O utline.
"I have to write a paper on the life of a great American writer. I chose Mark Twain. I have used some references to get information on his life. I'll make an outline of the major points and details that I want to include in my paper."
  1. Early life
    1. Born Samuel Clemens in Florida, Missouri in 1835.
    2. Spent much of his childhood in Hannibal, Missouri, a steamboat town on the Mississippi.
    3. Wanted to be a steamboat man.
  2. Different jobs
    1. Worked as a newspaper man in Hannibal.
    2. Worked as a steamboat pilot.
    3. Went to Nevada and was a gold and silver prospector.
    4. Worked on newspaper in Nevada and in California.
    5. Went to New York City and then traveled all over the world as a journalist.
    6. Became a lecturer and humorist.
  3. Personal life
    1. Married Livy and then had 3 daughters.
    2. Lived in Hartford, CT where he wrote many of his books.
    3. One daughter died in 1896, wife died in 1904, and another daughter died in 1909.
    4. Twain died in 1910. Night he died Halley's Comet made an appearance.
  4. Books
    1. Most famous books - Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, Adventures of Huck Finn, The Prince and the Pauper, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
    2. Books showed American life of the period and also problems (e.g., racism in Huck Finn).




An outline.
S ay the outline aloud.

"I'll read this aloud to pick out the most important ideas."
The thinker thinking about main ideas and details.
W rite introduction.

"I think that I'll start the introduction by telling why Mark Twain was important and then I'll relate that to the different parts of his life."

Mark Twain was one of the greatest American writers of all time. He wrote about American life at the end of the 1800's. His experiences growing up on the Mississippi River, living in the West, and travelling around the world provided the experiences for his best known books. 		A paper with an introduction on it.
A dd connecting ideas.

"I need to be sure to connect the different paragraphs. In my second paragraph I will tell about his early life and link that up with my first paragraph."

Twain, whose real name was Samuel Clemens, was born in Florida, Missouri in 1835. He moved to Hannibal, Missouri, which was a steamboat town on the Mississippi River. His experiences there provided the basis for his books on Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.
A paper with connecting ideas.
L ook over the connections.

"I'll read my paper to make sure that all the paragraphs are connected."		 A paper with the caption 'Re-read'.
D raft conclusion.

"I'll write the last paragraph and wrap up all the main ideas."

Mark Twain's books allow us to see the world he saw growing up on the Mississippi, living in the West, and travelling the world. On the day he died in 1910, Halley's Comet made an appearance. Twain was like a comet because he lit up the world that he lived in and allowed future generations to see it as he did.		 A paper with a conclusion.

 

     

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