Daily Writing

24 sentences that can be added to pretty much any paragraph:

    1. Topic sentence: the main idea of the paragraph written in one sentence
    2. Short: a short, concise sentence of your topic
    3. Long: a long, wordy version that over-explains your topic
    4. Example: Give an example of what you are describing, use the words "for example" in this sentence
    5. Literal Description: (Do NOT use the words like or as) Explain your topic by what it feels, smells, tastes, sounds, or looks like; all of these are literal descriptions (figurative descriptions are next)
    6. Figurative Description: Use a simile, metaphor, exaggeration, understatement or irony
    7. Announce: Announce to audience what is next, Pay attention to these next steps. Or now I would like to discuss the importance of [topic]. Or At this point I will give an example of [topic].
    8. Evaluate: Tell what is the worth or value of the topic (this could be literal as in the actual dollar cost of your topic or could be figurative as in your topic represents liberty, skill, recognition, safety, tradition, wealth, independence, knowledge, harmony, citizenship, love, faith, health, etc.)
    9. Interpret: Explain how the topic is either good or bad for the reader
    10. Predict: If this topic is the cause of something, what then will be the effect
    11. Solution: Your topic is a solution; your reader has a problem; your topic is the solution to your reader's problem; so . . . describe the problem that your reader has and then reveal that your idea will solve that problem--be creative, invent a problem, use imagination, keep it real
    12. Opponent: If somebody thought idea was bad, what might they say about your idea
    13. Response: How would you respond to what that negative person in #10 just said
    14. Slogan: Summarize your topic into a few syllables that an angry mob could shout
    15. Answer: Predict a question a reader might have then answer that question
    16. Connection: Connect this topic to the overall message of your writing: (A) Your paper is on one topic. (B) That topic is divided into subtopics. (C) The paragraph you are writing is on one of those subtopics. (D) Go out of your way to explain to the reader how the subtopic is connected to the main topic
    17. Vividness: Bring life to your topic; bring vigor and excitement: Good writing captures imagination, appeals to senses, creates mental pictures
    18. Exaggerate: emphasize or enlarge the action, emotion, or other qualities of your topic (hyperbole is extreme exaggeration that creates humor or irony)
    19. Understatement: deliberately diminish or lessen the importance of the topic (also is done for irony or humor)
    20. Repetition: Say something more than once; it means to say something more than once (repetition does not change words)
    21. Restatement: Paraphrase what was already stated; repeat key information, key information must be restated (restatement does change words)
    22. Parallelism: Repeat words, phrases or sentences to emphasize an idea: Good writing must repeat. Good writing must restate. Good writing must parallel. [Ok, so "parallel" is misused, but you get the point.]
    23. Rhetorical Question: Ask a question that can be answered in many ways that each depend upon a person's opinion, AND no real answer is expected to be given; the speaker is making a point, not looking for information. Know what I mean?
    24. Transition: Use the keywords of this paragraph and the next paragraph in one sentence