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Getting Started withWriting

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Learning Outcomes
• Create your own ideal writing environment.
• Analyze the rhetorical situation using the star
approach.

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Your Ideal Writing
Environment (LO 1.1)
• Find a good place to write.
• Plan your time to write.
• Select your materials.
• Establish a method for saving your work.
• Create an inviting atmosphere.
• Minimize distractions.

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The Star Approach (LO 1.2)
• Subject
• Audience
• Purpose
• Strategy
• Design

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Subject (LO 1.2)
• Consider the message you want to convey.
• Select a subject that matches the guidelines
of the assignment.
• Narrow your subject if necessary.
• Always consider your audience and purpose.

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Audience (1.2)
• Consider your audience and what they may or
may not already know.
• Be aware of relevant discourse communities.
• Consider both your primary and secondary
audience.

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Audience (contd.)
• Always consider your audience and purpose.
• Determine relevant audience
characteristics.
• If online, use netiquette when addressing
both instructor and classmates.

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Purpose (LO 1.2)
• Writing to inform
– Provide useful
information about a
subject.
– Teach your audience
how to do
something.
• Writing to persuade
– You may argue a
point.
– You may persuade
your audience to do
something.

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Purpose (contd.)
• Writing to interpret
– Help your audience
better understand
something.
– Your opinion is
important.
• Writing to entertain
– Entertain the
audience.
– Many times you
address another
purpose.

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Purpose (contd.)
• Writing to express
feelings
– You may
communicate positive
feelings.
– You may express
dissatisfaction about
something.
• Combined purposes
– You may use more
than one purpose.
– The purposes may
overlap.

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Strategy (LO 1.2)
• Narrating
– Tell a story about an
event.
– Answer the
questions who, what,
where, when, why,
and how.
• Explaining a process
– Explain how
something works.
– You may use step-by-
step instructions.
– You may write an
explanation.

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Strategy (contd.)
• Describing
– Use words to create
a picture in the
reader’s mind.
– Utilize the senses.
– Include colorful
adjectives.
• Comparing or
contrasting
– Show similarities or
differences between two
people, places, or objects.
– Make a worthwhile point.

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Strategy (contd.)
• Explaining causes or
effects
– Show one event caused
another to occur.
– Determine the effects
of an event or situation.
– Apply sound logic.
• Evaluating
– Make a judgment
about the subject.
– Determine the
important criteria
to evaluate.

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Strategy (contd.)
• Persuading
– You should take a
stand and prove your
point.
– You may use
personal experiences.
• Solving a problem
– Explain a problem
and possible
solutions.
– Determine which
solution is the best.

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Design (LO 1.2)
• Genre
– The writing style
(e.g., essay, story,
paper, memo, letter,
etc.)
– Consider your task.
• Length
– Know the instructor’s
requirement.
– Make sure all points
are clearly supported.

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Design (contd.)
• Format
– The structure of your
writing (e.g., typed,
hand-written,
documentation style,
etc.)
– Follow the instructor’s
guidelines closely.
• Appearance
– Show similarities or
differences between
two people, places,
or objects.
– Make a worthwhile
point.

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Design (contd.)
• Visual aids
– The pictures, charts, or graphs
used to enhance your paper.
– Determine if a point would be
more effective with a visual
image.