The Gravity Falls Book of Writing By: Katherine Barillas
INDRODUCTION
This book has been an adventure to make, when I first walked into Mr. Rodriguez’ class, it was on our syllabus. I knew we were going to have this project but I had no clue it was going to be like this. I was given the assignment the first day of writing and didn't even know it, as we continued on it was basically handed to me in the form of a Google Doc. It started off easy and has even taught me all the elements of writing, grammar, etc. We were asked to pick a subject for our book. I had first picked cats but had the great idea to do it on Gravity Falls- theme based off Dipper's Journal that played a special part in the show. My subject, as mentioned, is on the show Gravity Falls. Everytime the icebreaker question comes up on my favorite show/cartoon it's always the same answer- Gravity Falls. I picked this show because of its funny and action packed theme and setting but when you dig deeper you can find tons of easter eggs, conspiracy theories, and just overall deeper meanings to characters and subliminals. It's a cool show that I have passion for and really love the way Dipper's Journal can be incorporated into my own book.
DEDICATION
For Mr. Rodriguez, thank you for teaching me something new everyday.
This book would
have never existed without your help.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PUNCTUATION AND CAPITALIZATION- 4 PARTS OF SPEECH- 7 PHRASES AND CLAUSES- 14 SENTENCES- 18 PARAGRAPHS- 23 ESSAYS- 30 ABOUT THE AUTHOR- 33
PUNCTUATION AND CAPITALIZATION SECTION
I
1. . Period (used to end a sentence or is used to abbreviate) EX: Gravity Falls is filled with mysteries. 2. , Comma (used to switch around words or groups of words in a sentence) EX: The main characters in Gravity Falls are Mabel Pines, Dipper Pines, Grunkle Stan, Waddles, Ford Pines, and Gideon. 3. – Em dash (used to draw emphasis on something) EX: Gravity Falls- a mystery cartoon- follows twins Dipper and Mabel on their weird adventures. 4. - En Dash (used to hyphenate words) EX: Grunkle Stan’s Mystery Shack was a well known touristtrap. 5 : Colon (used to connect whatever comes after it to the last word said) EX: Mabel surprised everyone back home with a special carnival prize: her new pet pig! 6 ; Semi-Colon (used to connect multiple independent clauses that are related) EX: The Pine twins found themselves stuck in time; but the time baby set them back where they were meant to be.
7 ? Question mark (used to end an interrogative sentence) EX: Gravity Fall fans wonder: Will there ever be a new season? 8 ! Exclamation Mark (used to end an emphasized sentence) EX: Bill Cipher is best known as the most powerful being in the multiverse! 9 ‘ Apostrophe (used to indicate possession/ownership, to contract a word, or as a quote mark) - Dipper Pine’s journal was found in his uncle's fake tree. 10 “ ” Quotation mark (used to indicate it came from somewhere else; a quote) EX: Out of many Old Man McGucket quotes, “You can run, but I’ll still be in your nightmares!” will always be my favorite.
11 . . Ellipses (Used to indicate that something is unsaid) Bill Ciphers “Weirdmageddon” was put to a stop by the Pine twins, or was it.. 12 [ ] Brackets (Used to insert something not there before) EX: Grunkle Stan was always hesitant to pick up [Mabel’s Pig] Waddles.
13 () Parenthesis (Parenthetical- adds vital information but is not needed) EX: Dipper was right about Gideon, (a child physic) being a fraud and liar. 14 / Backslash (Indicates a choice) EX: The optimistic/energetic Mabel Pines, always found a way to cheer up those around her. Capitalization – 1. Capitalize the first word of a sentence. EX: Dipper and Mabel Pines had to solve mysteries and fight the paranormal everyday. 2. Capitalize names and other proper pronouns. EX: At the fair, Mabel won her pet pig Waddles. 3. Capitalize days, months, and holidays, but not seasons. EX: The Pine twins were born August 31st, in autumn. 4. Capitalize most titles words. EX: Gravity Falls was animated by Alex Hirsch.
Section II
PARTS OF SPEECH
NOUNS Types of nouns: · Common Nouns: name a class of people, places, things, or ideas. EX: pig, tree, journal · Proper Nouns: give the name or title of a particular person, place, thing, or idea (must be capitalized). EX: Gravity Falls, The Mystery Shack, Dipper · Compound Nouns: consist of words used together to form a single noun. EX: newspaper, policemen, bus stop Concrete Nouns: refer to material things, to people, or to places. EX: twins, truck, sheriff · Abstract Nouns: name ideas, qualities, concepts, emotions, or attitudes. EX: friendship, love, skill Functions (How nouns are used): · Subject (comes before the verb) Ford yelled at Stan after Stan successfully brought him back.
Direct Object (comes after the verb and answers what or whom) Mabel rejected Gideon after he asked her out over and over again. · Indirect Object (answers to who or to whom) Mabel gave a love potion to Robbie and Tambry at the diner. PRONOUNS Pronouns take the place of nouns that have been established. Personal: Nominative (subjects) Objective (objects) I/we me/us you/you you/you He, she, it, one/they him, her, it, one/them Possessive My, mine our, ours Your, yours your, yours His, her, hers, its, one’s their, theirs Relative: Nominative Objective Possessive who whom whose That that of that those/ this Interrogative: who, which, what, whatever, whoever Reflexive: (personal pronouns plus the suffix –self or –selves) Used only: when the action verb is directed toward the subject of the construction:
Stan would blame himself for what happened to Ford. Mabel would take herself to Sweater Town when she was upset. to intensify a point: Stan himself did a terrible job while trying to be elected mayor. Even though Mabel herself wanted to stay in MabelWorld forever, she had to leave to defeat Bill. Demonstrative: this, these that, those Indefinite: all, another, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, everywhere, few, many, much, neither, nobody, none, no one, nothing, one, other, several, somebody, someone, such. VERBS Verbs show the time, action, and state of being of a subject. Tense: verbs indicate time via tenses; simple past past past perfect past progressive simple present present present perfect present progressive present perfect progressive future future perfect
Types: There are at least eleven (11) types of verbs: auxiliary verbs (helping verbs) linking verbs (verbs that do not describe action, but connect the subject of a sentence to other parts of the sentence – usually the predicate) lexical verbs (main verbs) dynamic verbs (indicate action) stative verbs (describe a condition) finitive verbs (indicate tense) nonfinitive verbs (infinitives or participles) regular verbs (weak verbs) irregular verbs (strong verbs) transitive verbs (verbs followed by a direct object) intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take direct objects) Voice: Voice is the form of the verb that indicates how it relates or interacts with the action. The English language has two voices: ACTIVE and PASSIVE. Active: Dipper got his journal in a tree (Dipper is the subject) Passive: The tree brought his journal to Dipper. (Dipper is the subject but treated as the object) Verbals: (VERB FORMS NOT USED AS VERBS) Gerund: word ending in “ing” used as a noun. · The twins discovered groundbreaking mysteries in Gravity Falls. Participle: word ending in “ing” or “ed” used as an adjective · Mabel met one of her crushes in the public swimming pool.
· Waddles the pig was left disadvantaged against the pterodactyl. Infinitive: verb preceded by the word “to” (to go, to jump) used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs · Soos liked to read comic books by himself. ADJECTIVES Adjectives modify, describe, limit, and identify nouns and pronouns. · Kinds: Demonstrative (EX. this), Common (EX. brave), Proper (EX. American) ADVERBS Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. · Endings (EX. Soos came home to the twins throwing a party celebrating his birthday) · Conversions (EX. The twins celebrated Soos’ birthday) · Types: Manner, Frequency, Degree, Place, Time Example Types: (Create one example each related to your subject) Manner – Mabel rejected Gideons request to be his girlfriend quickly. Time – The twins have to stop Weirdmageddon immediately. Place – Pacifica was willingly at the Golf Course competing with Mabel. Degree – Waddles barely escaped the Pterodactyl. Frequency – The twins were consistently escaping death everyday.
CONJUNCTIONS Coordinating (FANBOYS): for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so Correlative: Either/or; neither/nor; not only/but also; both/and; whether/or; as/so Subordinate: after, though as, as if, as long as, as thought, because, before, if, in order that, provided that, since, so, so that, that, though, till, unless, when, where, whereas, while Relative pronouns: who (refers to people), which (refers to non living object or animals), that (may refer to animals or nonliving objects) PREPOSITIONS Prepositions link nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other parts of the sentence. Prepositions are NEVER followed by verbs. There are one-word prepositions and complex prepositions. These are some common one-word prepositions: aboard, about, above, according to, across, across from, after, against, along, alongside, alongside of, along with, amid, among, apart from, around, as, as far as, aside from, at, away from, back of, because of, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, but (except), by, by means of, concerning, despite, down, down from, except, except excluding for, for, from, from among, from between, from under, in, in addition to, in behalf of, including, in front of, in place of, in regard to, inside, inside of, in spite of, instead of, into, like, near, near to, notwithstanding, of, off, on, on account of, on behalf of, onto, on top of, opposite, out, out of, outside, outside of, over, over to, owing to, past, prior to, to, toward, under,
underneath, until, unto, up, upon, up to, versus, with, within, without. INTERJECTIONS Interjections are the final part of speech. A aha, ahem, ahh, ahoy, alas, arg, aw B bam, bingo, blah, boo, bravo, brrr C cheers, congratulations D dang, drat, darn, duh E eek, eh, encore, eureka F fiddlesticks G gadzooks, gee, gee whiz, golly, goodbye, goodness, good grief, gosh H ha-ha, hallelujah, hello, hey, hmm, holy buckets, holy cow, holy smokes, hot dog, huh, humph, hurray O oh, oh dear, oh my, oh well, oops, ouch, ow P phew, phooey, pooh, pow R rats S shh, shoo T thanks, there, tut-tut U uh-huh, uh-oh, ugh W wahoo, well, whoa, whoops, wow Y yeah, yes, yikes, yippee, yo, yuck Transitions of Logic Chart Milder Stronger Addition a further and and then then also too
PHRASES AND CLAUSES
SECTION IIII
Phrases – groups of words that function as a part of speech. Noun Phrase: A group of words consisting of nouns or pronouns and their modifiers that function as a noun. The whole town worked together to defeat Bill Cipher. Verb Phrase: A group of words consisting of verbs working together and that function as a verb. Wendy knew she had to break up with Robbie. Prepositional Phrase: A group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun, and functions as an adjective or an adverb. By the time Dipper escaped Bill’s henchmen, Mabel was already put into her custom prison. Appositive Phrase: A group of words that include all the words that modify an appositive and function as an adjective - IT MUST BE SURROUNDED BY COMMAS.
Wendy, Dipper’s crush, had no interest in dating him as he was too young. Verbal Phrases: A group of words that begin with a verbal and ends with a noun. Gerund Phrase verb ending in -ing that functions as a noun. Even speeding down the forest, the twins weren’t able to outrun the gnomes. Participial Phrase word ending in -ing (present participle) or -ed (past participle) that functions as an adjective. Dipper was fast to question the guy who turned out to be a zombie, lurking around the Mystery Shack. Infinitive Phrase verb preceded by the word “to” (to read, to study, to write) that function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Mabel, Dipper and Soos were eager to find the Gobblewonker. CLAUSES Clauses – groups of words with BOTH a subject and a verb that function as parts of speech. There are TWO kinds: Independent and Dependent (called “Subordinate”) INDEPENDENT – CAN stand alone as a complete sentence, known as a simple sentence pattern. The wax statues the twins found were cursed.
DEPENDENT (SUBORDINATE) – CANNOT stand alone as a complete sentence and MUST begin with a SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTION. There are seven (7) kinds: Noun Clause: Used as the noun in a sentence and may function as a subject, a predicate noun, a direct object, an object of a preposition, an indirect object, or an appositive. Gideon did not understand why Mabel didn't want to be his girlfriend. Adjective Clause: Used to modify a noun in an independent clause. Some adjective clauses begin with an introductory word: Simile dip is the candy Mabel had been waiting to find. Some adjective clauses begin with relative pronouns Adverb Clause: Used to modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in an independent clause, introduced by a subordinate conjunction and used to indicate time, place, cause, purpose, result, condition, and/or concession. Modifying verbs: After losing the “test your manliness” game, Dipper headed into the forest because he wanted to learn how to be a man. Modifying adjectives: Dipper was especially busy at the party, so he made clones. Modifying adverbs: Pacifica's dad was more of a hoax than anyone else in town.
Relative Clauses: Dependent clause that begins with a relative pronoun. The person who guesses the pigs weight correctly would get to keep him. Elliptical Clauses: Adverb clauses in which part of the clause is omitted. While fighting with Mabel, Dipper managed to shrink himself. Essential Clauses: Clauses necessary to the meaning of the sentence. The video game character that Dipper favors most ,was Rumble McSkirmish. Nonessential Clauses: Clauses that are NOT necessary to the meaning of the sentence. Summerween is Gravity Falls version of summer halloween, which begins 4 months before actual Halloween.
SENTENCES Sentence – a set of words that contains a subject SECTION IV
and a predicate and conveys a statement, command, question, or an exclamation. Sentence Parts Subject – what/who the sentence is about The Pine Twins patiently learned about all the mysteries of Gravity Falls. Predicate – what the subject does The Pine Twins patiently learned about all the mysteries of Gravity Falls. Sentence Types Declarative – a sentence that makes a statement (ends with a period mark) Mabel owned many fun sweaters. Imperative – a sentence I that makes a command (ends with a period mark) Make a new season of Gravity Falls immediately. Interrogative – a sentence that asks a question (ends with a question mark) Why would anyone not watch Gravity Falls? Exclamatory – a sentence that expresses great emotion, passion, excitement (ends with an exclamation mark)
The show, Gravity Falls is a favorite of many! Sentence Patterns Simple Sentence: A sentence that is just one independent clause. Mabel won her pet Waddles at the Mystery Fair. Compound Sentence: A sentence with multiple independent clauses, but no dependent clauses connected by FANBOYS (coordinating conjunctions) or a semicolon (;). Guessing Waddles weight correctly in the fair, Mabel was able to take Waddles home with her. Complex Sentence: A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. When Gideon set his mind on something, everyone was put into harm's way. Complex-Compound Sentence: A sentence with multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. Whether they loved it or not, the twins always found themselves going up against mysteries, but never alone. Loose Sentence: A sentence that contains an independent clause plus a subordinate construction (either a clause or phrase) with your main point at the beginning. Wendy could never be with Dipper, no matter how much he liked her. Periodic Sentence: A sentence in which the independent clause is given at the end of the sentence in order to create interest or generate suspense with the main point coming at the end.
No matter how much he liked her, Wendy could never be with Dipper. Parallel Structure: A sentence using the same pattern of two or more verbs or ideas that match in tense or structure to show that they are of equal importance and to help the reader comprehend what is being written - this sentence requires symmetry. Grunkle Stan had many fun adventures with the kids, always laughing, guiding them along the way, or filled with emotions. Balanced Sentence: A sentence where phrases or clauses at the beginning and the end parallel each other by virtue of their likeness of structure, meaning, or length - this sentence requires symmetry. Grunkle Stan spent his day playing dumb about journal number three and his night printing a copy of the journal. Chiasmus: A sentence that includes a repetition of ideas (words, phrases, or clauses) in inverted (reversed) order - this sentence requires symmetry. Gideon was always starting trouble in Gravity Falls and the twins would be in less trouble without him. Asyndeton: A sentence that leaves out conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses for a rhetorical purpose. Grenda is a great friend, she shows braveness, empathy, and loyalty. Polysyndeton: A sentence that uses multiple conjunctions in close proximity to each other between words, phrases, or clauses for a rhetorical purpose. Grenda shows great braveness, empathy, loyalty, and is ultimately a great friend towards Mabel.
Anaphora: A sentence that features the purposeful repetition of a word, words, or a phrase at the beginning of several successive clauses in order to place emphasis and draw attention. Epistrophe: A sentence featuring several phrases or clauses ending with the same word or words. Dipper and Mabel so often spend their days fighting off the mysteries in their town, their nights studying Dipper’s journal, but they loved spending time in Gravity Falls with their Grunkle. Sentence Errors Run-On/Rambling/Fused Sentence – a sentence construction error where two or more independent clauses are connected incorrectly without punctuation. Stan felt guilty after putting Waddles outside Waddles ended up being taken by a dinosaur Mabel was devastated. [WRONG] Stan felt guilty after putting Waddles outside BECAUSE Waddles ended up being taken by a dinosaur AND Mabel was devastated. [RIGHT] Comma Splice – a sentence construction error where two or more independent clauses are connected incorrectly using commas Mabel didn't want to date Gideon, she only saw him as a friend, she wasn't obligated to continue seeing him. [WRONG] Mabel didn't want to date Gideon. She only saw him as a friend; she wasn't obligated to continue seeing
Fragment – incomplete sentence pieces that are not connected to or do not form an independent clause Because Love God knew his potion was dangerous. [WRONG] Because Love God knew his potion was dangerous, he didn't want to share it with Mabel. [RIGHT] Misplaced/Dangling Modifiers – modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that add description; a misplaced modifier describes the wrong part of a sentence and a dangling modifier is missing the part it’s supposed to modify At the fair, the man gave Waddles to Mabel that was 15 pounds. [WRONG] At the fair, the man gave Waddles, who was 15 pounds, to Mabel. [RIGHT] Double Negative – combining two or more negative words in a sentence in a way that is supposed to produce a positive force Mabel knew that beating Paficica wouldn't do her no good if it was by cheating. [WRONG] Mabel knew that beating Paficica would not do her any good if it was by cheating. [RIGHT]
PARAGRAPHS
SECTION V
Paragraphs – a group of sentences that together convey a shared purpose structured around the same topic. Introductory Paragraphs (Introductions) Hook (Lead / Opening Statement) – can begin with the title Anecdotal (Brief story to set the mood and lead the reader into the topic) Ex. Watching Gravity Falls through, it can be said without a doubt that Bill Cipher would have won his ideal world if he hadn’t let his excessive pride get n the way. With powers like his, being able to possess even the brightest minds and achieving breaking out of the mindscape, it’s clear Bill was at an advantage. The more powerful he became, the more he believed everything would roll in his favor. Bill was blinded by his fatal flaw of hubris and lost it all. Query Based (Question that brings the reader to the topic - avoid second person POV “you”) Ex. Would Bill really have won against the townspeople in Gravity Falls? Thesis Statements (the purpose of a piece of writing – usually one sentence in length, but can be longer depending on the purpose – must be something that is arguable) Assertion (claim - a subject + a “so what” about the subject)
Ex. The Pine twins provided little threat to Bill and could have been avoided all together. Fact (empirically verifiable but often difficult to argue extensively about - better used as evidence to support a claim Ex. Bill was an interdimensional demon. Opinion (personal position on a topic) Ex. Bill was the greatest antagonist seen in Gravity Falls. Belief (social, religious, or political in nature – an opinion held by many to be a fact, though it is not necessarily factual – often involves a judgement) Ex. It would be a sin to think any human being could defeat an all powerful demon like Bill Cipher. Generalization (uses absolute or statistical pronouns: all, always, every, never, none, most, half – avoid using this type of thesis statement unless citing the source of the data) Ex. Most humans that came in contact with Bill were tricked by his mysterious ries motives. Document Based (cites a specific source, author, and position on a topic) Ex. In "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality," Bill had most of the townspeople of Gravity Falls captured as statues for his chair, leaving few as a threat. Theory (a statement that can be tested and potentially proven- often answers a research question)
Ex. If Bill had thought out his plans without leaving empty spaces to fill, he could have continued executing his plans without being stopped. Clarification/Expansion of Thesis (could extend the thesis, preview the evidence supporting the thesis, give the purpose of thesis, establish the importance or significance of examining the intricacies of the thesis – this could be several sentences long) Ex. With tons of different factors shown in Gravity Falls, such as being alive for trillions of years, lacking empathy, taking over dimensions, being able to become a three dimensional being, etc. the Pine twins or anyone else were no match for Bill, his only weakness was his own arrogance. Ex. Gravity Falls examines Bill's arrogance throughout the show with his witty remarks or failed plans in order to foreshadow his final defeat against his own pride. (purpose of thesis) Ex. This information about the connection between Bill and his arrogance will lead to understanding his fatal mistake which took away his perfect ending. (establishing the importance or significance of thesis) Body Paragraphs (must have echoes of the thesis in each AND present evidence to support or expand on the thesis) Topic Sentences (must specifically indicate the topic of the paragraph and focus on one subject and/or area of evidence or support – could start with a “Transition of Logic” that connects to the previous paragraph to give context)
Ex. Additionally, numerous articles can be seen talking about Bill's supernatural powers and how he fails at his plans when he gets too close. (Now every sentence in this paragraph must be related to the connection between Bills failures and his arrogance) Presenting Evidence from Quotations (quotes should NEVER be used as individual sentences – quotes should be embedded within sentences) ORIGINAL QUOTE – “Ex. Bill's failures can be seen in several episodes of Gravity Falls, including, “However, Mabel activates the pyrotechnics of the play, destroying the puppets and removing any vessel Bill could use to talk to the kids.” (Gravity Falls Wiki) Ex. “However, Mabel activates the pyrotechnics of the play, destroying the puppets and removing any vessel Bill could use to talk to the kids,” according to Sock Opera (Gravity Falls Wiki) Ex. Unfortunately for Bill, “Mabel activates the pyrotechnics of the play, destroying the puppets and removing any vessel Bill could use to talk to the kids” according to Sock Opera (Gravity Falls Wiki) Ex. Unfortunately for Bill, “Mabel activates the pyrotechnics of the play, destroying the puppets and removing any vessel Bill could use to talk to the kids [but not permanently]” Sock Opera (Gravity Falls Wiki) Ex. Unfortunately for Bill, “Mabel.. destroy[ed].. any vessel Bill could use.. ” Sock Opera (Gravity Falls Wiki) Examining the Evidence Paraphrasing (rewording of a quote into other words of the same length without quotation marks, but still citing the source
- useful for examining the quote and transitioning to your analysis of the quote) ORIGINAL QUOTE – “Mabel activates the pyrotechnics of the play, destroying the puppets and removing any vessel Bill could use to talk to the kids.” (Sock Opera, Gravity Falls Wiki) Ex. PARAPHRASE – The Twins were able to defeat Bills antics over and over again Summarizing (condensing larger quotes or sections useful for closing the examination of the quote/evidence and transitioning to your analysis of the quote) ORIGINAL QUOTE – “Mabel activates the pyrotechnics of the play, destroying the puppets and removing any vessel Bill could use to talk to the kids.” (Sock Opera, Gravity Falls Wiki) Ex. SUMMARY –Mabel destroyed the vessel Bill used to sabotage his plan. Abstract Examples (hypothetical, “what if” examples that do not refer to a source – AVOID USING THEM AS EVIDENCE – but useful for examining the quote) Ex. Bill might have been able to win if he stopped letting his hubris shake his thoughts. Concrete Examples (actual examples that do refer to a source – useful for enhancing your analysis of the quote) Ex. A study in the November 2011 New England Journal of Medicine shows that the average person stands to lose 12 pounds in any given year if they eliminate fast food from their regular diet.
Closing Sentences (must end the discussion of the topic within the paragraph with a transitional or culminating word – possibly an adverb – and should echo the thesis of the essay) Ex. Clearly, Bill is seen as a big threat but is easily taken down. Closing Paragraphs (Conclusions – should not be mere summaries of the previous paragraphs of your essay) Consequences of Disregarding the Thesis (establishing the potential consequences of disregarding the implications of the thesis – CREATING A COUNTERARGUMENT – could be one or more sentences) Ex. If defeating Bill was easy without his own self sabotage standing in the way, he would have been defeated way earlier in the show. Statement(s) of Extension (extending the consequences of disregarding the implications of the thesis – could be one or more sentences) Ex. As such, Bill's arrogance/hubris can be seen as his self sabotage that ultimately was his own defeat. Reestablishing the Significance of the Thesis (could be one or more sentences) Ex. Thus, with his constant bragging and failure at the same time, the townspeople of Gravity Falls carried unnecessary fear for the demon that carried his own failure in his mind. Final Sentence (closing statement that connects to the hook and finishes the essay (finish your argument) – the “Smokey the Bear”/”Drop the mic”/dot dot dot moment…)
Ex. Given his constant revival in the show, maybe he could come back stronger than ever if the show should ever return..
ESSAYS
SECTION VI
Essays – An essay is a piece of writing that's purpose is to explore a certain topic of choice. Types – Persuasive (Argumentative)- A Persuasive, or argumentative essay introduces one side of an argument to the reader in hopes of persuading them either to agree or disagree with a certain point. Expository (Informative)- An expository, or informational essay is used to explain or outline something for the intended audience. Definition or Description- A Definition or description essay defines/describes different ideas or senses. Process (How-to)- A process essay explains a procedure so that the audience is able to comprehend it and complete it as told. Compare and Contrast- A comparison and contrast essay makes either a comparison, a contrast, or both between two different or similar things. Cause and Effect- A cause and effect essay makes readers understand the cause of things, and their effects on other things.
Analytical/Critical-And analytical essay analyzes something, such as in literature an analytical essay analyzes a piece of literature from different angles. Evaluative-uses evidence to support the writers thoughts Interpretive-based on how you interpret a piece of writing Narrative (Tells a story)- A narrative essay is a narration like a short story. It is, however, different from a short story in that it is written in an essay format. Personal Statement/Anecdote- A short story that illustrates a point. Research- A research essay revolves around a research question that is meant to answer some specific question through a research of the relevant literature. Timed- Shows your knowledge in a topic with a time limit applied Document Based Question (DBQ)A document based on a number of documents meant to answer a question. Synthesis- A synthesis essay means to synthesize different ideas to make a judgment about their merit and demerits. Strategies/Planning Tips/Steps – Explain how to plan and organize essays and how to analyze and break down.
Pre-writing/Prompt Analysis/Outlining- Think about your topic and write a short summary. Researching/Evaluating of Sources- Do research and judge sources to make sure they are reliable. Work Cited Page – Shows the sources you used on your essay MLA Format- Authors last name, first name, title, edited by editors name, publisher, year, page. APA Format- Author, year, page number
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I'm Katherine Barillas, a 16 year old junior at Bravo. I am a daughter of two hard working immigrants, sister to three annoying brothers, and an aunt to the coolest kid I've ever known. I enjoy reading all kinds of fiction books. I'm a believer in the supernatural, ghosts, monsters, demons, and other worlds. I am a daydreamer, constantly worrying about her future or thinking about how life would be as someone else, a friend to most, a student that sometimes loses track of what they want education wise. Most importantly, a determined person that's still a little lazy at times. Oh and also a cat mom. Growing up, everyone around me would always tell me stories. I was introduced to a diverse selection of books early on, from my brother's scary story books to the Biscuit the dog books my mom would always read to me. I think this exposure made me interested in books and most importantly, writing. Maybe not so obviously, I learned to write in school. I don't remember much but I’ve had some awesome teachers since I was young but I’m sure my parents helped me a lot too. I wasn’t the best writer coming into Bravo and I think I still have a long way to go but I know being in this class(Honors Lit) has helped me to grow my writing skills. Even with this very books I’ve learned a lot about transitions, types of sentences/paragraphs, etc. and I’m thankful for this.
