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Welcome to Sixth Grade Writing! |
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Dr. Mac's Writing Class
"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." ~William Wordsworth |
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Persuasive Essay Due on May 16th |
Persuasive Essay
Please click here for the rubric and a graphic organizer.
How to Write a Persuasive Essay
by Jesse Seldess, Professional Writer
When writing a persuasive essay, your purpose is to convince your audience to embrace your idea or point of view. Keeping this purpose in mind is the key to writing an effective persuasion.
Essential steps for writing a persuasive essay:
Identify your main idea or point of view. Your purpose will be to persuade your audience to accept this idea or point of view.
Identify your audience. To write an effective persuasive essay, try to understand your audience. For example, are your readers undecided about your issue? Or are your readers hostile to your point of view?
Considering your audience, identify the strongest supporting points for your persuasion.
Identify the most significant opposing view. Explaining and then refuting the opposing view strengthens the credibility and scope of your essay.
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Upcoming Due Dates |
Dates
Persuasive Essay Due May 16th, 2008
5/6/08 Spelling Quiz and Extra Credit Due
Words ending in -ion and -ian (the /shun/ sound)
1. expression
2. collision
3. application
4. prediction
5. persuasion
6. succession
7. beautician
8. musician
9. starvation
10. reaction
11. violation
12. imitation
13. observation
14. separation
15. estimation
16. ambition
17. action
18. solution
19. politician
20. westernization
5/16/08 Spelling Quiz and Extra Credit Due
Words ending in -ent and -ant (the /int/ sound)
1. magnificent
2. obedient
3. persistent
4. equivalent
5. fluorescent
6. incident
7. valiant
8. brilliant
9. ignorant
10. significant
11. reluctant
12. attendant
13. dormant
14. vigilant
15. radiant
16. immigrant
17. accident
18. confident
19. Protestant
20. implement
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How should I punctuate quotations? |
Punctuating Direct Quotes
Direct quotations are another person's exact words--either spoken or in print--incorporated into your own writing.
Use a set of quotation marks to enclose each direct quotation included in your writing.
Use a capital letter with the first word of a direct quotation of a whole sentence. Do not use a capital letter with the first word of a direct quotation of part of a sentence.
If the quotation is interrupted and then continues in your sentence, do not capitalize the second part of the quotation.
Mr. and Mrs. Allen, owners of a 300-acre farm, said, "We refuse to use that pesticide because it might pollute the nearby wells."
Mr. and Mrs. Allen stated that they "refuse to use that pesticide" because of possible water pollution.
"He likes to talk about football," she said, "especially when the Super Bowl is coming up."
Indirect quotations are not exact words but rather rephrasings or summaries of another person's words. Do not use quotation marks for indirect quotations.
According to their statement to the local papers, the Allens refuse to use pesticide because of potential water pollution.
Unnecessary Quotation Marks
Do not put quotation marks around the titles of your essays.
Do not use quotation marks for common nicknames, bits of humor, technical terms that readers are likely to know, and trite or well-known expressions.
(From http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_quote.html)
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VERBS! |
Previous Topic of Study: VERBS
Click here for a study guide
We are learning about:
* action, linking, and helping verbs
* transitive and intransitive verbs
* direct and indirect objects
* verb phrases (main verbs + helping verbs)
* predicate nouns & predicate adjectives
Helping Verb Song (Sung to Jingle Bells)
Helping Verbs! Helping Verbs!
There are 23....
Am, is, are! Was and were! Being, been, and be!
Have, has, had! Do, does, did! Shall, should, will, and would!
There are 5 more helping verbs: may, might, must, can, and could!
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Mark Twain said:
The difference between the right word and the nearly right word is the same as that between lightning and the lightning bug.
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. |
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Conjunctions
Click here for a conjunctions study guide
A conjunction is a joiner, a word that connects (conjoins) parts of a sentence.
The test will measure student understanding of the following three types of conjunctions:
Coordinating conjunctions: Connect words that are similar
Remember: FANBOYS >>>> For-And-Nor-But-Or-Yet-So
Correlative cconjunctions: Conjunctions used in pairs
both -- and
neither -- nor
either -- or
not only -- but also
whether -- or
not -- but
Subordinating conjunctions: Used to join two complete ideas, making one dependent on the other
after
how
till ( or 'til)
although
if
unless
as
inasmuch
until
as
if
in order that
when
as long as
lest
whenever
as much as
now that
where
as soon as
provided (that)
wherever
as
though
since
while
because
so that
before
than
even
if
that
even
though
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Prepositions
Click here for a list of commonly used prepositions.
A preposition is a word used to relate a noun or pronoun to some other part of the sentence.
In the example below, the prepositions are blue, the prepositional phrases are underlined, and the objects of the prepositions are in red.
I live around the corner from the bakery, which is known throughout Augusta as the best in the world!
Students sing prepositions to the tune of Yankee Doodle:
about
above
across
after
along
among
around
at
before
beside
between against
within
without
beneath
through
during
under
in
into
over
of
off
to
toward
up
on
near
for
from
except
by
with
behind
below
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Sentence Structure
Simple – Contains one clause
My friend invited me to a party. I do not want to go.
Compound – Two or more independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions.
My friend invited me to a party, but I do not want to go.
Complex -- Contains at least one independent and one dependent clause (usually joined by a subordinating conjunction)
Although my friend invited me to a party, I do not want to go.
Compound-Complex – Joins two complex sentences or one simple sentence and one complex sentence
The package arrived in the morning, but the courier left before I could check the contents.
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