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GEN 100

Writing Workshop

GEN100 • Section J2 • Dr. Adam Tompkins

Course Study Items


SI

GEN100 Study List

The following is a list of topics that will be covered in the course, ones that may be included on the Final Exam.

This is not a complete list, just a review of major study elements. Some new points may be added to the curriculum before the semester begins.

I put an *asterisk at the start of any topics I will not include in the actual exam.

  1. KNOW AND BE ABLE TO LIST THE FOLLOWING:
    1. Brainstorming techniques
      • Listing
      • Freewriting
      • Clustering
    2. Parts of Speech
      • Nouns
      • Verbs
      • Adjectives
      • Adverbs
      • Pronouns
      • Prepositions
      • Conjunctions
      • Interjections
    3. Clauses
      • Independent
      • Dependent
      • Nominal
      • Adjective (Relative)
      • Adverbial (Subordinate)
    4. Phrases
      • Noun
      • Verb
      • Gerund (verbal)
      • Participial (verbal)
      • Infinitive (verbal)
      • Prepositional
      • Absolute
      • Appositive
    5. Conjunctions
      • Coordinating conjunctions
      • Subordinating conjunctions
      • Conjunctive adverbs (logical connectors)
      • *Correlative conjunctions
    6. Paragraph Structure
      • Topic sentence
      • Major supporting details
      • Minor supporting details
      • Length of paragraph
      • Amount of detail in paragraph
      • Direct support for main ideas
  2. BE ABLE TO:
    1. Brainstorm & Write an Outline
      • Don't just start writing; begin by generating ideas
      • Create an outline with essay & paragraph structure
      • Outline Structure (I, A, 1, a)
    2. Write interesting and relevant introduction techniques
      • Anecdote
      • Question
      • Quotation
      • Interesting fact / statistic
      • Disagree with someone
      • Use more than one technique in an introduction
    3. Create clear and focused thesis statements
      • See textbook chapter on thesis statements
      • Thesis statement effectively summarizes whole essay
      • Should bear the idea or opinion of author
      • Should be general enough to summarize whole essay, but focused enough so you can explain everything in the essay
      • Should follow the assignment given by teacher
    4. Write well-structured paragraphs
      • Know where your topic sentences and major supporting details are
      • Be careful of Support
      • Add as much detail as possible
      • Stay on topic
    5. Create well-structured sentences
      • Begin with basic S-V-C sentences, add phrases, clauses, modifiers
      • Make sure you pay attention to all parts of the sentence, and that they are formed / located correctly
      • Not too long: no more than 2 independent clauses, 3 clauses total, 25 words
    6. Punctuate sentences correctly
      • period
      • comma
      • colon
      • semicolon
      • question mark
      • exclamation point
      • double and single quotes
      • ellipses
      • square brackets
    7. Correct grammar so that errors are at a minimum
      • Try to proofread as you write
      • Leave extra day or two for proofreading before due date
      • Check for the most common error types: articles, prepositions, verbs
      • spend several hours proofreading
    8. Use capitalization correctly, according to MLA
    9. Find reliable, original sources of research material which can be used to support your thesis statement;
    10. Correctly make in-text citations and Works Cited lists for periodicals, books, web pages, and online databases;
    11. Use MLA formatting in your essay (header with page number, 1" margins, double spacing, indents, etc.)
    12. Use quotation marks and italics in titles of works
      • Use quotation marks for smaller works which are parts of larger works, e.g. articles, songs, TV episodes, book chapters;
      • Use italics for the titles of longer works, such as books, magazines/journals, movies, music albums, and TV shows.
    13. Find and correct problems with Conciseness
  3. BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE:
    1. Subject - Predicate - Complement
    2. Essential & Non-essential elements
      • Essential: helps identify more than is first known; identified enough for the current situation
      • Non-essential: you know what is being referred to, even if you do not know the most specific information about it
      • Especially in relative clauses and appositives
      • Use of commas with non-essential elements will be on the test!
    3. Non-coordinate adjective order
      • the cute tiny old green Japanese bonsai tree
    4. Article Usage
      • See handout on Articles
  4. BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE AND DEFINE (See the web pages for each for definitions):
    1. Unity
    2. Structure
    3. Support
    4. Development / Details
    5. Clarity
    6. Conciseness
    7. Coherence / Flow