Overcoming Writer's Block What is writers Block? - Its the inability to get your words down on paper.

It can occur at any time in the writing process - It usually occurs between planning and drafting, but it can occur at any time in writing process - It can last only a few moments or it can last far, far longer. - It can cause great anxiety and problems in school, especially when it comes to writing on standardized or high stakes tests. Main Reasons: for writers Block: - Lack of subject knowledge - Fear of failure - Afraid of being rejected - Afraid that you have nothing to say - Afraid of offending, success etc. Part 1: Lack of subject knowledge Problem- you dont have any ideas, or you dont know enough about the subject that youve been assigned. How to overcome: - Become an active learner - Become a reader. (Make habits) - Research Part 2: Afraid of Failing Problem: you are afraid that youre going to get poor grade or that youll look foolish in front of other people. How to solve: - Dont concentrate on what youre doing wrong; instead, concentrate on what youre doing right! - Consider your paper as a first draft, not as a final copy. Write it quickly and then go back and revise it. - Remember that everyone has the same fears. Part 3: Fear of Rejection Problem- Wiring by its very nature is an act of self-revelation. Youre afraid that youre going to reveal something about yourself and how you feel about things. If you think your writing isnt any good, then youre going to feel rejected. How to overcome: - Dont reveal your innermost thoughts. Adopt a persona or an identity that your use to write. Part 4: Afraid you have nothing to say: Problem: Youre afraid that your writing is trite or your writing is boring. Youre afraid it wont be original. How to overcome: - Prepare thoroughly. Know your stuff. - Choose unusual topic. -

Part 2: Breaking through Writers Block: Prewriting Part 1: What is a Sentence? A sentence is a group of words that: - Has a subject - Has a predicate - Expresses a complete thought. 1) The subject will be a noun or a pronoun. 2) The predicate is the verb or the verb phrase (and anything that is not part of the noun or the pronoun). Eg: Lacking the subject: - Was the oldest person elected president at age 69. (Incorrect) - Ronald Reagan Was the oldest person elected president at age 69. (Corrected) Lacking Predicate:- John F. Kennedy being the youngest person elected president at age 43. (Incorrect) - John F. Kennedy was the youngest person elected president at age 43. (Corrected) Sentence Function and form - The function of a sentence is the purpose that it fulfills. - The form of a sentence is the number and the type of clauses that it that it has. There are four functions of sentences: Declarative: A declarative sentence declares or states something. Those are sentences that state an idea and end with a period. Interrogative: sentences interrogate or ask a question, so they end with a question mark. (?) Imperative: give orders or directions, and they can end with a period or with an exclamation mark. Exclamatory: sentences exclaim, so they would end with an exclamation mark because they convey strong emotion. (!) There are two types of clauses: Dependent Independent Clauses are groups of words that contain subjects and predicates; they may or may not express a complete thought. An Independent clause can stand alone. It has a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought. An Independent clause is also called a sentence. Example: Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in duel. A dependent clause has a subject and a predicate but does not expresses a complete thought. A dependent clause is also called a subordinate clause.

Example: Because Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in duel. SENTENCE FORMS - A simple sentence - A compound sentence - A complex sentence - A compound-complex sentence Simple sentence has one independent clause (one subject and one verb) although either or both can be compound. - A simple sentence can have adjectives, adverbs or prepositional phrases. It CANNOT, however, have another independent clause or any subordinate clauses. Compound sentences 2 or more independent clauses joined in one of two ways is a compound sentence. You can join it: with a comma and coordinating conjunction: FANBOYS (; close relation) Complex sentences A complex sentence simply has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. The dependent clause can go first for second - You link the dependent clause to the independent clause with a subordinating conjunction. e.g. Because, when, while, unless, since, until, after, although, as Turtles that live on land tend to have thick shells. While those that spend nearly all of their time in water usually have thinner shells. Compound-Complex sentences A compound-complex sentence is a compound sentence (two independent clauses) with some dependent clauses. You have at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. These tend to be relatively long sentences! e.g. Although typical lizards have four legs ending in clawed toes, several types of lizards have reduced limbs, or they may not have limbs at all. Part 2: What Is an Effective Sentence? Effective sentences have 4 main qualities: Correct (free from errors) Clear Concise (to the point) Varied (four type of sentences) Correct Sentences: Your sentences have to be correct to communicate your meaning clearly. Correct sentences dont have any mistakes in: - Form

- Punctuation - Capitalization - Modifier placement FORM: Correct sentences are complete. They do not have any parts missing. A part missing create a fragment. - A fragment may be missing a subject or a verb, or it may not express a complete thought. - A run-on is when you take two independent clauses (two complete sentences) and you run them together without adding one of the coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) or without adding a semicolon. - A comma splice is a run-on that uses a comma instead of the semicolon. - Fragments, run-ons, and comma splices are examples of sentence errors. - However, you are allowed to use fragments when you write dialogue in your narratives. USE CORRECT PUNTUATION AND CAPITALIZATION Every sentence has to begin with a CAPITAL letter and end with the correct end punctuation. USE CORRECT MODIFIER PLACEMENT Modifiers are describing words and phrases. To modify mean to change, and youre modifying by describing something. You decide where to place your modifiers depending on the word you wish to emphasize, but always place your modifiers as close as possible to the words that they describe. E.g. - The chef beat the dough vigorously. - The chef vigorously beat the dough. - Vigorously, the chef beat the dough. Misplaced modifiers: Misplaced modifiers describe the wrong word. - The player hit a home run with the green hat. Dangling modifiers: appear to modify nothing because there is a word missing from the sentence. - With misplaced modifiers, youre simply moving a word or a phrase - But with dangling modifiers, you have to provide the part thats missing. E.g. walking across the beach, the sand burned my feet. CONCISE SENTENCES You want to make your sentences concise by eliminating unnecessary words and phrases. Unnecessary words and phrases = redundancy E.g. Honest truth Most unique Proceed ahead Small in size What is a paragraph?

A paragraph is a group of sentences that relate to a single main idea or a central point. .. You can tell what a paragraph looks like because its typically indented about five spaces. A paragraph has 3 main parts. It has: 1. A topic sentence 2. A supporting sentence (at least one) 3. A concluding sentence Memorize this saying: tell them what youre going to tell them. Then tell them. Then tell them what you told them.