WCE IDEAS:

TOPIC: My friends are an integral part of my life.

  • They decided, last-minute, to remove the ILLUSTRATION rhetorical mode from the WCE (this was the reasons & examples type of essay).

Process:

  • Write a thesis statement which indicates there are steps or stages related to some aspect of friendship. Discuss each aspect of the sequence; do not merely list.
  • HOW TO-
  • make a friend (at school or some other specific location)
  • ditch a bad friend
  • confront a friend who has an addiction (an intervention)
  • advise a friend on some issue/problem (work, money, school, boy/girlfriend,….)
  • comfort a friend who just got bad news (death in family, diagnosis, breakup/divorce,…)
  • memorialize a dead friend (veteran, DUI, disease,…)
  • get keys from drunk friend
  • baking or cooking or pampering or….
  • how to get the ladies/guys with friends (“wingman”)
  • start a fantasy football league (any sport)
  • kick out of FFL
  • confront friend who’s damaging house, stolen from you, who’s on your sports team, or…
  • date a (co-ed) friend
  • ask a friend to prom/semi-formal
  • set up a friend on a blind date
  • come out to friends (admit homosexuality)
  • kick out of band
  • confront a VG idiot (MMRPG)
  • set up MMRPG game settings/server (specific console)
  • meeting online friend (FB)
  • leave friend when go away to school
  • how to stay in touch w/friends when go away to school (in the digital age)
  • how to set up a FaceBook (or FaceTime, Skype, chat, GooglePlus, Oovoo, or…) account to stay in touch w/friends over long distances
  • power dynamic: work, sports (when either you or friend is in a position of power –boss, captain)
  • tell a friend “that look” isn’t working
  • (friend has made a poor choice – fashion, boy/girlfriend, job, school, career, …)
  • refuse to help a friend cheat (school, relationship)
  • (some other process related to friends)
  • INTRO:
  • start with a generalization about friends
  • end with a thesis that sets up your process (# & difficulty of steps, purpose)
  • BODY:
  • step-by-step, presume nothing, “how exactly”
  • group related short steps into 1 paragraph
  • keep longer steps in their own paragraph
  • CONCLUSION:
  • process-as-a-whole (# & difficulty, total time, describe final product, relate to purpose)
  • (paragraph total can vary, doesn’t have to be 5)

Comparison and Contrast:

  • Create a thesis statement which allows you to give similarities AND differences to support your opinion about TWO friends.
  • COMPARISON: 1 difference & 2 similarities
  • CONTRAST: 1 similarity & 2 differences
  • Either way = 5 total paragraphs:
  • Introduction (w/Thesis), difference, similarity, similarity, conclusion
  • Introduction (w/Thesis), similarity, difference, difference, conclusion
  • C/C
  • your 2 best friends now
  • (although this is closest to what is suggested above, this subject of friends can also be taken in other directions)
  • your friend now vs. that same person then (i.e., before & after he got into drugs, she starting dating that guy,…)
  • your friend now vs. your best friend then
  • (if they’re so different, what does this say about you?)
  • INTRO:
  • start with a generalization about friends
  • tip your hat to other, minor similarities & differences
  • end with a thesis that states your 1 difference & 2 most significant similarities (or vice versa)
  • Despite their differences in senses of humor, Barbara and Joan are similar in their tastes in music and their appreciation of art.
  • BODY:
  • 1 similarity/difference per paragraph
  • Name the similarity (or difference), Explain/Define it, Illustrate it by relating a specific example (specific person in a specific situation), End w/a Clincher that reiterates the similarity, that relates your example to the similarity
  • arrange your paragraphs in an Emphatic Order (save the “most” for last & say so)
  • CONCLUSION:
  • repeat your thesis
  • repeat your differences/similarities
  • relate to your purpose (your “So What?”)
  • end with a Clincher Sentence
  • (5 total paragraphs)


Classification:

  • Compose a thesis statement which claims there are categories or groupings of friends in your life. Then, explain the generic characteristics of each type. Use specific examples to illustrate the type BUT not to replace the type – start w/the type, define/explain its traits, illustrate the type w/an example, end w/a Clincher Sent. that relates the example to the type. (an Illustration Essay would start w/the example)
  • TYPES OF:
  • Types of friends you have
  • The 3 most __ types (common, annoying, dependable, influential, negative,….)
  • INTRO:
  • start with a generalization about friends
  • tip your hat to other, minor types (just list, no details)
  • end with a thesis that states your 3 types & your emphatic order
  • BODY:
  • 1 type per paragraph
  • Name the type, Explain/Define its general traits, Illustrate the type with a specific example (specific person in a specific situation), End w/a Clincher that relates your specific example to the general type
  • arrange your paragraphs in an Emphatic Order (save the “most” for last & say so)
  • CONCLUSION:
  • repeat your thesis
  • repeat your 3 types
  • relate to your purpose (your “So What?”)
  • end with a Clincher Sentence
  • (5 total paragraphs)