Write an essay about a major person in an activity you enjoy. What obstacles did they overcome? How have their accomplishments affected others?
Weak Answer
Michael Jordan + basketball – My grandmother + knitting
Such essays are doomed from the start. Both answers are important to the student but not to the teacher or other adult evaluator. This will result:
Student Objection
Students often argue, “But aren’t I supposed to write about something that I know and that is interesting to me?”
The answer: Yes . . . and No.
Automobile salespersons are interested in cars. They wouldn’t be selling them if they weren’t interested. They also know about the vehicles – at least the ones they sell.
But who is far more important – the salesperson or the customer?
The same is true in writing. The reader is far more important than the writer. We must meet the reader’s needs.
Brainstorm for Quantity not Quality
John Grishom
John Grishom wanted to be a successful writer. He was a lawyer and had written one novel about the first decent idea that had popped into his head.
As he has said, it only sold to friends and business associates.
He knew that eighty percent of good writing involves finding a good subject. It should interest the writer, but mainly it needs to interest the reader.
Every day, he wrote at least one idea on a notecard. He gave the cards to his wife, who liked to read. Every day she said, “Nope.”
Then one day he gave her this notecard:
What if I were a lawyer from the Mafia but didn’t know it?
She became excited, and he became excited. The result, The Firm, resulted in a bestseller that later was made into a successful movie starring Tom Cruise.
TOM CRUISE
Grisham became such an enormous success that his first novel, A Time to Kill, was also into a movie. It was so successful that it launched actor Matthew McConaughey as a leading man.
Matthew McConaughey
Task 3.2.2 – Individual, Small Group, or Class
Brainstorm at least 10 ideas for the prompt in Task 2.3.1
You can cheat! You do not have to enjoy the activity.
There is no such thing as a silly idea.
Example
You brainstorm:
Dog mushing Exploring Fishing Gymnastics Horse trotting Hula hooping Jump-roping Playing rummy Running Skateboarding Sleeping Walking a dog Women’s Gymnastics
Task 3.2.3 – Individual, Small Group, or Class
Use the computer to look up information about the general subject from Activity 3.2.1. Look up famous people in the activity.
