Writing Technique: Lists

Before you decide to start writing, try making a list. For example, in class today we are writing about a story of accomplishment. We made a list based on Dorothy's idea of "moving forward." (It seems like she considers moving forward an accomplishment, as she should!)

In class, her list included:
moving from Peurto Rico alone
learning English
deciding what to do with her life
looking for a job
getting back to school
dealing with school
getting a new job
keeping moving forward

After looking at this list, Dorothy decided to focus on just one part of it for awhile. She chose to focus on the last item: keeping moving forward. When we asked her about how she'd do this, she said:

finish school
work
make goals

This means that we could see her drafting an essay that included paragraphs about finishing school, working, and making goals. Each one of these topics could be a paragraph. For instance, we asked her about finishing school. She said she'd need to:

find a shrink
study a lot
get good grades.

Now Dorothy's first paragraph about finishing school could include sentences about finding a shrink, studying a lot, and getting good grades.

Title - Moving Forward
Paragraph One: Finishing School
To move forward, I need to finish school. To do this I'll need to find a shrink. I'll need a shrink because _____. I'll also need to study a lot. I'm going to have to study _______ and _______. Studying will help me get good grades.  To get grades I'll need to ________ and __________.

NOTE: Littling thing: when you introduce new information, put in an "also" (see sentence four).

Bigger Thing: ask yourself questions, too. If you talk about shrink, say why. If you have to study, ask yourself what you need to study, or why you need to study, or how you plan to study. To get more DETAILs, ask yourself more questions.