A.  Group Workshop

1. Get into a group with the others who answered the same question you did in class last time.

 
2. Read each other's essays. (These essays were written in class, in a relatively short time, so don't expect them to be brilliant and well-written--although some lucky ones might be.)

 
3. Then working together as a group, do these two things:

 
a.  For each essay:
 
1. Decide which sentence is the most important. It will probably be the most general statement in the essay.

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2. Draw a box around that statement.

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3. Number all of the statements in the essay, including the one you boxed in.

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4. In a blank space at the end of the essay or on another sheet of paper, make a schematic of the essay.  Write the sentence numbers (only) is a column.  Leave blank lines lines to indicate the paragraph separations.  It should look something like this:

 
1.  
2.  

 
3.  
4.  
5.  
6.  

 
7. and so on...
 
Then circle the number of the statement that you boxed in step a.2., above. (This should make it graphically clear where the main idea is located in respect to all of the other ideas in the essay.)
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b. Prepare an oral group report that answers the question. (If you can't all agree, then you may need to prepare majority and minority reports.)

1. Study your exam simulation essay and decide on the most logical order for all of the statements in it. Keep in mind that this is an essay in answer to the exam question. In other words, the examiner has asked you a question and hopes to find that your essay answers the question clearly and supports that answer with reasonable evidence and logical presentation.

 
2. Revise or re-write the entire essay so that every statement is in the right place. You may also want to add new ideas that occur to you or delete ideas that no longer seem relevant.

 

Invitations to Write