How to Expand a Sentence

It can be easy to fall into the habit of simple sentence writing, but don’t be boring. Becoming a great writer requires the ability to be descriptive and creative in order to draw in the reader. If  you are stuck on how to make a sentence pop or stretch it out to really make it memorable, try practicing these strategies.

Using questions (Who, What, Where, When, Why) can help you elaborate on a topic to its full potential:

WHO? My fluffy kitten

IS DOING WHAT? My fluffy kitten took a nap

WHEN? Last night, my fluffy kitten took a nap

WHERE? Last night, my fluffy kitten took a nap in her custom fleece hammock

WHY? Last night, my fluffy kitten took a nap in her custom fleece hammock after spending all day chasing butterflies at the park.

Tips for expanding a sentence:

• Combine sentences: 2 ideas of equal importance can be made into one sentence
• Use Adverbs: She peacefully slept… He suddenly realized…
• Use Adjectives: The youngest brother had a brilliant idea…Our vacation was full of exciting new adventures…
• Use transition words: Meanwhile, Therefore, In addition to, As a result, Then, Consequently, In contrast 
• Add prepositions: During the ceremony, she abruptly got up and left before anyone could have a chance to realize the truth about why she was there in the first place. 
• Avoid common words: Using a thesaurus or even google can be a good tool to adding and using new and more creative words in your writing

Getting Started Writing your Research Paper: The Outline

Example Outline 1: Roman Numeral Outline

1. Introduction:
   1. Thesis: Schooling can be affected by several factors such as school environment, teacher experience, and funding.
   2. Key Points:
      1. Inner city schools can tend to be less inviting and encouraging to schooling
      2. Teachers with less experience tend to approach schooling with an immature attitude and do not expect complications. They do not know how to adapt and promote effective schooling in some cases.
      3. Schools that have less funding tend to invest less in students learning because budgets are so tight.

The introduction section of the outline is where [stuff, things, explanation of what goes in the intro] goes. This section organizes the thoughts that will go into the introduction of your writing.

1. Body Paper:
   1. Topic 1: School environment is a heavy influence of the quality and quantity of schooling.
      1. Inner City vs Outer City Schools
         1. Source: Understanding the Institutional-Level Factors of Urban School Quality.
         2. Inner city schools do not have an encouraging environment for schooling
            1. Outdated
      2. Bullying
         1. Source:…

The body paper section of the outline is where the main topics of the paper will be discussed. This includes the usable sources and subtopics/supporting details for each of the main topics.

1. Summary Paragraph:
   1. Topic 1: Environments of schools have a dramatic effect on perceptions and experiences of schooling.
   2. Topic 2: Teachers with less experience seem to not know how to adjust to demands of schooling children which makes schooling less cohesive.
   3. Topic 3: Funding is a great impact on how schooling is provided.

The summary paragraph section allows you to restate what is in your introduction with more specificity that is included in your body paragraphs. It helps sum up your entire paper and it also gives you substance to add in your conclusion without creating new ideas.

1. Conclusion:
   1. Environments, teacher experience and funding heavily influence the schooling process as well as others’ perception of it.

The conclusion section of the outline is for the restatement of your thesis. This will be included in your conclusion paragraph.

1. References Page:
   1. GOTTFRIED, M. A. (2012). Understanding the Institutional-Level Factors of Urban School Quality. Teachers College Record, 114(12), 1-32.

The references page section allows you to keep track of all your sources without having to go back to each one to create a citation. This will go in your bibliography/works cited/references page.

 

An outline is an easy fix for getting lost in the mix of a research paper. A roman numeral outline is a super effective way to brainstorm and start your paper. With this type of outline, you can write down a few sentences about each point and be done with that topic. Outlining using a roman numeral style really helps to organize ideas for a research paper in a clear and concise way. You don’t get lost in this outline style because it is concise, specific, and organized the same way that your paper will be. Roman numeral outlining is best for organizing thoughts and ideas in a linear way. You won’t have to search high and far for a focus of your sentence because after doing this outline, you’ll already know what to write because you essentially already wrote it. Its also a great way to help you narrow down what topics you need sources for. Take schooling as an example. There are too many ideas to name that you could use in a paper regarding schooling. If you use this outline to pick a few specific topics then finding credible sources for support poses less of a fight. Overall, an outline is a great tool to use if you have too many ideas and need to pick just a few. Not to mention, it makes writing a whole lot easier.

Brainstorming isn’t for Dummies

Taking what you’re thinking and putting it on paper can be pretty difficult. How do you make the main idea, characters, plot, and the supporting details make sense? You, don’t. That’s the answer; it isn’t supposed to make sense when you’re brainstorming.

Brainstorming is a process of producing an idea by participating in self-discussion or a group discussion.  Brainstorming is writing down a few main ideas down then picking one, then you write a lot of secondary ideas and pick from those, then you write down a ton more supporting details and pick from those. It is a long process and there are times where you have to do it multiple time because you don’t like your secondary ideas or your supporting details. There’s a method to this madness though and it makes for a great paper!

Figure 1: Ugly-web-thingy

Take yourself back to when you used graphic organizers and webs and all that jazz in school. Well, sucks to say, but those are pretty useful even in college. Now, I’m not saying that you have to use a graphic organizer so if you want to have a piece of paper with random words and a bunch of scribbles then go for it; it’s all about what makes sense for you! Graphic organizers are just a great way of harnessing the writer’s block and helping to move your ideas forward. They are also great for keeping your sanity when you have 20 million ideas of which you can only pick one. Whether you want to do the ugly-web-thingy, or an organized- column-graph-whatever-you-call-it, or just a concept map, it can all be helpful! Or you can just start writing and sound like an idiot because you get disorganized between topics, lose your train of thought, start talking about how your life is a mess because you don’t know what to write about, and finish it with a few tear soaked words about how your readers need to love your writing. But, no judgment here!

Figure 2: You if you don’t organize your writing.

Quote Integration

Quote Integration

Quoting is the easiest and most direct way to bring an outside source’s information into your text.

 

How it Helps

Lends credibility to your text

Offers a secondary voice which will contrast your own and articulate complex ideas

Provides an excellent framework to write around

Lends evidence which you could not provide yourself

 

Integration

There are multiple ways to weave quotes into a paragraph

Using a Colon:

(A full sentence explaining, introducing, or relating to the idea the quote contains): “The quote which provides an example of the idea introduced in the sentence prior to it” (the citation). Then another sentence expanding on the idea the quote introduced, or further relating it to your text.

 

Ex: Beauséant’s exile due to a failed love affair makes it clear to Rastignac the brutality of struggling to maintain status in Paris and the glee with which the other aristocrats flock to see one another fail: “High society had thronged there in such numbers, with everyone eager to see this great lady at the moment of her downfall” (Balzac 234).

 

Seamlessly weaving:

Sentence introducing an idea “a quote that continues it without  negatively affecting the fluency of the sentence” (citation).

Ex: Rastignac thought the old man had once been “patient, active, energetic, consistent, prompt to deliver” but he had become old and crusty like a dry pancake (Balzac 80).

 

Block Quotes:

Only use block quotes when all the information in the quote is necessary.

 

Block quotes function exactly as the name implies, it is a block of text from the source material surrounded by explanation and analysis. They are indented 1 inch and double-spaced like the rest of the paper.

 

Ex: Douglas Adams satirizes the incessant–and ultimately pointless–struggle of capitalism in his purposely vague and alienated description of the monetary system:

 

“This planet has – or rather had – a problem, which was this: most of the people on it were

unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but

most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of

paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that

were unhappy” (Adams 1).

 

Paragraphs

Writing is, easy as pie!

The P.I.E. Paragraph

Point = What is the point of this paragraph? What claim is being made? Often, the point is the TOPIC SENTENCE.

Information = How is the point supported with specific data, experiences, or other factual material? The information is the evidence used to support/develop the point.

Explanation = What does the provided information mean? The explanation is the writer’s analysis, elaboration, evaluation of the point and information given, connecting the information given, connecting the information with the point (topic sentence) and the thesis.

Thesis

Body

Point 1:

Topic Sentence:

• Information (support):
• Explanation

Point 2:

Topic Sentence:

• Information (support):
• Explanation:

Point 3:

Topic Sentence:

• Information (Support):
• Explanation

Writing a Thesis

He approves of your decision to write a proper thesis.

The Thesis

The statement or statements that details what your text will be exploring or what arguments it will be making.

 

Avoid

listing the main points in the thesis

“This essay will argue that Frankenstein’s monster is a hero because he hates killing, saves a child, and has an incredible marathon time”

Being too vague

“Frankenstein’s monster is a hero because he has heroic traits”

Trying to include too much

“In the novella Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s monster is a hero because he hates killing, he loathed the frequent murders he felt he was forced into; he saves a child, the cousin of Victor–his creator–who he saves from drowning in a river and is rewarded with rocks thrown at his head; and he has the superhuman physical prowess of beowulf in the body of a shoddy-Hulk.”

Making promises you don’t keep

“Frankenstein’s monster embodies the heroism of ancient Greece . . .” (then the essay never mentions Greece)

 

Do These Things

Introduce the most important ideas of the text

Expand just enough to let the reader know what they will be reading

“Evident in his benevolent interactions with a hostile humanity, Frankenstein’s monster

exhibits aspects of heroism similar to Epic heroes of Greek myth. The monster is loath to

kill innocent people, reminiscent of (another Greek hero who did the same thing) . . . The

most firm connection between the creature and Greek heroes is his incredible physical

prowess, similar to Pheidippides who ran the first marathon.”

A thesis does not always need to be one sentence, unless instructed otherwise.

Outlining

Outlining

When to do it: before you begin writing the paper

What purpose does it serve: mapping the paper so writing it will be easy and visibly planned

How to do it: There are a myriad of methods ranging from formal styles which some professors may require, or less structured approaches which can be equally effective.

 

Roman Numeral Format

1. Introduction

1. Thesis
2. Some details of what the paper will cover

1. Body Paragraph 1 (Repeat this format for any body paragraph)

1. Topic sentence
2. Evidence (writing is easier when you have to work around planned)
   1. You can also pre-write the sentences that will be directly around the evidence here
3. Evidence
4. Evidence

III. Conclusion

1. Restating of thesis
2. Summarizing most important points made in the body

 

Bare Necessities Format

Intro

Thesis:

Body paragraph 1 (Repeat format for any body paragraph)

Main Idea:

Evidence

Evidence

Evidence