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1.3: Introductory Exercises

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    chapter 1: introductory exercises.

    These exercises piggyback on the topics of this chapter, which are “getting started,” “feedback,” and “reading.”

    exercise 1: getting started.

    For a quick creative writing exercise, try one of the writing prompts below, excerpted\(^{23}\) from Chronicle Books’ 642 Tiny Things to Write About. Each prompt was created by a writing teacher at the San Francisco Writers Grotto to be done in 10 minutes or less. Feel free to take more than 10 minutes, if you need to!

    • Write a eulogy for a sandwich, to be delivered while eating it.

    • Write the ad for an expensive new drug that improves bad posture. Now, list the possible side effects.

    • Write the passenger safety instructions card for a time-travel machine.

    • An undercover spy is about to impersonate you in all aspects of your life. Write instructions.

    • Write your life story in five sentences.

    • As a talking Chihuahua, what would you tell your humans about the new crying baby who now lives with you?

    • Pick a place you’ve never been to. Explain why you are moving there.

    • What piece of advice do you most often give and least often follow?

    • If you were given one extra hour today and you weren’t allowed to use it for anything you’d normally do (e.g.; eat, sleep, etc.), what would you do with that hour?

    exercise 2: feedback.

    Find a classmate’s writing to give feedback to and practice the WWW/TAG approach.

    exercise 3: reading.

    Read the “Reading Strategies” one more time and then compose a paragraph where you discuss how you might use those strategies in this course, within this textbook, and in the future.

    exercise 4: observations. *

    Write down observations that you have right now where you are. Focus on ALL senses (hear, see, taste, touch, feel) and try to give details: color, texture, etc. Shoot for one sentence for each observation. 

    exercise 5: clothing. *

    Write down observations based on the people you have seen, met, or been around for a day. Focus the observations on describing their personalities but only through a description of the clothes they were wearing.
     

    *These could be considered jumpstart exercises to the next chapter…

    \(^{23}\)From: https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/11/17/2...nutes-or-less/

     

    “Because writing isn’t just about writing.”

     

     

    This page titled 1.3: Introductory Exercises is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Sybil Priebe (Independent Published) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.