Types of Words
Prewriting
Types of Writing
Elements of good writing
Definitions
100

These are the words that connect the steps in a paragraph. These words and phrases show the relationships between the ideas in a paragraph. Examples include: First, then, after

What are transition words?

100

This begins with the thesis statement, shows the organization of the essay, tells what ideas you will discuss and shows which ideas will come first, second, and so on, and ends with the essay’s conclusion. 

What is an outline?

100

This type of writing expresses specific sensory details about a person, place, or thing

What is descriptive writing?

100

This gives the author’s opinion or states an important idea about the topic. It should give an idea that can be discussed and explained with supporting ideas

What is a thesis statement?

100

a group of paragraphs written about a single topic and a central main idea

What is an essay?

200

Words that tell us how things look, feel, taste, sound, or smell. These words also describe how you feel about something.

What are adjectives?

200

In this process, you review your work for things like clarity, sentence structure, and logic.

What is editing?

200

This type of writing gives information, explains directions, or shows how something happens

What is expository writing?

200

Figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses

What is imagery?

200

This is the the first paragraph of a short essay. It explains the topic with general ideas. It contains a topic sentence and a thesis statement

What is an introduction?

300

These phrases are important in descriptive writing. They show the position, location, or direction of objects in space and time. 

What are prepositional phrases?

300

This element of good writing shows professionalism and competence. It includes the following features: 

  • Double-spaced paragraphs

  • Arial or Times New Roman font

  • Font size 12pt

  • Black text

What are formatting guidelines?

300

In this type of writing, the writer tries to convince the reader of a point of view on a topic that people disagree about

What is opinion or persuasive writing?

300

To ensure your writing properly has this element, you should make sure outline shows that your paragraphs in the right order and your supporting points and details are in the right order

What is organization?

300

To discuss how two people, places, or things are different. For example, one main advantage of a bicycle over a car is that a bicycle doesn’t create any pollution

What is contrasting?

400

To avoid making overgeneralizations, writers use these expressions. Examples include most, a lot of, and some

What are quantity expressions?

400

This type of organization can be outlined like this:

  • Topic sentence comparing / contrasting two topics (A and B)

  • Points of comparison / contrast about Topic A

  • Points of comparison / contrast about Topic B

  • Concluding sentence

What is Block Organization?

400

This type of writing is a description of how to do something. It explains the steps you need to follow to complete an activity. Recipes are one type of this writing.

What is process writing?

400

A paragraph has this element when all the sentences support one single idea.

To successfully showcase this element, the supporting sentences must support, demonstrate, prove, or develop the main idea in the topic sentence

What is unity?

400

This is an incorrect sentence in which important punctuation is missing between clauses

What is a run-on sentence?

500

These verbs show the strength of a writer’s opinion or argument and include words like should, ought to, and could

What are modal auxiliary verbs?

500

This process includes looking at primary and secondary sources and reading laterally

What is research?

500

This type of writing first explains an issue and then proposes one or more answers to that issue. Often this type of writing requires more than one paragraph

What is problem / solution writing?

500

This means that the ideas have a logical flow; the relationship between the sentences is clear and one idea connects to the next. One way to achieve this in a paragraph is to use a pattern of organization, such as time order, spatial order, or order of importance.

What is coherence?

500

This is a brief reference within your text that indicates the source you consulted. 

It should properly attribute any ideas, paraphrases, or direct quotations to your source, and should direct readers to the entry in the Works Cited list. 

What is an in-text citation?

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