Ch. 6:. Writing the Impromptu Essay on an Assigned Topic (Particularly a Regents' Exam Topic)

        Writing an impromptu essay on a restricted topic with a time limit of fifty or sixty minutes is in some important respects different from writing an out-of-class essay. For the latter, you often have a much greater latitude in choosing a topic or in narrowing down a very broad topic assigned by your instructor. Furthermore, on an out-of-class essay, you have a day or more to write and revise. These two components of the out-of-class essay are dealt with in detail in your composition handbook, which you should study for pointers on choosing topics, narrowing down large topics, and various methods of composing when you have a relatively long time to do so (e.g., freewriting, writing out everything you have to say on a subject and then refining that material in a second or third draft).

        For an in-class impromptu essay (the extemporary or extemporaneous essay), you need to develop your ability and ease in two skills: (1) satisfying various requirements mandated by the precise nature and language of the assigned topic; (2) rapidly inventorying what you know about a particular topic (what is called in some composition textbooks, which preserve the terminology of ancient Greek and Roman rhetoric, "invention").

6.1: Expository_or_Argumentative?

        First of all, in English 1101, as with most college composition courses, the kinds or "modes" of writing you will be called on to do most are exposition (explaining) and argument or persuasion; the other two principal modes of writing, narrative (telling a story) and description, will usually not be called for in their pure form, though you may draw on them to provide illustrations and examples within expository or argumentative themes. (See the required composition handbook and essay anthology for further discussion and models of the modes.) Assigned topics for impromptu essays in Augusta State University English 1101 classes and on the Regents' Testing Program essay examinations, as well as essay examinations in your other college courses, will always or nearly always be expository or argumentative, and you will be expected to adapt the format and approach of your essay accordingly. On the English 1101 impromptus, topics are often explicitly identified as expository or argumentative; on the Regents' exam, they are not, so on the latter you will have to examine the nature and language of the topic thoughtfully to infer which kind of essay is required. On the Regents' exam, if the question has the words "attack" or "defend" in it, or the words "agree" or "disagree," or if the question is controversial (that is, people have strongly opposing views on it and disagreements about it), it is usually argumentative. The basic question you need to ask yourself is whether the topic or question asks you mainly just to explain something (e.g., the chief reasons students drop out of high school [RTP question no. 29], or how your public image differs from your private self [RTP no. 19]) or to argue about something (whether you favor or oppose the goals of the women's liberation movement [RTP no. 14], or if the federal government should pass a gun-control law [RTP no. 36]). Some Regents' argumentative topics, it should be noted, do not have the key words "attack" or "defend," or--conversely--contain the words "why," "explain," or "discuss," which normally signal (but not always!) exposition. Examples are "Is it justifiable for the U.S. to continue to spend millions of dollars on the exploration of space? Why?" (RTP no. 21); "Is too much emphasis placed on grades in our educational system? Explain" (RTP no. 22); "Should the 55 m.p.h. speed limit be retained?" (RTP no. 38); "Should college students be required to attend classes? Discuss" (RTP no. 112). In all these instances, the controversial nature of the topic rather than the words "why," "explain," "should," or "discuss," is what dictates that these particular topics are argumentative rather than strictly expository. In each case, people disagree: some (certainly most of those connected with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) think millions should be spent on space exploration--some (perhaps a group of financially-burdened taxpayers or hard-pressed unemployed about to lose monetary benefits) might not; some teachers, students, and parents are satisfied with grading policies in schools--some are not; some believe that the 55 m.p.h. speed limit saves lives and gasoline--some (many truck drivers, for instance) believe it either ineffective or even occupationally-damaging; some might argue that a college student is an adult, and thus shouldn't have to be required, like a child, to attend classes--some might, on the other hand, argue that some college students, just out of high school, aren't yet fully adults, and thus for their own good should have such a requirement.

        If the topic or question is argumentative, both the format and approach of your essay will be somewhat more complicated than for an expository topic. You will be expected to show an awareness of the opposing side, to deal with some of its main points and potential counter-arguments against your main points. As Sheridan Baker points out in his composition handbooks The Practical Stylist, and The Complete Stylist and Handbook, this dual-awareness means that your essay will have a zig-zag structure overall and in some of its paragraphs, as you swing back and forth between your beliefs and points and those of the opposing side. This aspect is called concession in Heffernan and Lincoln's Writing: A College Handbook and "Establishing Common Ground" and "Demonstrating Fairness" in Lunsford and Connor's The St. Martin's Handbook (chapter 4). See the chapter "How Can You Write Powerful Arguments?" in Hairston and Ruskiewicz's The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers. In general, all students should carefully study the material on argumentation and persuasion in the required composition handbook for this course (scrutinize the table of contents and the index), as well as Chapter 9 of this pamphlet.
 

6.2: Why_This_Particular_Phrasing_and_These_Particular_Words_in the_Assigned Topic?

        Your next step in impromptu writing is a slow, careful examination of the exact words of the assigned topic or question. Treat them as if they were the fine print of a legal contract, which in a sense they are, for they determine what else is expected of you in the writing assignment, beyond whether the essay is to be expository or argumentative. Too many students rush into writing, without taking enough time for careful preliminaries: examining the exact topic, genuinely thinking it over, and jotting good notes.

        For example, many students stumbled on the question "What effects will the gasoline shortage have on the typical American family?" (AC no. 39). Instead of writing just about the gasoline shortage, they wrote about the energy shortage in general (adjusting thermostats, cutting down on using electric appliances, and so on). Even short "function words" like "as well as" or "or" can make an important difference. For example, in the question "In what ways has the automobile been harmful as well as beneficial to American society?" (RTP no. xx), note the ambiguity in the words "as well as." If you were expected to give equal attention in your essay to both harmful and beneficial aspects of the automobile, then the more likely connective than "as well as" would be "and" (the question would then read, "In what ways has the automobile been harmful and beneficial to American society?"). Thus, this question asks you to primarily focus on the harmful effects of the automobile, after briefly conceding some of its benefits. Likewise, some students have missed the italicization (underlining) of the connective in the topic "Discuss what you like or do not like about the South. Explain" (AC no. 41). Why is the word "or" underlined? To stress what is technically termed its disjunctiveness--that is, its meaning of "either one thing or the other, not both." The exact wording of the topic, therefore, asks the student to discuss one side, not both, as some students have done.

        Many students who have written about the Regents' question "What is the best piece of advice you ever got? Explain" have not paid close enough attention to the wording of the question and have gotten drastically lowered grades as a result. The mistake these students made is just describing the actual advice. What the question demands is not only description of what the advice was, but an explanation of how it applied to the essay writer's life, making the advice the best piece of advice ever received.

        "The world is full of 'nuts!' Attack, defend, or modify" (AC no. 11), "How has awareness of the women's liberation movement affected relationships between men and women? Be specific" (RTP no. 72), "In your opinion, what invention has brought about the most far-reaching and lasting changes in our civilization? Explain the reasons for your choice" (RTP no. 79), and "If you won a million dollars in a lottery, how would your life change? Explain" (RTP no. 107) are four more instances where failure to pay word-by-word attention to the language of the topic or question has produced essays that strayed to a greater or lesser extent. In the first of these topics, the quotation marks around "nuts" are significant--like the italicizing of "or" in AC no. 41. (The student should pay careful attention to such marks on tests of reading comprehension, as well.) The word "nuts" has been put in quotation marks in the assigned topic because it is used in its slang sense (mentally-unbalanced or eccentric individuals); hence, the essay should refer to Charles Manson, John W. Hinckley, and Mark David Chapman, not to pecans, almonds, and pistachios (as some students have done, with unwittingly mirthful results). As for the second topic, RTP no. 72, there is a meaningful difference between the topic as it is phrased and the different phrasing, "How has the women's liberation movement affected relationships between men and women?" Scrutinize the alternatives for a moment, when they are placed next to each other:

*"How has awareness of the women's liberation movement affected relationships between men and women?"

                (the actual Regents' question)
 

"How has the women's liberation movement affected relationships between men and women?"

                (not the Regents' question)
 

The actual Regents' topic is much more general in its application: people who are merely "aware of" the movement are a much, much larger group to be potentially affected than those touched by the movement directly (or actual members of it).

        Similarly, when students slide over the words "how would [1] your [2] life [3] change" in RTP no. 107, they unconsciously wander off into the topic of their own making (not the Regents' exam topic-writers'): "If you won a million dollars in a lottery, what would you do with the money?" (or "If you won a million dollars in a lottery, how would you spend the money?").

        Again, let's compare the actual topic and its wording with misconstrued versions of it, when they are placed together:

*"If you won a million dollars in a lottery, how would your life change?"    (the actual Regents' question)
 

"If you won a million dollars in a lottery, what would you do with the money?"   (not the Regents' question)
 

"If you won a million dollars in a lottery, how would you spend the money?"   (not the Regents' question)

The assigned topic mandates discussion of life-changes of the writer, resulting from wealth. It does not ask for a shopping or wish-list, nor similar wandering off on family, kin, poverty in the world, and extra-interest bank accounts. Any examples of expenditure given by the writer must be explicitly connected to life changes.

        Some students have difficulty in paying attention to the second-person personal pronoun in assigned topics because they have been told (or think they have been told) at some point in their education up to college not to use "I" or "me" in an essay. As illustrated by RTP no. 107, some Regents' and Augusta State University topics positively demand the use of the first-person pronouns. This Regent's question does not ask about how some hypothetical "average" person's life would change after the acquisition of wealth; rather, it asks about how your life would change if you acquired a million dollars suddenly. Several other Regents' and Augusta State University topics requiring this personal or autobiographical slant are " . . . Does your experience indicate that a 'generation gap' exists?"(RTP no. 6); " 'College has made me less sure about what is right and what is wrong.' Does this statement describe or . . . contradict your experience?"(RTP no. 10); "If your doctor told you that you had only a few months to live, to what extent and how would you alter your life style? Why?"(RTP no. 12); "How does your public image differ from your private self?"(RTP no. 19); "Discuss a sin, vice, or weakness you find especially offensive or appealing"(AC no. 4); "Explain why you could or could not live without a television"(AC no. 12); "If you could choose to have either wealth, health, or sex appeal throughout your life, which one would you choose? Why?"(AC no. 20); "My attitude toward sex is (or is not) very different from my parents' attitude"(AC no. 36). These, and many other topics like them, indicate that the English teachers at Augusta State University and throughout the University System of Georgia care about your assessment, analysis, and discussion of yourself and your experience. Discussion and models of this kind of writing may be found in your composition handbook and essay anthology. Certainly, not all topics on the Regents' or Augusta State University writing examinations should be dealt with solely in autobiographical terms. But as explained in Writing: A College Handbook (section 1.3) and shown in several of the selections in Presley's and Prinsky's The World of Work: Readings for Writers (e.g., the essays by Hoffer and Ashe) personal examples and experiences will almost always provide--whatever the topic--vivid, authenticating, and explanatory illustrations to be added to your other evidence.

        Fuzzy thinking and consequently fuzzy writing often result from the failure of a writer to consider in the prewriting, note-jotting stage, specifics and illustrations of just what he or she knows about a topic from personal experience and observation. For example, on the assigned topic "How has the threat of aids affected dating habits in the 1980's? Explain" (AC no. xx), in more than ninety percent of the hundreds of essays responding to the topic, the writers failed to cite themselves and their friends as specific examples. Many silly and ill-considered hypothetical statements could have been avoided if the writers had begun by jotting notes about their own experiences and observations. They might have been led to say that on the basis of their own experience and observation (their own dating behavior and that of their friends and family not having changed or been affected) that there was not a large effect. Regardless of whether the writers thought that this answer was or wasn't what their professor-readers expected, if the answer was based on a substantial number of examples, and was clearly thought out, and clearly written, then it would have been superior to the hazy work actually produced in several instances.

        Specific illustrations, examples, and details from personal experience and observation can help clarify just what a writer really thinks, believes, or feels about a subject. How this clarification works can be shown with reference to one category of impromptu essay topic, especially on the RTP essay, that could be termed the "best of," "most of," "worst of," "least of" topic. Examples would include "What is your favorite piece of furniture? Explain" (RTP no. 1); "What type of music do you prefer and why?" (RTP no. 29); "Which of your talents do you value most? Why?" (RTP no. 31); "What is your favorite source of entertainment? Explain why" (RTP no. 66); "What is your favorite holiday? Why?" (RTP no. 69); "Which advertisements do you find most appealing or offensive? Why?" (RTP no. 87); and "What college course was the toughest for you and why?" (RTP no. 140). For all these topics, the crucial pre-writing and note-jotting stage should include a writer's making a list, with comments for each item, of the "best of" or "least of." The list will clarify the writer's thinking about the subject, helping the writer to intelligently ponder which really is the "most of" or "worst of" for him or her. The items and comments jotted in prewriting will not be wasted in another way, since they will provide a natural introductory paragraph, which moves, one sentence per item, from "least" "most" to "most" "most," "least" "worst" to "most" "worst." For example, a writer might indicate in his or her first paragraph special difficulties or problems with various college courses, all of which were "tough," concluding in the topic sentence with an identification of the toughest, as per the topic as indicated above. (This same advice about the first paragraph applies to all such "best of," "most of," "worst of," "least of" topics.) Too many inexperienced writers, particularly of impromptu essays, rush inconsiderately into writing without adequately thinking about the topic, and especially about what they, personally, know, feel, and think about it.

        A concluding instance of students' not properly scrutinizing the exact language and phrasing of the assigned topic or question is how several students have stumbled over the key word "invention" in the following assigned topic: "In your opinion, what invention has brought about the most far-reaching and lasting changes in our civilization? Explain the reasons for your choice." Inevitably, these inattentive students choose and write about electricity. These students suffer a "brown out" in discharging their responsibility according to the terms of the topic because an "invention" is a new man-made thing, device, or contrivance--not a physical force in nature existing from time immemorial. They have, in other words, confused "invention" with "discovery." (At some point, you should carefully compare the entries for these two words in your collegiate dictionary, another important required text for English 1101 and 102.)
 

6.3: What_Do_I_Know_About_This_Topic?_Or,_Rapid_Inventorying

        When faced with an assigned topic or question, some students freeze up, feeling that they know little about it and have nothing to say, a feeling often aggravated by the time pressure of a fifty- or sixty-minute limit. First, be assured that the English teachers who have formulated the assigned topic have had long discussions about it to ensure that virtually all students (young or old, new to the region or native, new to college or old-timers) will have a general familiarity with it, some useful firsthand or personal knowledge, and something meaningful to say. What most students need is some system for rapidly inventorying what they know and feel about any particular subject, for seeing what the big component parts of the subject are. Two systems you may find useful for this endeavor are "the 5 w's and h" (shorthand invented by newspaper reporters, who invented the system, standing for "who, what, when, where, why, and how?") and "the triad" (the main components of this are "the self or individual," "others," and "the external world or nature").

6.3.1 Using_"the_5_w's_and_h" (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How; Sometimes Called the Journalists' Questions)

        How the 5 w's and h can help break down a topic can be illustrated by the Regent's question "What steps need to be taken in order to reduce crime? Explain" (RTP no. 67). While the topic at first appears dismayingly or bewilderingly large, the application of one or more of the following 5 w's and h can help divide it up into its main components that are much more manageable in size. In the following listing, X stands for the particular activity or subject being discussed:

who = what individuals or groups are involved in X? what people or groups of people affect or are affected by X?(advertising or demographic categories may prove helpful in defining groups: age, sex, region, social class, economic class)

what = what are the component parts of X (what's it made of)? what kinds of X are there?

when = how does X affect time or is X affected by time? what are the relationships of X to time? (note that this w does not mean simply "when did such-and-such happen?" the concept of time is what should be applied; useful related concepts to consider are day- night; months-seasons; decade-period-era)

where = how does X affect space (or distance), or how is X affected by space (or distance)? what places does X happen?

why = what are the causes or the consequences of X?

how = what are the workings, procedures, or processes by which X does things?
 

        Any one of these may be selected (with an exception to be mentioned later) by itself, or any combination. (If a student finds using a mixture of both inventorying systems useful and productive [5 w's and h, and the triad], then by all means such heterogeneity is preferable to some kind of logical but arid "purity.") The crime topic ("What steps need to be taken in order to reduce crime? Explain"), it turns out, may be quickly inventoried by using a single w. If we pick who, we immediately break down the topic into six parts: the victim; the criminal; the police officer; the judge and jury; the warden and parole officer (= the penal system); and the legislator. When writing scratch notes, put such items to the far left of the page, leaving plenty of room next to them to jot notes and illustrations that truly provide the explanatory details you'll need for analysis and writing. Your notes should look something like this:
 

who

--  the victim: what things a person can do to avoid becoming one (lock house and car doors, walk in well-lighted areas at night, form neighborhood watch groups--neighborhood watch signs actually posted in my neighborhood)

--  the criminal: how can we get at the causes of people becoming criminals (jobs, poverty, child abuse, improving education, no father or mother)

--  the police officer: how he or she can be helped to do a better job (better police-community relations, better police morale, better training, better pay)

--  the judge and jury: how they apply the law, as it affects the groups above (stiffer sentences, sympathy for the victim as much as the accused, not reelecting certain judges)

--  the warden and parole officer: how the prison or parole systems might help better retard crime (not having prisons be training schools turning small-time criminals into big-time ones, being more careful about paroling dangerous convicts)

--  the legislator: how better laws might help reduce crime (mandatory prison sentence for some crimes, making victimless crimes misdemeanors to concentrate policework elsewhere)
 

        Note that if one of the w's or h merely restates the topic, then it won't be of much help in breaking it down. Thus, in our crime topic, "what" would simply repeat the question. Or, if the topic is "Explain why you would or would not want to live in a large city"(RTP no. 17), the why won't be of much use. You'll just be travelling in a circle, ending up with the why that you begin with, as opposed to the other w's and h that will help you see the subject from outside the question (rather than continuing dizzily spinning on the inside).

        How the 5 w's and h can be used to conduct a rapid and relatively thorough inventory of what you already know may be further illustrated by the topics "In your opinion, what invention has brought about the most far-reaching and lasting changes in our civilization? Explain"(RTP no. 79) and "Discuss what you like or do not like about the South"(AC no. 41). The first of these has the difficulty (besides the difference between "invention" and "discovery," which has already been discussed) of surveying so many inventions that have accumulated in the history of our technologically-oriented Western society. In addition to helping inventory, our system will help us to clarify our thinking and make a choice. Too often, some students do not take a few minutes to think and jot notes, with the result that they make an ill-advised choice or statement about such matters. For this topic, useful w's are who, when, and where. (The w what is eliminated because of our rule about being already in the wording of the topic; likewise, why is so general here as to be of little use, especially in trying to choose an invention.) To use these three w's, we need an invention that has affected almost every category of person (study the definition of who given above), our relationship to time (study the definition of when given above), and our relationship to space (study the definition of where given above). Many students who have actually used the 5 w's and h on this topic have found that the system pushes them toward the choice of the telephone. This invention has affected every category of who, as well as having radically altered our relationship to time (when) and space (where).
 

who

--  young affected in becoming "phone junkies" (as indeed I was in my earlier teens) & now get together electronically; lately, they have been endangering businesses and the government by using telephone linkups to break into computer systems

--  adults able to use telephone to take care of many daily affairs, shop, and do business

--  the elderly use it to maintain link with outside world, get medical help

when

--  time radically shrunk, since communication now almost instantaneous; help for emergency (medical, fire, criminal) able to be summoned quickly--new sense of security possible today that wasn't available earlier

--  places in furthest reaches of the world (e.g., New Zealand, Chile) able to be reached much more quickly than the fastest possible transport (military jet or Concorde travelling at 2,000 m.p.h.)

where

--space or distance radically reduced--China, Japan, Algeria actually only as far away as reaching for the telephone (improved business and military effects of this new closeness)

--now family and friends can "reach out and touch someone" separated by great distance (and faster than by letter)

        Applying this system to the topic about liking or disliking the South, we again find that who, where, and when generate a number of points (and may help us decide, first, whether we really like or dislike, as well as, second, what specific things we do like or dislike). The who component would give us the people of the South (what traits or attributes do we like or dislike, exactly). The where would give us the concept of the Southern "space"--its landscape (kinds of trees, number of trees, plants, mountains, coastal areas, islands, whether basically metropolitan or rural and small-town, distances within and between towns). And, finally, the when would give us aspects related to time: Southern traditions and history (abundant on the Augusta State University campus, as well as in the city), the seasons (climate, and other aspects about each of the four seasons), the pace or tempo of life (applying Eric Clapton's rock song "Living on Tulsa Time").

        Failure to consider the what component of the 5 w's and h has caused students to err, through unclear thinking, on the topic "Georgia should legalize gambling to raise more revenue. Why or why not?" (RTP no. 298). Without careful prewriting thought and note-jotting, some students have argued that they did not want Augusta or Atlanta turned into another Atlantic City, New Jersey, or Las Vegas, Nevada, streets lined with neon-advertised casinos. By failing to consider the what component--"what kinds of gambling are there?"--these students did not think through the topic clearly, and moreover were guilty of the fallacy in argumentation called "the straw man fallacy" (see the chapter on "The argumentative or persuasive essay" in Prinsky's Engl. 1101 pamphlet for further discussion of logic). No Georgia legislator had been so foolish or unrealistic as to introduce a bill in the legislature calling for casino gambling and the legalization of all forms of gambling. So what kinds of gambling are there? They would include horseracing, dog racing, Jai Lai, sports-event wagers, casino gambling (cards, dice, roulette, etc.), bingo, lotteries, etc. The only forms of gambling proposed have either been horseracing (which already occurs in Aiken, South Carolina) and the lottery. So the question wasn't whether to have a new Las Vegas or Atlantic City, but about, probably, whether to have a lottery. And lotteries have already been legalized in many states, in contrast to casino gambling. Further, many charitable organizations and institutions (the VFW and churches) already hold regular bingo events to raise revenue, which is a point likely to occur to a writer who considers the various kinds of gambling possible. And this point would certainly have to be considered when writing an essay on the legalization of gambling: these charitable organizations and institutions already make use of a form of legalized gambling.

        As noted by most composition textbooks, the 5 w's and h are useful to apply not only in "inventorying" the topic overall, but also in composing sentence by sentence in the essay, in order to adequately develop supporting and explanatory details.

6.3.2 Using_"The_Triad"

        The triad is based on the informal system underlying how most of us ordinarily view the world. It is made up of several threes, which could be arranged in a triangle:
 

          Self / the individual   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   -   -    -   -   -   -  Others

             Physical, material, monetary                                                                                                         Family
             Psychological, emotional, intellectual                                                                                         Friends
             Moral, ethical, spiritual                                                                                                                  Local, state,  national, or  international
                                                                                                                                                                                      community

                       \                                                                                                                /

                           \                                                                                                       /

                                 \                                                                                            /

                                    \                                                                                     /

                                         \                                                                           /

                                             \                                                                  /

                                                               External world (Nature)

                                                                     Animal kingdom
                                                                     Vegetable kingdom
                                                                     Mineral kingdom

        As with the 5 w's and h, any one of the parts of this inventorying system can be used by itself to break down a topic, or several parts in combination. For example, the topic "Name two or three qualities which you feel a person should possess in order to be a good employee. Explain"(RTP no. 98) can be rapidly divided up or analyzed by the "self/ individual" component of the triad:

Self_/_the_individual

--  physical: neatness in appearance (hair, hands and fingernails, clothing); appearance not disruptive to customers or other employees; physical ability to do the job

--  psychological, emotional, intellectual: enough schooling and intelligence to do the job; mature and serious, not overly excitable or unstable

--  moral: honest; doesn't steal; believes in an honest day's work for an honest dollar

        Again, since civilization can be considered a large collection of individuals, the "self/ the individual component" of the triad could be applied, by itself, to the invention topic ("In your opinion, what invention has brought about the most far-reaching and lasting changes in our civilization?"). With this inventorying system, we are searching for an invention which has had great effects in the physical (material, monetary), mental (emotional, intellectual), and moral (ethical, spiritual) areas. Many students having applied the triad to this topic have been led to the choice of television. (Earlier, the 5 w's and h led to the choice of the telephone. Sometimes our inventorying systems will lead to the same choices and ideas, but sometimes they won't. Since there are no specific "right" answers to essay questions, what counts is that these systems produce thoughtful responses and supporting material.)

Self_/_the individual

--  physical (good effects): exercise and sports programs encourage fitness; some medical programs promote awareness about things to do for good health; many companies have found advertising beneficial to the sale of their products or services

--  physical (bad effects): some children and adults watch too much television and get too little exercise, in addition to overeating while viewing; children and adults may learn to engage in violence, harming others, from watching certain shows; there are too many ads; there are too many deceptive ads or ads for dubious products or services

--  mental (good effects): news, science, educational (Sesame Street), documentary, and docudrama programs inform children to adults; children and adults may feel better emotionally after watching certain shows

--  mental (bad effects): some children and adults watch mindless programing rather than reading or doing schoolwork; wrong attitudes or behavior may be learned from certain shows; some shows may be emotionally upsetting or disturbing to the young (horror shows) or disadvantaged (shows featuring the good life that the poor do not and may never have)

--  moral (good effects): much religious programing on Sundays, and now at other times as well; some entirely religious television networks (CBN, PTL)

--  moral (bad effects): shows with sex or violence may promote undesirable values or behavior

        A last example, the topic about liking or not liking the South, shows how all corners of the triangle might be used for inventorying. The self/individual component might lead us to think about physical comforts or pleasures (the seasons, Southern food), as well as monetary matters (relatively low cost of living, better availability of jobs in the sun belt states--new stores, businesses, and manufacturing plants opening all the time in the Augusta area). It might also remind us of the rich cultural heritage of the South (or if we dislike the South, of redneck lack of culture). The "others" component could remind us of the warm feeling of family (and our own family here), of the warmth of Southerners generally (Southern hospitality). And the "external world" component of the triad could remind us of deer, bluejays, and cardinals; of pines, dogwoods, azaleas, and camellias.

6.3.3 The binary topic or binary principle in essay topics

        The above topic about an invention with the most far-reaching impact on the world reveals (and many other topics on the Regents' and Augusta State University examinations reveal), as shown by our triad-based notes, another important inventorying principle. This could be called the binary principle. Many topics--especially those dealing with effects, results, or consequences--can be viewed as binary: that is, having two sides (+/-; good/bad). Remembering this may help thinking about many topics. For example, on the topic about suddenly acquiring a million dollars ("If you won a million dollars in a lottery, how would your life change?"), both the good effects and the bad effects should be considered while notes are being jotted. Hardly ever will there be only good or bad effects, results, or consequences; hardly ever will good and bad effects be exactly equal. Thus, for the winning a million dollars topic, though many writers might see the effects as mostly good (freedom from anxiety about bills, greater happiness from enjoyment of new travel opportunities, etc.), bad effects would include new concerns about tax returns and scrutiny from the Internal Revenue Service, possible bother from solicitation by scores of charitable organizations, and so on. As with comparison and contrast (see the chapter on comparison and contrast in Prinsky's Engl. 1101 pamphlet), the grammatical type of sentence designed to handle more + than - , or more - than + ,  is the complex sentence. (See the comments on comparison and contrast in the composition handbook, also.)

6.3.4  "Best of," "Most of," "Worst of," "Least of" Topics

        Several topics on the Regents' Examination are what could be categorized as "Best of, Most of, Worst of, Least of" topics.  Examples would include the topic what your favorite piece of furniture is (a "Best of, Most of" topic) or the topic of what job you would absolutely refuse to take (a "Worst of, Least of" topic).  For such topics, as always in writing the impromptu or extemporary essay, the beginning should be a specific, detailed inventory of what the writer knows.  Hence, a list of furniture items should be made, and beside each furniture item comments about the item's appeal; or a list of repulsive jobs should be made, and beside each job the repellent aspects of the job.  Making such an inventory or list will serve not only to clarify the writer's thinking about the topic but also to stock the first paragraph of the essay.  One sentence should be allotted to each item, and the last sentence -- the thesis sentence -- should then give the "Best of," "Most of," "Worst of," or "Least of" item, along with a rationale, main idea, or list of general points for the item.
 

6.3.5 Inventorying_and_Brownie_Points

        The colloquial term (from the slang level or informal register of usage) "Brownie points" is used somewhat facetiously in this section, but with an underlying seriousness about writing both impromptu and out-of-class essays. As part of your inventorying process, you should consider not only what you know personally about the topic, but also what you have learned about it from television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and books. The last source, especially, is pertinent to a college student, and when a college student uses and cites textbooks in an essay, the heart of any instructor is gladdened, because a student shows interest in his or her studies as well as all-important assimilation of reading and knowledge. Beyond making professors happy, using and citing textbooks adds specific and authoritative explanation and support, always valuable in an essay. You should study the material in your composition handbook about the proper way to cite the title of a television or radio program, newspaper and newspaper article, magazine and magazine article, book and essay or chapter title in the book.

        Further, keeping up with current events by reading a weekly news magazine is valuable as part of the goal of a college education: becoming a person aware of and knowledgeable about the surrounding world. Also, since Time and Newsweek have good writing, the student will be absorbing, consciously and unconsciously, good vocabulary as well as good sentence structure, well-developed and vividly illustrated paragraphs, and so on. Lastly, because many (anywhere between one-third and two-thirds) of the Regents' Examination essay topics are related to current events, students should read a newsmagazine for the five weeks leading up to the examination in order to be well-prepared for a possible current events topic.
 

6.4 Have_I_Organized_My_Scratch_Notes?

        The next step, before writing, is to get some sort of rough outline in mind of the material generated by thinking about the topic. For a fifty- or sixty-minute time limit, there really isn't time for a full-blown formal outline (which can be useful on an out-of-class essay, for revising an essay, and for reading notes). What you can do, and should do, is to look at your notes and try to see how to group, connect, and arrange items. For an essay about the qualities a good employee should possess (RTP no. 98), which we have broken down using the triad, should we discuss the physical component first, second, or third? How about the mental component? And how about the moral component? In what logical order can they be arranged? Whatever order or connections we see should be reflected by Arabic numerals placed by the dashes at the lefthand margin. Likewise, we must consider the order of our supporting and explanatory illustrations. What order should the items be that we have included in the "physical" component of the triad? What order of items in the mental and moral components? After deciding, we might place small lower-case letters (c, a, d, and so on) over the items to remind us what order we want to put them in. An example might look like the following, from the notes on steps needed to reduce crime (see section 6.3.1 of this pamphlet):

--  the criminal: how we can get at the causes of people becoming criminals ([b] jobs, [c] poverty, [d] child abuse, [e] no father or mother, [a] education)

Many impromptu freshmen essays or themes stand out, negatively, because they are disorganized or unorganized.

        Various kinds of organization are discussed in the composition handbook (both overall and of individual paragraphs), though the logical kinds (as opposed to chronological and spatial) will naturally predominate in exposition and argumentation. (Chronological is most appropriate to narration, while spatial is most appropriate to description.) On an impromptu essay, probably the most useful and efficient kind of organization is climactic, or lesser to greater. By building up to a main idea or illustration, concluding is made easier and shorter, since a sentence or two can be added to the last paragraph that will round off not only that particular main idea or illustration but also the whole essay. This economy, avoiding the need for an elaborate concluding paragraph, saves time, which can be better spent by most students in prewriting thought and deriving vivid illustrations, developing each main paragraph, and editing.

6.5: Fluency;_Improving_Speed_in_Inventorying, Improving_Facility with Different Sentence Structures,  Improving Vocabulary

        Naturally, you'll need to practice using these inventorying systems, and it will take some time to become skillful in using them. You can, and should, get such practice by twice or three times a week randomly picking a Regents' or Augusta State University examination topic (lists of which are available on the freshman English site of the ASU computer network and should be copied to your own diskette for perusal), and attempting to apply either main inventorying system to it to generate thorough scratch notes. To work up your speed, so you can generate detailed notes rapidly, give yourself no more than eight minutes for this prewriting--scratch-notes and organizing--phase of writing the impromptu essay.

        On the subject of speed, obviously important for themes written in fifty or sixty minutes, most students need to improve their fluency--that is, increasing the flow of words onto the page. This improvement of fluency can only be accomplished by doing a great deal of writing, far more than the typical once-a-week in- or out-of-class essay. Out of class, write as much as you can: write letters to all those friends and relatives you promised yourself you'd never lose track of, or keep a daily journal (five or ten minutes a day, every day), recording anything that pops into your head or was of interest to you or that you happened to notice during the day. The combination of more precise or structured thought (and notes) about the topic and increased fluency ought to improve your overall performance on the impromptu essay.  Fluency can be improved through improving flexibility and facility in various sentence structures. Ease or facility with different sentence structures, discussed in the chapters on grammar and sentence structure in your composition handbook is also important to speed and fluency in writing. Study in the composition handbook the chapters entitled "How Do You Construct Effective Sentences?", "How Do You Write Stylish Sentences?", as well as all remarks about sentence structure in the section of the composition handbook entitled "Grammar." The section entitled "Punctuation and Mechanics" also has material about various kinds of sentence structures.  Models of different kinds of sentence structures can also be found in the model paragraphs by various writers included in the chapters on writing paragraphs in the composition handbook.  The different structures, like different strokes in tennis, exist to accomplish various purposes. Just as a tennis player, in a game, has little or no time to waste in contemplating what stroke should be used next (forehand, backhand, lob, forehand smash, backhand smash, etc.), so the various types of sentences should come naturally and quickly to the writer. Further, most apprentice writers are guilty, like novice tennis players, of "running around their backhand," meaning that they overuse short, simple, subject-verb-object sentences, comparable to novice tennis players who inefficiently use the forehand when they ought to use the backhand or some other stroke. Writers should constantly practice the various structures explained and illustrated in the composition handbook, including doing all the exercises on better sentences, and in comparable exercises on the essays in their essay anthology. Verbal phrases (participial, gerund, infinitive) and absolute phrases (or absolute constructions), for example, are particularly economical in writing, saving many words when frequently used. Most students should use far more -ing constructions in their writing. One byproduct of communicating the same information in fewer words, enabled by flexibility in various sentence structures, is the saving of time, which is particularly important in the impromptu essay of fifty or sixty minutes.

        Also crucially related to speed or fluency is improving your vocabulary.  See the chapter on "Why and How to Build a Vocabulary," found earlier in this pamphlet.  The basic idea is that having more words in mind -- rather than struggling to find a word or words -- ought to help improve the flow of words onto the page or the computer monitor.
 

6.6: The Psychological Dimension; Writing as Performance

        Along with the similarity of different sentence structures to the different tennis strokes (or different clubs and swings, in golf), the resemblance of writing to tennis (or golf) as both combined knowledge and performance skills also occurs in the psychological dimension of the activities--being "psyched up." As is well known, for athlete to achieve their best performance, they must be "psyched up" for the contest or sport--they must have a good and confident attitude, along with proper training, practice, and physical condition. Likewise, writers can often achieve better performances if they have a positive attitude about the task at hand. One way to contribute to such an attitude is by injecting humor into the writing, where possible. Not all subjects or topics are amenable to humor, but many are. And if you can see an amusing detail or angle when taking notes or writing, your humor not only will be welcomed by most readers but also will very probably make you feel happier or better, thus improving your performance.

6.7: Speed and Efficiency in Editing the Impromptu Essay

        Many apprentice writers do not take enough time to edit their writing on impromptu essays. This time and attention are crucial, for editing is absolutely essential to the quality of the product, which concerns instructors as much as quantity. Besides deciding to take this necessary time and pay this attention, writers should, to become more efficient and timely in editing, focus on a limited number of errors and in some cases not wait until completing the essay before starting a line-by-line and sentence-by-sentence edit.

        The required composition handbook, like most full-sized composition handbooks, is between seven hundred and nine hundred pages long and describes and discusses a huge number of errors, mistakes, and missteps in writing. No student makes all these errors; probably no student consistently makes all the errors listed in just the "top twenty" enumerated helpfully in The composition handbook . Students can become efficient in editing, especially time-restricted editing, by following the advice of The composition handbook and other handbooks to keep a personal list of their most frequent mistakes or categories of errors. By being realistic, by narrowing down the number of errors or categories to no more than, say, five, students ought to be able to make five, effective line-by-line editing passes in an impromptu essay. The first pass should be allotted to the most frequent of the five specific mistakes or categories of error; the second pass, to the second most frequent; and so on. By looking for only one specific error or type of error per pass, students' attention should be more effectively and efficiently focused on the task.

        If you find that you are not giving enough time to editing -- approximately seven to ten minutes, in a fifty- or sixty-minute period -- then you might find it advisable to start your line-by-line and sentence-by-sentence edit at the end of each page, or even at the end of each paragraph. What must be remembered is that instructors desire quality as much as quantity.

        With regard to editing, most instructors will count as an error the "cheating correction," the letter a and letter e overlaid in the word affect or effect so that the correction is unclear. Some students may think that they are succeeding in a deception, but they are not. An unclear correction is counted just as wrong by teachers as no correction or an erroneous correction.

        In revising on an in-class impromptu essay, for most handwritten inserts (which should be rare, except for handwritten essays) of less than a sentence, use a caret and follow the directions in the composition handbook about writing the insert above the line in the location where it is to be inserted. For longer inserts (a long sentence or more), circle the word "insert" and an Arabic numeral or a capital letter over the spot, marked by a caret, where the insert should be read into the text. Then in a space after the end of your essay or on the next new page, put the label "Inserts" along with the numbered or lettered long inserts that are to be added.