1. Kar en S. W ight
r

2. Th e
Wr i t i n g
Tr i a n g l Purpose
e
Topic
Voice
Audience

3. Ask the Right Questions Before
You Begin to Write
•What am I trying to say?
•What effect do I hope to
achieve?
•What main point do I
want to make?
•What form/type of writing
will I use?
•What is my purpose?

4. Your strategy becomes the purpose
and the goal you wish to reach with
your paper.
Description Narration
Compare/Contrast Process
Argument

5. A descriptive essay will put into
words what you want your reader to
see in his or her mind.
Using concrete examples are very
important in a descriptive essay.

6. A Narrative tells a personal story
The narrative essay is told from
first or third person point-of-view
It’s important to follow a clear
sequence of events.

7. Process
A process essay says what
something is to be done and in what
order.
The process essay will include
the steps necessary to reach a
goal.

8. Compare/contrast essays can present
one side at a time or it can present point
by point.
If you were writing an essay
comparing city traffic to small town
traffic, you would begin with a general
statement and then compare one type
of traffic then the other or present it
point by point.

9. •All of our lives we have tried to
persuade someone to do
something or to think like we
do…that is the beginning of an
argument paper.
•Your reader won’t believe you,
just because you say something
is true.
•The argument requires
research to support your
thinking.

10. W h e n y o u c o n s id e r t h e
p u r p o s e o f yo u r
e s s a y , c o n s id e r t h e
f o llo w in g :
1. W h a t p r o b l e m i s
s u g g e s te d b y the
t o p ic ? 2 . Wha t a re
y o u r w r it in g g o a ls ?
3 . W h a t is
y o u r i n t e n t --
p e r s u a s iv e ,

11. Voice is the identity the
writer adopts and his/her
credibility as an authority.

12. Do you want to sound--
…objective and fair
…heated and passionate
…sincere and persuasive
…informative and impartial

13. A piece of writing is
often judged by how
effectively it reaches its
intended audience.

14. Here are some questions to consider
about audience:
1. Who are your readers (age, sex,
income, belief systems, potential
biases)?
2. Are your readers novices or experts on
the subject?
3. What are your readers likely to know
(education level, prior knowledge)?

15. The writing process involves the way you define
and combine the various components of the
writing situation: your purpose for writing, your
voice or how you wish to come across to your
readers, and your audience.