The purpose of Wordsmith Craftsman is to prepare students for college and beyond, with an emphasis on writing and thinking skills that will be useful to them for the rest of their lives. The approach is a bit more structured and serious than the other two books, but still friendly and accessible. High school is the target grade level, but Wordsmith Craftsman can also serve as a complete college freshman composition course.
PART ONE: WRITING EVERY DAY
Take a Note
How to make notes to yourself and organize your time
Study Notes and Outlines
The skill of note-taking and why it's important; taking notes from verbal and written sources; outlining
Personal Letters
General outlines for thank-you notes, keeping-in-touch letters (and e-mails), fan letters, letters of support and letters of apology; do's and don't's for each type
Business letters
Business letter etiquette and form; letters of complaint and request
Summaries
What summaries are and how they are used; how to write a summary
Business Reports
Writing in the business world, e.g. proposals, feasibility studies, market research; how to conceive, organize, and present a plan
PART TWO: LANGUAGE POWER
Paragraphs
Basic principles of the paragraph; four paragraph types; eight models of paragraph organization
Writing Techniques That Really Work!
Using more and better verbs; preferring personal to impersonal forms; being specific; preferring active over passive; showing as preferred to telling; avoiding wordiness and clichés
Steps Toward a Personal Writing Style
Arranging words for emphasis; using transitional words and phrases; "loaded" words and selective detail; honesty in writing
PART THREE: THE ESSAY
Introduction to Essays
Basic essay structure; how to brainstorm ideas to write about; determining an essay topic and defining a thesis
Writing the Essay, Step By Step
The writing process (think, organize, write, evaluate, rewrite)
The Descriptive Essay
Determining a focus; using sensory details
The Narrative Essay
Organizing events in sequence; keeping the focus; writing introductory paragraphs
The Expository Essay
Basic research and sources of information; using oral sources; using personal experience as an expository source (e.g., travel writing)
A Word About Research Papers
Two types of research papers; the most critical step: choosing a workable thesis (Note: Wordsmith Craftsman does not contain detailed information on how to write a research paper, but the material on research in the Expository section will give the student a head start in this area.)
The Critical Essay
What "criticism" is, in this context; positive and negative criteria for judging a work; pitfalls of review writing; the difference between a review and a critical essay.
The Art of Persuasion
Three types of assertions and how they are defended; the four elements of persuasion; how to organize an argument; determining common ground; the use and misuse of emotion; writing a strong conclusion
APPENDICES: Forms for note-taking and summary-writing; answers to exercises; expanded Dewey decimal system; summaries of the steps in writing all five essay types; common fallacies of argument
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