Writing Tips: Theme, Clarity, Coherence, Redundancy and Repetition!

Prompt Writing
If your answering a literary prompt, include the title of the piece, the author, and rephrase the prompt, When you make statement about the piece, back it up with an example. Don't use the conclusion to open up a new idea.

Developing Theme
State your theme in one or two sentences, theme is not one word, but a statement. Theme should be supported by examples from the text, refer to examples by the line numbers or a specifically quote. Analyze and dissect all parts of the prompt for what you need to do: which means underline specific things the the prompt asks so far. Number them in the order that you will discuss them. Circle the length of the essay.

Clarity
Large Scale Clarity-Devising a sound thesis, developing ideas with examples, presenting points in logical order.
Small Scale Clarity-Includes everything from grammar and punctuation to pronoun-intendant agreement and subject-verb agreement.
Reasons writing may lack clarity. The ideas are not stated precisely. Examples or clarifying details are lacking. The writer uses bad vocabulary to hide lack of knowledge. Lapses in clarity can occur when one sentence is ambiguous.

Coherence
Is the logical order of thought. The five elements of coherence are, Spatial order-describing the way same things look, most often used to give a picture, cause and effect- you start out with the cause, and explain the effect, effect and cause, tell effects, and explain cause. Specifies to general, listing specifies then makes general statements, general to specific-general to specific statements. Check your Coherence by, Checking your outline and paper, Make sure each paragraph has a topic sentence, Maker sure all paragraphs are related to the topic, check the thesis statement, make sure all topic sentences support the thesis statement, check all sequences of ideas, make sure there are good transitions between paragraphs.