Student Writing Handbook Fifth+Edition

344 / Types of Writing

-^ Next, use the responses from Step 1 to support your opinion. If you have both
positive and negative reactions, then form two lists: one with details you liked
and the other with details you disliked. Select the details that explain why you
feel as you do.
-^ Third, state your idea in a single sentence. This is a tall order, and you may
need to group items on the lists; but you must get a handle on where you are
going. Consider the following example:

Positives Negatives

peculiar setting unbelievable relationships with scientific

research animals

learn about prehistory too coincidental

heroic female character

alien culture

spiritual rituals

daily lives

relationships

living habits

The positive list includes overlapping items. By grouping these together, the writer
came up with a single sentence:

The novel’s prehistoric setting, carefully researched, allows a heroic female to

overshadow coincidences and bring readers a fascinating epic-like book.

The writer has sharpened his focus and can now see exactly what he wants to discuss:

Prehistoric setting couched in thorough research

Heroic female character

Coincidental events

The overall attitude will be favorable (two positives and one negative).

Now, formulate your own single sentence. [See also thesis statement in the Glossary,
and Writing a Multi-Paragraph Paper in Chapter 2, Writing, for additional details.]

STEP 3: Prewriting—Organizing the Plan

Even though we said that reviews are free-form, they nevertheless follow an organi-
zation plan. Frequently, this organization is the most-to-least-important pattern [see
order of importance in the Glossary]. But it may take almost any other pattern, such
as cause and effect or comparison and contrast. [See chapters for each in Part II.]