Thoughts on Drafting

In this blog post, I'll be reviewing the Student's Guide reading (pages 49-58) and discussing the relevance of the advice given as it pertains to the Quick Reference Guide genre.

Screenshot from my computer, 9/19/2015

Drafting a Thesis Statement

Writing paragraphs in PIE format

Writing introductions

Organizing information

Writing conclusions

1. What parts of the book’s advice on the above bulleted topics are helpful for writing in this genre?

For writing within the QRG genre, much of what was said about the bulleted topics is relevant and helpful. In the QRG, it is essential to establish the central idea of your writing immediately. The reader needs to know up front what they are going to be learning about. Introductions are also crucial when writing a QRG. If what you're writing about is not properly introduced, the content will be more difficult to understand.

Organization is perhaps just as important as thesis statements and introductions. The way we organize the content we present in the QRG is what dictates the flow of ideas and allows the reader to understand the content more easily.

2. What parts of the book’s advice on these topics might not be so helpful, considering the genre you’re writing in?

The advice on writing in PIE format is not as relevant as some of the other topics covered in this part of the book. PIE format is usually an extensive explanation of a point you are trying to make. If a QRG contained many uses of the PIE structure, the QRG would most likely be too long and contain too much information. 

Also, writing conclusions may not be as relevant to the QRG genre. While it may be a good idea to quickly summarize main ideas at the end of a QRG, writing a lengthy conclusion could limit the success of a QRG.

EDIT:

After reading Mira's and Swati's, posts, I learned even more about the QRG genre. Specifically, Mira's post reminded me of the importance of keeping a sense of urgency when it comes to keeping the attention of the reader. The QRG is meant to be a very fast paced genre, and if the QRG becomes slow or boring at any point, the reader could be lost. I also learned that the thesis/introduction paragraphs will be slightly different in a QRG. The thesis should be more broad since the whole point of the QRG is to give both sides of an issue.

Things to revise:

1. Make all information I give sound active as if it's happening right this instant. 

2. Cut out all unnecessary information/words/quotes

3. Keep the introduction broad yet detailed so that I address all sides of my issue