Class: Friday, June 18

Why do we write?  Aside from just learning how to refine our writing skills this semester, that is one of the biggest issues we will deal with--figuring out what drives us to write in the first place.

we write:

            *to entertain

            * to inform

            *to argue or persuade

            *to learn/teach

            *to remember

The first essay will let you explore writing to remember and preserve an important memory (email me for the assignment sheet if you missed class).

When writing this essay, you'll need to keep your readers in mind (remember that they don't have the added bonus of having lived through your memory and that they'll need you to really lead them through).

VERBS and TRANSITIONS will really be helpful.  

Verbs-there are three kinds

Action-show what the subject of the sentence is doing and the time frame

Avon lifts weights

Linking-shows the time frame as well as provides a link (or connection) between the subject and a description of the subject

The sky was cloudy

Helping-a shorter verb is added to another to create a verb phrase that further explains the time frame

Someday I will explain all of this to you. 

One thing you have probably noticed is that the verb tells the time in each sentence (lifts is in the present, was is in the past, and will explain is in the future).  There are three main verb tenses: past, present and future (there are more specific ones out there, and we will cover those later this semester). 

Past	Present	Future
He walked They walked	He walks They walk	He will walk They will walk

Transitions help keep writers organized too.  They are the connective tissue that moves the reader from one part of the paragraph to the next.  (PS-make sure to click the link.  This is a great resource on transitions).  

We'll continue working on both verbs and transitions during this first essay, so keep checking in here for extra practices and links to useful resources.