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Benjamin Franklin, one of America's first noteworthy writers, describes in his autobiography a method he used to improve his writing skill. As a youth he worked in his brother's print shop where articles by many fine writers were published. When he admired an essay, he wrote several words from each sentence. These he calls "short hints of the sentiment in each sentence." Next he mixed the hints into random order and set them aside. Several weeks later Franklin tried to arrange the hints into their original order to recreate the logical organization of the essay. He says, "This was to teach me method in the arrangement of thoughts." Then the future author of Poor Richard's Almanac attempted to write each sentence from just the hints, checking back to the original and noting any deviations, trying to master the vocabulary, sentence structure, and style of the writer. Jack London used a similar procedure of analyzing and reconstructing selections of admired prose. According to the New York Times Book Review Jack London, who wrote The Sea Wolf and is the most widely read American author in the world, was raised penniless and worked at many hard, low-paying jobs before embarking on a literary career. When in his mid-twenties he decided to become a professional writer, he "analyzed the stories he liked, or copied them out by hand to learn how they were put together, and wrote his own pieces with their example in mind." A variation of Franklin's text reconstruction (TRC) is used in the workbook Analytical Writing and Thinking. The authors wrote sample papers and then jumbled the sentences. Students number the sentences in what they consider the best order. Then they compare arrangements and discuss differences with other students, pinpointing the information and logic they employ. Finally, they write the sentences in the order numbered. | Instructions: Read all the sentences. Decide which should come first and | | number it 1. Then decide which should come second and number it 2. Con- | | tinue numbering the remaining sentences this way. | | ____ | Therefore when nineteen-year-old Michael Grubbs became this year's | | | queen, it shocked no one. | | ____ | One year its queen was a dog and another year a refrigerator. | | ____ | Rice University has had some unusual homecoming queens in the past. | | ____ | So Michael has agreed to give up his title and escort his runner-up, Nancy | | | Jones, to the festivities. | | ____ | But Cotton Bowl rules prohibit a man from being a princess in the parade. | | Check your numbers with a neighbor if possible. Where you disagree, explain | | to each other why you arranged the sentences as you did. | | | Next, copy the sentences in the order you numbered them on a separate | | sheet of paper. Copying sentences can be especially helpful for improving | | writing skills if done as Ben Franklin did -- from memory. Do not just copy | | word-for-word. For each sentence, follow these steps: | | 1. | Read as many words as you believe you can write correctly from memory | | | (usually five to ten words). | | 2. | Write those words from memory, including all capitals and punctuation | | | marks. | | 3. | Check back to the original sentence and correct any errors you made. | | 4. | Read the next groups of words and repeat the steps. |
Generally you will be able to read, memorize, and correctly write between | | five and ten words. Sometimes you may be able to remember an entire simple | | sentence correctly. But with a large, difficult-to-spell word, you may try to | | write only that one word correctly from memory. | | | Writing from memory is a powerful technique for learning the spelling, | | grammar, punctuation, and word patterns used in standard written English. |
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Through arranging sentences and discussing their rationale, students gradually learn to read more accurately: They learn to focus on grasping the full meaning of each sentence so that logical relationships between sentences can be understood. Students also learn to recognize and use coherence and cohesion devices employed by effective writers. They see the cues, transition words -- such as "so," "but," and "therefore" -- and relationship patterns that enable them to order the sentences. Gradually they see how these cues can be used in their own writing. What Franklin called "method in the arrangement of thoughts" is more commonly known as logical organization, a major area of weakness in student papers. One of the most common forms of logical organization found in writing is generalization supported by specific details. Many high school graduates have not learned the necessary thinking skills to work from the general to the specific, observes Morton, which not only makes them poor writers but also leaves them unable to master study skills such as outlining and note-taking. Here is a TRC exercise from Analyze, Organize, Write modeling general-specific organization for students. SET 4. THE COMPANY NEEDS A NEW TRUCK When you recommend an expensive purchase like buying a new truck, you need convincing reasons with specific facts to win your case. The following sentences can be arranged to make a well-supported argument for a new truck. Exercise 1. Number the sentences within each paragraph to form the best logical order. I ____ Nevertheless, we should buy a new truck because the old truck is unreliable, obtaining parts for it is difficult, and the greater economy of a new truck would help repay the purchase price. ____ It is true that new trucks are expensive and the company's budget is tight. II ____ Worst yet, last Friday it quit running on the expressway and had to be towed to a garage. ____ Three times last month deliveries to customers were late because the truck would not start. ____ The company is sure to lose business if this continues. ____ The old truck is constantly breaking down. III ____ This means they have to special-order the parts, which usually takes several hours and once took 2 days. ____ Another problem is getting replacement parts. ____ Because of its age, most repair shops don't carry the hoses, belts, mufflers, or other parts it requires. IV ____ Our old clunker only gets about 12 miles per gallon on the high- way and less in the city. ____ There are not only the savings on repair costs, but we can choose a truck that gets much better gas mileage. ____ Looking at the brighter side, a new truck would eventually pay for itself. ____ All things considered, buying a new truck makes a lot of sense. ____ Some of the newer models average as much as 30 or 40 miles per gallon. Exercise 2. Write the sentences in the order you numbered them to form a short paper that expresses an opinion that a certain action should be taken, then supports that opinion with three specific rea- sons (including examples). In this paper, students learn to organize ideas in the logical pattern of main idea supported by topic sentences, these in turn supported by specific content. The main idea of the first paragraph guides readers to the topic sentences of the three body paragraphs. Once students locate the topic sentence for each paragraph, they must think their way through the arrangement of the support sentences, and also select the most appropriate ending sentence. This paper is a variation of what is called the five-paragraph theme, consisting of an opening paragraph that states the main idea and three pieces of evidence supporting it; three body paragraphs, each expanding on one piece of supporting evidence; and a conclusion paragraph summarizing it all. This paper, being simple, lacks a conclusion paragraph and just ends with the last sentence of the fourth paragraph. The next TRC illustrates another variation of the five-paragraph theme. This one does have all five paragraphs, but the first does not list the three pieces of supporting evidence covered in the middle three paragraphs. Instead, it explains and expands on the main idea. Instructions: Here is a typical writing test topic.There are many common sayings like "Do not count your chickens before they hatch." Pick any common saying and analyze it by explaining what it means and giving examples supporting or contradicting it.Number the sentences within each paragraph in the best order to form a paper on this topic.Lightning and Larcenists Strike Twice Introduction ____ This saying claims that misfortune is fair and does not haunt one location or person. ____ A saying I hear periodically is "Lightning never strikes in the same place twice." ____ Unfortunately, this sweet thought is often wrong. ____ It is used to console tragedy-stricken people by telling them disaster won't strike again: they are through the worst, and things are going to improve. Body Paragraph ____ So lightning -- or at least car thieves -- will probably strike here again. ____ For example, I have a friend whose customized Corvette has been stolen three times. ____ Worse yet, the police told him there is a car-theft ring in our city which specializes in unique sports cars. ____ He spent over $ 1500 trying every available anti-theft device, but none worked. Body Paragraph ____ In fact, last summer a pick-up truck scored six points for totally demolishing it while trying to avoid a football that got away from some youngsters. ____ At least once every winter when there is ice on the street a car knocks it over. ____ Another example is a traffic light on a safety island near school. Body Paragraph ____ He usually did not have the bus fare to burglarize another neighborhood. ____ The frequency that the traffic light gets hit is low compared to the frequency the 7-11 in my neighborhood gets hit by armed robbers. ____ Two weeks ago the police finally captured a junkie who had robbed the store three times in the last year. Conclusion ____ All and all, I think the saying should be changed to, "Lightning often strikes twice -- even hundreds of times -- in the same place, so steer clear of such places." ____ In fact, the Empire State Building, a huge lightning rod in the center of Manhattan, gets struck by over one hundred bolts of volts a year. ____ There are many other examples of bad fortune being a regular visitor to some place or person. Exercise 2. Check your numbers with a neighbor. If your answers differ, explain why you arranged the sentences the way you did.Exercise 3. Write the sentences in the order you numbered them. Write from memory as much as possible.Some English educators feel the five-paragraph theme has been overemphasized, since much real-life writing does not take that form; we will show a TRC exercise later which teaches students to use the form flexibly. However, TRC is not limited to the five-paragraph form. Here is a TRC exercise giving students a model for writing a thumbnail description of a person.
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