Grammar for Writing: Level Gold — Chapter 14

Brit Lit Glitterati John Keats You're working for the British Academy of Literature, and you are planning an awards show that honors literary achievement. You have the list of nominees, and you've tallied the academy members' votes. Now it's your job to name the winner in each category. Everyone in your department wants to know who the winners are, but only you know who will win the Glitterati Awards. Write a one-page speech to give at the Literary Academy Awards ceremony. Identify the winner, write about his or her background, and explain why he or she deserves the coveted Glitterati Award. Begin by investigating British literary stars in the categories listed below. Choose a writer from one of the categories that interests you. Note: Do not choose William Shakespeare, because he is to receive a special award. As judge of the Glitterati Awards, you may wish to add other categories, such as science fiction or drama. On the other hand, you may name a "write-in" candidate of your own choice for the award, for example, J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series. Then gather information about his or her life and works. Remember that the presenter of the award explains the successes of the winner, so you will need to do some thorough research to make your selection. The nominees for each category are as follows: Fiction Aphra Behn Jane Austen Charles Dickens George Eliot E.M. Forster Virginia Woolf Your choice Poetry Elizabeth Barrett Browning T.S. Eliot John Keats Your choice Espionage/Mystery John Le Carré Wilkie Collins Dorothy Sayers Your choice Children's Literature Lewis Carroll A. A. Milne Beatrix Potter Your choice STEP 1: Initial Search Begin your research with visits to the following Web sites: Classic British Authors Click on one of the authors for a link to a page on him or her. Or simply type in the name of your author. British Authors: Women Click on one of the links for British women writers. English Lit Resources Click on one of the titles to go to a Web page on that topic. About.com Search: British Poets, English Literature, authors by name, and other key words relating to the topic. Search for information about several different British literary stars. Take notes on the writers, their work, and their accomplishments. Research three different writers from the sites to get a good idea of how they compare with one another. STEP 2: Focus Your Search Focus your search on one specific literary figure. Use cluster diagrams to organize the details you have discovered about your choice. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Gold, pages 10–11.) Search the Internet for more information on your writer. To learn more about your author, visit the following Web site: Biography.com Explore other resources, such as an encyclopedia, an almanac, newspaper and magazine articles, literature textbooks, and literature by the author. STEP 3: Define Your Audience Make your information interesting to an audience of book readers. Assume that every member of your audience knows your author and has read at least one work by him or her. Write with a lively style full of high praise, superlative adjectives, and interesting anecdotes. STEP 4: Develop an Outline Develop an outline of the material you intend to include in your speech. Start with something interesting—for example, an intriguing fact or detail about the person's life. Remember to include the achievements, the literary successes, and the high points of the author's life. A popular technique in presenting a list of achievements or successes is to use bullet points. The list might be introduced by a colon, followed by a series of short phrases. If you list your author's literary works, be sure to review the use of the colon. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Gold, page 285.) Speechmaking has a lot to do with personality. You want your audience to feel your charisma and energy. You also want to keep it interesting and intent on what you are saying. Timing and delivery are crucial in speechmaking. Practice giving your speech for family and friends to polish your timing. Use your outline to organize chronologically the milestones in your author's career. Be sure to include a personal touch, as well— use anecdotes and quotes by or about your author, if possible. Include quotes from the author's work to support your points. STEP 5: Organize Your Ideas and Write a Rough Draft Make your speech 3 ½–5 minutes long. Use a minimum of 10–15 seconds for an introduction and about the same amount of time for your conclusion. That leaves at least 3 minutes to fill. Before you start writing, decide how much time you will spend on each aspect of your outline. Then write your rough draft. Jane Austen STEP 6: Revise, Edit and Proofread Your Writing Reread your speech. Be sure that each paragraph has a topic sentence and that all the sentences in the paragraph support that topic. Make sure you have covered all the key facts and reasons why the award is going to the author you chose. Edit your writing for grammatical errors; then proofread your work carefully for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors. STEP 7: Publish Your Work Present your speech to the class. Keep a record of which writers win in each category, and see how many people choose the same person. Copyright ©2007 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.