museum does not have a life-size, Audio-Animatronic version of McDonald’s founder telling jokes and anecdotes. But one wouldn’t be out of place. An interactive exhibit called “Talk to Ray” shows video clips of Kroc appearing on the Phil Donahue Show, being

Your Trusted Friends (continued)

interviewed by Tom Snyder, and chatting with Reverend Robert Schuller at the altar of Orange County’s Crystal Cathedral. “Talk to Ray” permits the viewer to ask Kroc as many as thirty-six predetermined questions about various subjects; old videos of Kroc supply the answers.

Excerpt from “Your Trusted Friends” from FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser. Copyright © 2001 by Eric Schlosser. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Trading Places

Work in groups of three.

• Each person will read what he or she has written about a place two times. Don’t worry that it’s not finished: just read what you have.

• During the first reading, the partners will simply listen and enjoy the language.

• During the second reading, the partners will:

– Listen for the strategies that the writer has used

– Write these strategies on a sticky-note

• After the second reading, the partners will:

– Identify the strategies the writer used

– Comment on the best parts of the piece

– Give the writer the sticky-notes to place on the piece of writing

Repeat the process for each partner.

Questioning

Work with a partner.

• Decide who will go first.

• Identify your topic, and explain it briefly.

• Ask your partner to identify at least three things that someone who was learning about your topic might want to know. Write these on a sticky- note in question form:

–– Who? What? Why? When? Where? How?

• Share the questions that you developed during Lesson 12. Talk with your partner:

–– Which questions are on both your list and the sticky-note?

–– Which are the most important questions to answer?

• Read the question that you chose, along with the answer that you wrote.

• Work with your partner to identify at least one place where you should “zoom in” to explain something in more detail.

• Mark this place on your answer for later use.

Repeat the process with your partner’s topic.

Introduction to Wikipedia

Read your assigned section and prepare a short presentation that: • Summarizes the information • Shares your noticings about: –– How the section was written (What writing strategies were used?) –– How the section is formatted • Explains what you have learned: –– What is Wikipedia? –– How does Wikipedia work? –– Who uses Wikipedia? –– Why are Wikipedia articles written? –– How are Wikipedia articles written? –– What is the ideal Wikipedia article?

Classroom Conversation

Work in groups of three. Decide who will report first. Then that person should:

• Tell about the person who listened to the idea:

–– Why did you choose the person?

–– What was the person’s reaction?

• Tell about how the assignment was explained:

–– What did you say?

–– What was the person’s reaction?

• Tell about the possible ideas that were discussed:

–– What were they?

–– How did you explain them?

–– What reasons did you give for considering them?

• Tell about the person’s reaction:

–– Which topic did the person choose? Why?

• Tell whether you agree with the person:

–– Why or why not?

• Get your partners’ reactions:

–– Which topic do they think you should use? Why?

Repeat the process with each partner.

Gathering Your Thoughts

Remember: When you do a quick write, you simply keep your pen or pencil moving forward. Don’t stop to rewrite, reread, or revise. Just write. If you run out of things to say, just copy the last word that you wrote over and over again. You STOP will get bored with this and will miraculously find more to write about.

Time yourself—do three minutes of nonstop writing. For each subtopic:

• Write about what you know, think, assume, and/or imagine about the subtopic.

• Talk to a partner about what you have written.

• Work with your partner to brainstorm three to five questions about the subtopic.

• Talk about the answers to these questions.

You will discover holes in your knowledge. If these holes reflect information that a reader might reasonably want to know, be sure to highlight them so that you can focus your research.

Evaluating and Citing Resources

Type of Resource Evaluation Criteria Citation

People Should have background or Write a title. For example: current involvement with the Note the name of the person you – Former Terrier Owner topic interviewed and the date of the interview – Chef’s Assistant, Sammy’s

Observation Should clearly connect with the topic Note the location and the date of the observation

Printed References Should be published by a reputable organization and have Note the title of the entry, the an appropriate date of publication title of the reference, and the date of publication

Periodicals Should be published by an organization with knowledge of Print: Note the title of the article/ the topic; check these for bias: entry, the name of the writer, often, the writers of articles the title of the publication, the in specialized publications or date of the publication, and the websites write from their own, page # on which the article/entry unique perspectives, and their appears opinions are theirs and theirs alone Online: Note the title of the article/entry, the name of the writer, the name of the site, the web address, and the date of posting

Books Should be written by someone who knows about the topic; may Note the title of the book, be published by a group involved the author, the publisher, the with your topic: if so, check for publisher’s location, and the date bias of publication

Evaluating and Citing Resources (continued)

Type of Resource Evaluation Criteria Citation

Websites These are particularly challenging Check with your teacher for the to verify, because the Internet preferred format Note the title of the article/entry, is an open-access environment the name and title of the writer, on which anyone can post the name of the website, the web information. To evaluate the address, and the date of posting authority of online resources, check:

Authorship Check the url. If it ends with .gov, it is a government website and can probably be trusted. If it ends with .org, it is the website of an organization, and, if it’s a well-known, reliable organization, it can probably be trusted. If it ends with .com, it is a commercial website. They may be trying to sell you something. If it ends with .edu, it is a school, college, or university, and can probably be trusted. If it ends with a personal name after a percent sign or other mark, it is a personal website. If the person is a known expert on your topic, it may be fine; if not, avoid it. It may be biased or incomplete.

Publisher Check the publisher (the first part of the web address). Is this publisher reputable?

Evaluating and Citing Resources (continued)

Type of Resource Evaluation Criteria Citation

Knowledge, Verifiability Check the text itself. Usually, authoritative texts include links, and often have a list of additional sites or related articles. Check these out. Are they reputable? If there are no links, you may well have an article that is the opinion of one writer. Depending on the reputation of that writer or organization, it may or may not be valuable for your research. Check the tone of the writing: Does it seem biased? Does it include informal terminology? Prejudicial terms? Questionable images? If so, the site may be biased.

Currency Check the date of the most recent posting or changes. Is the information current?

Validity Finally, use a search engine to explore the name of the author or organization to see whether they are reputable.

Article Format

Title

Introduction

Content Box

Subtopics with Headers (titles or questions)

Closing

Frequently Asked Questions

References

For Further Reading

Writing a Draft

• Focus your work on your subtopics. Each subtopic will:

–– Begin with either a title or a question

–– Be followed by the information that you have brainstormed and/or researched

–– Probably be more than a single paragraph because you have a lot of information to share

• If there is information that you do not yet know about the subtopic, leave space in your draft so you can add it after you have done your research.

• You may write the subtopics in any order that you want. You can organize them later.

• Do the best you can, and get as much written about the subtopics as possible.

Later, you will have time to:

• Write the introduction. It will be similar to those found in “What Is Spam (food)?” and “Wikipedia:About.”

• Polish your draft.

Notes about Sammy’s

• The three other customers at the counter go to Sammy’s every single day. They always sit in the same seats. They have been doing this for more than 10 years, so they know each other really well. They never see each other outside of the restaurant, but over the years, they have talked about many things: their lives, their marriages, their politics, their children. They are friends. They also order the same things each and every day.

• Sammy’s menu has changed. Until five years ago, they had hamburgers, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, and open-faced sandwiches with gravy and mashed potatoes. They still have regular burgers (the best!), now they have tofu burgers, chicken or salmon burgers, and vegetarian burgers. The other sandwiches have been replaced by wraps.

• Late afternoons are slow times at Sammy’s, which is why they have “Early Bird Specials.”

• Some people still want the open-faced beef sandwiches with gravy. Horton will make them, even though they’re no longer on the menu.

Sammy’s: Subtopic 5

Why is Sammy’s a success? Sammy’s is successful restaurant because it’s right in the middle of town, and people from offices and stores go there for lunch after the farmers finish breakfast. Jeanne and the other people at Sammy’s are nice people, too. From the way they say hi when you come in to the cheap prices, people who go to Sammy’s feel special. Sammy’s doesn’t cost very much and it’s very comfortable. I think Sammy’s is successful because it’s the best restaurant in town.

Great Introductions

Text and Author/Source Introduction Author’s Strategy

“Rattled” Page 1 Begins with… – Grice “It lies half-coiled in a stand of dusty Anecdote, observation green weeds, its jaw against the ground to catch the vibrations of any moving thing. Its body, patterned Zooming in (snapshot) of an with the colors of dead grass and important moment to show the earth, is touching a stack of iron conflict and characters pipe. Its forked black tongue slips out of its closed mouth, slashes in several directions, and slips back in.” Sentence variety: long, followed by short sentences

“Democracy” Sentences 1–3 Begins with… – White “We received a letter from the Background information sets Writers’ War Board the other context and purpose for the writing day, asking for a statement on ‘The Meaning of Democracy.’ It presumably is our duty to comply Sentence variety: long, followed by with such a request, and it is short sentences certainly our pleasure.

Using a personal possession to “Surely the Board knows what symbolize an important character democracy is.” trait of a major figure in the story

“What Is Spam (food)?” Paragraphs 1–3 Begins with… – Wikipedia “Spam is a canned meat product... Descriptive definition

“Although Spam is simply a meat List product, it...

“The labeled ingredients in the original variety of Spam are...”

“Your Trusted Friends” Paragraphs 1–2 Begins with… – Schlosser “Before entering the Ray A. Kroc Background information: Where is Museum, you have to walk through this? McStore...

Lists, direct quotes, details “You can buy bean-bag McBurglar dolls at McStore...” Using “then and now” to show contrast

Great Introductions (continued)

Text and Author/Source Introduction Author’s Strategy

“Wikipedia:About” Paragraphs 1–7 Begins with… – Wikipedia “Welcome to Wikipedia, the free Descriptive definition with encyclopedia that anyone can edit. background information

“Begun in 2001, Wikipedia has...

“Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation...

“In every article, links will guide you to associated articles, often with additional information...

“Because Wikipedia is an ongoing work to which, in principle, anybody can contribute...

“If you have not done so before...

“Happy browsing!”

“Looking Around” Sentences 1–4 Definition of purpose – Lamott The writer is a person who is Comparison – humor: the cheese standing apart, like the cheese in ‘The Farmer in the Dell’ standing there alone but deciding to take a Metaphor few notes. You’re outside, but you can see things up close through your binoculars. Your job is to present clearly your viewpoint, your line of vision. Your job is to see people as they really are, and to do this, you have to know who you are in the most compassionate possible sense.

Distinctive Characteristics

1. What is unique about my topic? What makes it distinctive from other things? 2. What will my reader need to know as he or she begins to read my article?

Background Information

What background information will my reader need to know as he or she begins to read my article?

Introductions That Provide Definitions of Purpose

Mini Cooper The Mini Cooper, made by British Motors and sold by BMW dealers, is the car of the 21st century. It speeds harried commuters along their routes, reaching its cruising speed of 90 m.p.h. without effort. It maneuvers through traffic, darting into the smallest of openings to open new exits from the freeway, new routes on the surface streets, new possibilities for the journey. It hugs the road, its go-kart-like design and suspension creating a driver who yearns for the turn, who accelerates into curves to feel it hug the road. The mini-coop also parks on a postage stamp, fitting into the smallest of places and enjoying free parking in the most congested of neighborhoods. In short, it offers the fastest of rides and the most effective of storage, all while avoiding excessive dependence on foreign oil.

Sammy’s Sammy’s holds our community together. As children, we get taken to Sammy’s to celebrate the trips to the dentist, the opening of Little League, the birthdays, the good report cards. Later, we go to Sammy’s with our friends, and later still, with our dates. Sammy’s is the place to meet, the place to talk, the place to make sense of the crazy people in our lives. Sammy’s is us.

Definition of Purpose

What functions or purposes does my topic serve? What is its use?

How effectively or efficiently does it serve these purposes? What makes it so good?

Terms of Informative Writing

• Active verbs • Observations

• Anecdotes • Paragraphs

• Background • Purpose

• Comparisons • Sentence variety

• Definitions • Signal words

• Description • Significance/meaning

• Details • Specific nouns

• Explanation • Statistics

• Facts • Subtopics

• Function • Titles

• Illustrations • Vocabulary

• Lists

Wikipedia: Five Pillars

All of Wikipedia’s official policies and guidelines are based onfive pillars that define Wikipedia’s character:

• Wikipedia is an encyclopedia incorporating elements of general encyclopedias, specialized encyclopedias, and almanacs. Wikipedia is not a dictionary, a collection of primary source documents, a soapbox, a newspaper, a free host, a webspace provider, a series of vanity articles, a memorial collection, an experiment in anarchy or democracy, or a grouping of links (whether internal or external). It is also not the place to insert your own opinions, experiences, or arguments—writers must follow our no original research policy and strive for accuracy.

• Wikipedia uses the neutral point-of-view, which means we strive for articles that advocate no single point of view. Sometimes this requires representing multiple points of view; presenting each point of view accurately; providing context for any given point of view, so that readers understand whose view the point represents; and presenting no one point of view as “the truth” or “the best view.” It means citing verifiable, authoritative sources whenever possible, especially on controversial topics..

• Wikipedia is free content, so all text is available under the Free Documentation License and may be distributed or linked accordingly. Recognize that articles can be changed by anyone and no individual controls any specific article; therefore, any writing you contribute can be mercilessly edited and redistributed at will by the community. Do not submit copyright infringements or works licensed in a way incompatible with the free and open nature of Wikipedia.

• Wikipedia follows the writers’ rules of engagement: Respect your fellow Wikipedians even when you may not agree with them. Be civil. Avoid making personal attacks or sweeping generalizations.. Act in good faith by never disrupting Wikipedia to illustrate a point, and assume that others do the same in the absence of compelling evidence to the contrary.. Be open, welcoming, and inclusive.

• Wikipedia doesn’t have firm rules besides the five general principles elucidated here. Be bold in editing, moving, and modifying articles, because the joy of editing is that although it should be aimed for, perfection isn’t required. And don’t worry about messing up. All prior versions of

Wikipedia: Five Pillars (continued)

articles are kept, so there is no way that you can accidentally damage Wikipedia or irretrievably destroy content. But remember—whatever you write here may be preserved for posterity.

See also • Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not

• Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is

• Wikipedia:Simplified ruleset

• Wikipedia:Policy trifecta

• Wikipedia:Wikipedia in eight words

• Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines

• Wikipedia:Topical index

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars) was last modified 16:32, 19 May 2006. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Wikipedia: Wikipedia in Eight Words

Wikipedia is a: neutral and unbiased compilation of notable, verifiable facts.

This can be expanded as follows:

• Neutral: Wikipedia does not judge or advocate specific views.

• Unbiased: Views are allowed to speak for themselves rather than being cast into one “correct” viewpoint.

• Compilation: Wikipedia is not a simple collection or list of facts. There is a process of summarizing, grading, organizing and collating involved, to ensure that the resulting articles are as useful as possible for readers seeking both detail and overview.

• Notable: A view is generally considered notable if it is potentially information of value or interest in some way to a significant number of people, or to some perspective, or its omission would leave a significant gap in historical human knowledge of a subject. Even minority, controversial and discredited views are often notable. Often it is valuable to see how people thought, or competing views of the time. By contrast many fringe views are not notable by this definition, because they are notsufficiently significant or had little or minor impact in their field as a whole.

• Verifiable: Information must be objectively verifiable, including being cited from a credible source.

• Facts: Wikipedia contains facts, not opinions, and not original research. Since any opinion of note has been expressed by some person or group of people, we do not try to decide or claim that an opinion is “true” or “false.” We state instead, neutrally and factually, which people hold what views, and allow the facts to speak for themselves. Remember, Facts are never subject to consensus.

For information to be included in Wikipedia, it should at a minimum be both notable and verifiable.

• If it is verifiable but not notable, it is by definition below a certain threshold of importance, and will not usually merit recording, no matter how true.

• If it is notable but not verifiable, it is effectively hearsay.

Wikipedia: Wikipedia in Eight Words (continued)

Unimportant matters or hearsay are usually outside the scope of Wikipedia.

If a view is both notable and verifiable, and not original research, then it may be appropriate to record it in Wikipedia, in which case:

1. Wikipedia:Neutral point of view (“WP:NPOV”) is the core policy that informs how facts must be represented and articles written.

2. Wikipedia:Verifiability (“WP:V”) and Wikipedia:Cite your sources (“WP:CITE”) are the twin statements explaining how verifiability should be checked and documented.

3. Other policies and guidelines cover ancillary matters such as appropriate user conduct, style and content, and copyright compliance.

See also Other summaries and definitions:

• The five pillars of Wikipedia

• Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not

• Wikipedia:Wikipedia is an encyclopedia

• Wikipedia:Mottos’ Committee

Other rulesets:

• Wikipedia:Policy trifecta

• Simplified Ruleset

• Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines

Other resources:

• Wikipedia:About (An introductory page)

Wikipedia: Wikipedia in Eight Words (continued)

• Wikipedia (Wikipedia’s article on itself)

Footnotes 1. Notability is a subjective decision formed by consensus of editors when they try to characterize human knowledge and history of a subject or field, in a balanced manner.

2. As Wikipedia:Policy trifecta points out, Wikipedia is not just an encyclopedia. It is also a wiki, and a community. This definition relates to its role as an encyclopedia.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_in_eight_words) was last modified 22:07, 17 May 2006. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

Developing Leads

July 3, 1944

– E. B. White

“Democracy” Excerpt

...Surely the Board knows what democracy is. It is the line that forms on the right. It is the don’t in don’t shove. It is the hole in the stuffed shirt through which the sawdust slowly trickles; it is the dent in the high hat. Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time. It is the feeling of privacy in the voting booths, the feeling of communion in the libraries, the feeling of vitality everywhere. Democracy is the score at the beginning of the ninth. It is an idea which hasn’t been disproved yet, a song the words of which have not gone bad. It’s the mustard on the hot dog and the cream in the rationed coffee. Democracy is a request from a War Board, in the middle of a morning in the middle of a war, wanting to know what democracy is.

– E. B. White

All Over But the Shoutin’ Excerpt

…. It was a place where gray mists hid the tops of low, deep-green mountains, where redbone and bluetick hounds flashed through the pines as they chased possums into the sacks of old men in frayed overalls, where old women in bonnets dipped Bruton snuff and hummed “Faded Love and Winter Roses” as they shelled purple hulls, canned peaches and made biscuits too good for this world. It was a place where playing the church piano loud was near as important as playing it right, where fearless young men steered long, black Buicks loaded with yellow whiskey down roads the color of dried blood, where the first frost meant hog killin’ time and the mouthwatering smell of cracklin’s would drift for acres from giant, bubbling pots. It was a place where the screams of panthers, like a woman’s anguished cry, still haunted the most remote ridges and hollows in the dead of night, where children believed they could choke off the cries of night birds by circling one wrist with a thumb and forefinger and squeezing tight, and where the cotton blew off the wagons and hung like scraps of cloud in the branches of trees.

– Rick Bragg

Gettysburg Address

Fourscore, n. a score is 20 Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this years; therefore, fourscore is 80 years continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. proposition, n. idea Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that this nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot — consecrate, v. to make consecrate sacred we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power hallow, v. to make sacred, important to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us... that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

– President Abraham Lincoln

November 1863

Signal Words

Signal words help the reader understand the relationships between subtopics, ideas, sentences, and/or things. There are four major types of signal words: additive, contrastive, causal, and temporal. Here are some examples of each type:

• Additive (signal added information)

additionally and for instance in addition

also and also furthermore moreover

• Contrastive (signal contrast)

although however on the contrary otherwise

but instead on the other hand though

by contrast nor

• Causal (signal cause/effect relationship)

as a result because of this for this reason so

because consequently hence therefore

• Temporal (signal time)

after that finally in the end once

at first first later previously

at the same time from this point on next then

before that

Sammy’s: Subtopic 1

Why do people go to Sammy’s Most people go to Sammy’s because they know that they will get good food at a good price; however, many say that they also go there because they feel like they belong. Since the restaurant has been in business for many years, many of the customers have known the cooks and servers for a long time, and some customers have even come to rely on Sammy’s for much of their social life.

When I asked Ida Bryant, a longtime customer of Sammy’s, why she went there, she said, “I don’t know anywhere else to go. I have always come here. When John (her husband) was alive, we used to come here to celebrate things like the kids getting good report cards, finishing the deck in the back yard, his promotions, my patients’ recoveries, and things like that. Now that he’s gone, where else could I go to find such good food and such nice people? I feel like I’ve known them all my life.”

This kind of answer was given almost every time I asked anyone about Sammy’s. People like the food. People like the place. People like the people. For these reasons, Sammy’s is a success.

Sammy’s: Subtopic 2

What kinds of food do they serve at Sammy’s?

Breakfast is Sammy’s biggest meal, and the omelettes and pancakes are the most popular because they are good and very inexpensive. Sammy’s uses eggs that they buy from local farms, and their cheese, milk, and cream are from local dairies. Their omelettes are made out of local vegetables like zucchini, tomatoes, spinach, and potatoes, so their menu changes with the season. They also serve ham and bacon omelettes, and their seafood omelette is the favorite of many of the women who go there on weekends.

During lunch, a cheeseburger will only cost $4.95, and that includes freshly-cooked fries. The soup is made each morning, and they use local ingredients as much as possible. Their Friday clam chowder is the most popular of all, and Horton uses local potatoes and onions in it. Their sandwich menu includes cold sandwiches “Like Mother Used to Make,” paninis, and wraps, and people who want open-faced beef sandwiches with plenty of gravy can order them even though they’re not on the menu.

The most popular dinner at Sammy’s is the fried chicken dinner, though on Saturdays, the prime rib brings in lots of customers. Most days, the most expensive dinner is the Seafood Grill, which costs only $15.95, and has shrimp, scallops, and either salmon or halibut. All dinners include soup or salad, potato, bread, and a locally-grown vegetable.

Creating Transitions

• Read your draft of Subtopic 1 to your partner.

• Work with your partner to identify a key word, idea, or phrase from this subtopic.

• Identify the name of Subtopic 2.

• Collaborate with your partner to write a sentence that will help the reader make the transition from the first to the second subtopic.

• Write your transition at the beginning of Subtopic 2.

• Repeat the process with your partner’s draft of Subtopic 1 and Subtopic 2.

“Rattled” Excerpt

19 . . . The snake, a very small one, kept twitching, even after our white leghorn hens came and started to work on it with their beaks. At dusk I came back (I was forbidden to, but I came). It was still alive enough to shrink from my touch. 20 Folklore says a decapitated rattlesnake doesn’t die until sundown. The restless one I watched as a child was no aberration; beheaded rattlers often make this lore credible. Their movements diminish gradually, and no moment of death can be specified. But the movements clearly outlast an injury that should, according to everything we think we know, prove instantly fatal. We approach the rattler with such an awareness of its deadly potential that its failure to die neatly becomes terrifying. 21 We would like to think death is a crisp fracture: living, and then not living. In fact, there is no clear division between life and death in any animal. Death isn’t still. It is a continuation of what has gone before. The digestive juices in our gut lose their inhibitions and go to work on the organs that hold them. The bacteria that have been part of our bodies go on living. Suddenly freed to partake of the feast they have always dwelt inside, they prosper as never before. Our tissues, if left alone, take on an array of strange forms as microscopic life converts them. The blood gels, the breath quiets, the tiny strands of lightning inside the nerve tissues disappear. Death is real, but it is slow and sloppy. Dead, we are not stilled; we are activated, changed.

Guide for Response Groups

Determine who will go first • Plan a process for who will work on their writing first, second, etc.

Read • Rehearse your piece before you read it so you will not stumble.

• Let your group know what challenge you are facing with this piece so that they can begin thinking about how to help.

• Read your piece clearly so that everyone in your group can hear it easily— but do not read it so loud that everyone in the room can hear it. Do not disturb other groups.

Ask • Ask for help with one challenging area of your article.

–– What is the most challenging part right now? What do you most want help with? Ask your group to help you write it.

–– Are there sections where you have two different versions and cannot decide which to use? Ask your group to help you decide.

• Consider your group’s advice carefully.

Listen • Listen closely. Look at the writer.

• Use sticky-notes to record ideas.

Help • Be as helpful as possible.

• If you need to hear a section again in order to offer assistance, ask the writer to reread it for you.

What to Do When Revising

Read your piece again. • Compare it with the rubric, and mark the sections where the piece meets the criteria for meeting the bull’s eye.

• Try to imagine that you are reading this for the very first time. Which sections might be confusing?

• Look for places to add information, places to delete or substitute, and places that might be improved if the information were rearranged.

• Reflect on the feedback you have received from other people: What were they most interested in? What were they confused by?

Use the appropriate writing strategies • First, consider the confusing sections: How could you make them more clear? More direct? More complete?

• Revise your lead to make it even more effective.

• Decide where information and ideas should be shown rather than told.

• Decide where repetition, metaphors, short sentences, and cumulative sentences might be useful.

• Delete information that might be boring or irrelevant.

• Delete showing writing that slows the pace too much.

• Move parts around if you need to.

• Reword any sections that might be presented more clearly and effectively.

Technical tips • Double space the drafts so that there is room to add new words, sections, and ideas.

• Use sticky-notes to remind yourself about things to add or change when you write the final draft.

Frequently Asked Questions

Contents [hide] 1 How do I create a new page? 2 Why has my article been deleted? 3 How do I change the name of an article? 4 How do I change/delete my username? 5 How do I cite Wikipedia? 6 When was Wikipedia last published? 7 Who wrote article X on Wikipedia? 8 Who owns Wikipedia? 9 Why am I having trouble logging in? 10 Are page hit counters available?

How do I create a new page? For creating a new article see Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:Article development. You need to have a Wikipedia account to create a new article. For creating a new page in your userspace see How do I create a user subpage? [edit]

Why has my article been deleted? The best way to find out is to look at the deletion log for reasons (type the exact name of the article in the Title box, including the capitalization you used). For more information, see: Why was my article deleted? [edit]

What to Do When Editing

Read the piece to yourself. • Whisper it so you can hear the pace and intonation of the words on the page.

• Pay attention to whether the piece makes sense.

• Check for correctness:

–– Proper paragraphing: Have I separated the piece into paragraphs with logical breaks? Have I used transitions to make one paragraph move smoothly to the next?

–– Proper sentences: Have I broken the sentences correctly? Are any of my sentences long and awkward sounding? Are there any choppy sentences? If so, read the sentences carefully, placing periods in the correct places.

–– Capitalization and punctuation: Did I use capital letters at the beginning of sentences? Are there end-punctuation marks at the ends of sentences? Did I use commas to separate lists or introductory phrases at the beginning of sentences?

–– Verb tense: Do I keep in the same verb tense throughout my piece?

–– Spelling: Do any of the words look odd? If so, check their spelling.

Editing for proper paragraphing Writers begin new paragraphs when:

• The lead is completed.

• The setting shifts.

• Time moves (forward, backward, or to a new dimension).

• The subtopic changes (a new event or development takes place).

• The essay is ready to move to a conclusion.

“Sammy’s of Solaria” Passage

. . . people who want open-faced beef sandwiches with plenty of gravy can order them even though they’re not on the menu.

The most popular dinner at Sammy’s is the fried chicken dinner. On Saturdays, the prime rib brings in lots of customers. The most expensive daily dinner is the Seafood Grill. It costs only $15.95, and has shrimp, scallops, and either salmon or halibut. All dinners include soup or salad, potato, bread, and a locally-grown vegetable. The cooks at Sammy’s specialize: Bert and Wilma share the cooking during the mornings. Bert is particularly proud of his “ways with the egg.” He says “I just seem to know exactly how long to cook anything with an egg in it: I can do over easy, sunny-side up, poached, scrambled, or even baked, and I never look at a clock. I just know. I know what people want, and I love this job. It’s all about pleasing the customers. Wilma specializes in the waffles, pancakes, and fresh bread. She says “If there’s flour in it, I can cook it.” She also bakes the cakes and pies. Bert stays to help Jimmy at lunch, but Wilma goes home. She says “Getting up at 4 to bake means that I’m ready to rest my dogs by noon.” Jimmy makes the sandwiches and he makes the soup every morning. “The soup’s on by 9 in the morning, every morning. That gives it plenty of time to stew and simmer. I make up a new soup recipe every day when I come in to see what’s there. You know . . . Jason is the best produce man in the area. When he delivers vegetables, you know they’re good.” Jimmy stays with Ingrid for the night meals, but they don’t have much business past about 7 p.m. They serve some of Jimmy’s soup, and use up the rest of the vegetables, but after about 7, most folks stop coming to Sammy’s, though a few people come in later to have some pie. Because Sammy’s has breakfast, lunch, and dinner, everyone eats there. The Lions’ Club has their lunches there once each month, and the Chamber of Commerce meets every Thursday for breakfast. The local ministers hold prayer breakfasts every Tuesday, and the Golden Girls are there every other Wednesday for lunch. A number of bowling teams have their regular times. The most regular of the regulars has no name. It’s the group of farmers that gather every morning at 5 for coffee and breakfast. The group has 7–12 people (all men, except for Pam), depending on the season.

Sammy’s is a successful restaurant because it’s right in the middle of . . .

Article Format

Title

Introduction

Content Box

Subtopics with Headers (titles or questions)

Closing

Frequently Asked Questions

References

For Further Reading

Writing an Informative/Explanatory Essay

Directions Read the following article and prompt carefully. As you read, make notes about your initial responses, questions, and insights. Use your notes to write a well-organized essay.

Prompt

A publishing company’s editors are asking high school students to write articles about topics that teens need to know about. They plan to publish a book for junior high school students. This book will have sections that focus on such topics such as how to succeed in school; dating; how to get a job; and how to balance studying, work, and social life. One section will focus on the topic of “making plans for the future.” This is an important section, and the editors know that planning for the future is essential to success during high school. They would like you to write an article for this section, focusing on an aspect of planning, such as

• how to find out about colleges and careers, • how to know which classes to take in high school, • how to get experience through internships, jobs, and volunteer positions • how to decide what career to pursue, • what plans you have made and what you have done so far to make your plans come true, or • any other approach that might be of interest.

Write an article about making plans for the future. The editors are looking for articles that • would be of interest and value to young teens; • provide interesting details about how and why planning is important; • draw information from a range of sources, including the article, “School’s Out … For Ever;” and • clearly, concisely provide interesting, useful information.

Writing an Informative/Explanatory Essay (continued)

School’s Out… For Ever Edna Livermore

As the old rhyme says, “no more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks.” When school ends, there are also no more bells, no more deadlines, no more homework, and no more competitions about who gets the best grades, who is the best artist/musician/ athlete/joke teller/partner-magnet. Life finally has limitations. Everyone can make their own choices, live their own lives. Although graduation brings a sense of accomplishment, relief, and freedom, many graduates soon find themselves lost. Because they have always been under pressure to read the books, learn the material, complete their work, and compete for grades and accolades, many students have not yet learned how to structure time or envision a future. Adolescence is a time of disorientation and discovery. It serves as the transition from the dependency of childhood to the independence of adulthood. It begins, often, with a rejection of all of the structures and strictures that characterized childhood. Bedtimes are too early. Healthy food is too bland. Clothes are too ugly. Parents are too controlling. Teachers are too demanding. Adults are just too old: they don’t understand anything. Without familiar structures and without trusted adults as guides, adolescents must somehow prepare themselves for life as an adult. According to adolescent psychologist B. Bradford Brown, the fact that many students graduate from high school and find themselves completely lost is predictable. According to Brown, as people mature from childhood to adulthood, they must accomplish four, somewhat sequential, psychosocial tasks:

1. They must learn to stand out. They must learn to be autonomous, and they must develop their own sense of identity. This is a gradual process: at first, they are a part of a family system that has clearly defined levels of authority and roles. The authority usually comes from the parents, who began by teaching children how to do things and, over time, evolved into authority figures who create rules and offer advice.

The roles have been defined by the experience and expectations of the entire family: the oldest child, for example, may have been the one who guides the younger siblings, or the quiet one may have always been the one who repaired things when they were broken. Over time, these roles become expected by the family and are also a part of each individual’s self-image.

During adolescence, teens move away from the structure and strictures of family life, and they begin to navigate relationships with teachers, coaches, ministers, neighbors, and other adults as well as a range of other teens. The clear authority is no longer so

Writing an Informative/Explanatory Essay (continued)

clear; the established roles may not be relevant in the outside world. This means that the single set of parameters is replaced with multiple ways of making choices, and teens must learn to make decisions on their own, based on their own values.

This psychosocial task continues over a lifetime; however, it is particularly important and challenging during middle and high school.

2. They must learn to fill in. Teens must learn to develop relationships with a range of people and develop roles on their own. As children, their relationships were largely defined by family structures; as teens, their relationships are always evolving. During adolescence, teens have to figure out how to create comfortable friendships and how to be accepted by those who matter to them. They need to figure out how to act, how to speak, how to appear, and how to behave in a range of settings with a range of people. This means that teens must always be gauging not only the reactions of others, but their own sense of who is important.

While this psychosocial task continues throughout life as people meet new people, take new jobs, live in new neighborhoods and establish new families, it is during middle and high school that people are most keenly aware of its demands.

3. They must measure up. Teens must decide what they value and what they can do. They need to develop competence and show it in an acceptable manner. Away from the boundaries of the family, teens learn of the wide range of ways that people can succeed through academics, social situations, performance, and even less than savory activities like bullying or outright crime. Teens have to evaluate these social roles to decide which are important to them. They also have to evaluate themselves to determine what success they might have, based on their own abilities, competencies, and motivations.

While this psychosocial task begins in childhood, it is during middle and senior high school that the combination of ability and self confidence form the building blocks of life after graduation.

4. They must decide to take hold. Teens must decide what they want and how to pursue it. This means that they must imagine a life quite different from that of high school, even when they are immersed in the social, academic, and personal challenges of adolescence. They also must know how to proceed: what classes to take, what level of performance they must attain, what ways to expend their time. Most importantly, teens see themselves as responsible for their own lives, and believe that they can—and must—determine their own fate.

Writing an Informative/Explanatory Essay (continued)

This final task depends on the earlier three: to make commitment to a future, teens need to have figured out how to stand out, fill in, and measure up … and until these three tasks are well under way, planning for the future is challenging, to say the least. For those without solid plans, the day after graduation is a day of reckoning. They have gotten themselves across the stage, but on the other side, life continues. What will they do? As a teen, it is difficult to gain knowledge of the possibilities of adult life. Most teens have observed or experienced, for example, only a limited number of career possibilities: they may know about their parents’ careers, they certainly have seen teachers and other school personnel, and they may have interacted with and maybe even worked in retail. What if they’re not interested in following their parents’ paths or working in schools or in retail? What else is there? They have no experience in business or military or agriculture or medicine, no way of knowing whether or not a professional life in accounting or building or social work would fit them. The problem, of course, is that, without planning, the transition from high school to adult life is fraught with difficulty. High school graduates should be celebrated: they have navigated one of the most challenging periods of human life; they have learned math, science, social sciences, health, language, and literature; and they have learned about themselves and others. For many, though, the day after graduation is a difficult one: now that there are no pencils or books, and no more teachers’ dirty looks, what will there be? Unless they have planned for this day, many graduates find themselves looking back longingly at those happy days of high school.

Scoring Guide

Informative/Explanatory Essay Date:

Student’s Name: Student ID:

Read each of the statements below, and circle the number on the scale that most accurately reflects your assessment of the essay.

4 = strong 3 = moderately strong 2 = somewhat weak 1 = weak

1. The essay focuses entirely on the topic of planning for the future. 4 3 2 1

2. The opening introduces the topic. 4 3 2 1

3. The opening provides useful background information, a descriptive 4 3 2 1 definition, or a definition of purpose.

4. The writer organizes the ideas, concepts, and information to make 4 3 2 1 important connections and distinctions.

5. The essay includes multiple, organized subtopics. 4 3 2 1

6. The topic is developed with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, 4 3 2 1 anecdotes, details, and/or examples (including information drawn from the article) that are appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of planning for the future.

7. Varied and appropriate transitions link the major sections of the essay, create 4 3 2 1 cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

8. The closing follows from and supports the information presented. 4 3 2 1

9. The closing provides a sense of closure and completeness. 4 3 2 1

10. Standard English conventions are controlled. Surface errors do not impede 4 3 2 1 the reader’s ability to understand the information that is presented.

Additional comments:

Reading Standards for Informational Text, Grades 9-10 Range of Reading Craft and Key Ideas and Details and Level of Text Structure Complexity R1.9-10.1. Cite R1.9-10.2. R1.9-10.3. Analyze R1.9-10.5. Analyze R1.9-10.10. By strong and Determine a how the author in detail how the end of grade thorough textual central idea of a unfolds an analysis an author’s 9, read and evidence to text and analyze or series of ideas or claims comprehend support analysis of its development ideas or events, are developed literary nonfiction what the text says over the course of including the and refined in the grades 9–10 explicitly as well as the text, including order in which the by particular text complexity inferences drawn how it emerges points are made, sentences, band proficiently, from the text. and is shaped and how they are paragraphs, or with scaffolding as refined by specific introduced and larger portions needed at the high details; provide an developed, and of a text (e.g., end of the range. objective summary the connections a section or of the text. that are drawn chapter). Lesson between them. 1 2 ■ ■ 3 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 4 ■ ■ ■ 5 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 6 7 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 8 ■ ■ 9 10 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 11 ■ ■ ■ ■ 12 ■ ■ ■ 13 14 15 16 ■ 17 ■ 18 ■ ■ 19 ■ ■ ■ 20 ■ ■ ■ ■ 21 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 22 ■ ■ ■ 23 ■ ■ ■ ■ 24 ■ ■ ■ 25 ■ ■ ■ 26

Writing Standards, Grades 9-10 Text Types and Purposes W.9-10.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. W.9-10.2.a. W.9-10.2.b. W.9-10.2.c. Use W.9-10.2.d. W.9-10.2.e. W.9-10.2.f. Introduce a topic; Develop the ... transitions to Use precise Establish Provide a organize complex topic with ... link the major language and concluding ideas…; include facts, extended sections of the and domain- maintain statement or formatting…, definitions, text, create specific a formal section that graphics…, and concrete details, cohesion, and vocabulary to style and follows from multimedia when quotations, clarify the manage the objective and supports useful to aiding or other relationships complexity of tone.... the information comprehension. information and among complex the topic. or explanation examples.... ideas and presented…. Lesson concepts. 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 5 6 ■ ■ 7 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 8 ■ ■ ■ ■ 9 ■ ■ ■ ■ 10 ■ ■ ■ 11 ■ ■ 12 13 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 14 15 16 ■ ■ ■ 17 ■ ■ ■ ■ 18 ■ ■ ■ 19 ■ ■ ■ ■ 20 ■ ■ ■ ■ 21 ■ ■ ■ ■ 22 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 23 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 24 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 25 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 26 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Writing Standards, Grades 9-10 Range of Production and Distribution of Writing Research to Build and Present Knowledge Writing W.9-10.4. W.9-10.5. W.9-10.6. Use W.9-10.7. W.9-10.8. W.9-10.9. Draw W.9-10.10. Produce clear Develop and technology, Conduct Gather relevant evidence from Write routinely and coherent strengthen including short as well information literary or over extended writing in writing ... by the Internet, as more from multiple informational time frames which the planning, to produce, sustained authoritative texts to support (time for development, revising, publish, research print and analysis, research, organization, editing, and update projects to digital reflection, and reflection, and and style are rewriting, or individual or answer a sources... research. revision) and appropriate to trying a new shared writing question.... shorter time task, purpose, approach, products.... frames and audience. focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and Lesson audience. 1 ■ ■ ■ 2 ■ ■ ■ ■ 3 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 4 5 ■ ■ 6 ■ ■ 7 ■ ■ ■ 8 ■ ■ ■ 9 ■ ■ ■ 10 ■ ■ ■ 11 ■ ■ ■ ■ 12 ■ ■ 13 ■ ■ ■ 14 ■ 15 ■ ■ ■ 16 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 17 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 18 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 19 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 20 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 21 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 22 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 23 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 24 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 25 ■ ■ ■ ■ 26 ■ ■ ■

Speaking and Listening Standards, Grades 9-10 Comprehension and Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas Collaboration SL.9-10.1. Engage effectively in a SL.9-10.4. Present claims and SL.9-10.6. Adapt speech to a variety range of collaborative discussions findings, sequencing ideas logically of contexts and tasks, demonstrating (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher- and using pertinent descriptions, command of formal English when led) with diverse partners on grade facts, and details to accentuate main indicated or appropriate. 6 topics, texts, and issues, building ideas or themes; use appropriate eye on others’ ideas and expressing their contact, adequate volume, and clear Lesson own clearly. pronunciation. 1 ■ ■ 2 ■ ■ ■ 3 ■ ■ ■ 4 ■ ■ ■ 5 ■ ■ ■ 6 ■ ■ ■ 7 8 ■ ■ 9 ■ ■ 10 ■ ■ ■ 11 ■ ■ 12 ■ 13 ■ 14 ■ ■ ■ 15 ■ ■ ■ 16 ■ ■ 17 ■ ■ ■ 18 ■ ■ ■ 19 ■ ■ ■ 20 ■ ■ ■ 21 ■ ■ ■ 22 ■ ■ ■ 23 ■ ■ ■ 24 ■ ■ ■ 25 ■ ■ ■ 26 ■

Language Standards, Grades 9-10 Knowledge of Vocabulary Acquisition Conventions of Standard English Language and Use L.9-10.1. Demonstrate L.9-10.2. Demonstrate L.9-10.3. Apply L.9-10.6. Acquire and use command of the command of the knowledge of language accurately general academic conventions of standard conventions of standard to understand how and domain-specific words and English grammar and English capitalization, language functions in phrases, sufficient for reading, usage when writing or punctuation, and spelling different contexts, to writing, speaking, and listening speaking. when writing. make effective choices at the college and career L.9-10.1.a. Choose among for meaning or style, readiness level; demonstrate simple, compound, and to comprehend independence in gathering complex, and compound- more fully when reading vocabulary knowledge when complex sentences or listening. considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or to signal differing Lesson relationships among ideas. expression. 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ ■ 7 8 9 ■ 10 ■ ■ 11 12 ■ 13 14 ■ 15 ■ 16 ■ 17 ■ ■ 18 ■ 19 ■ 20 ■ ■ ■ ■ 21 ■ ■ ■ 22 ■ ■ 23 ■ ■ ■ 24 ■ ■ ■ 25 ■ ■ ■ ■ 26 ■