Hello, today we're going to talk about how to explain how writers show relationships between
ideas, between and among ideas. My name is Alfonso Correa and I teach at Tag Mac High School in
Dallas, Texas. So what are we going to learn today? Today's lesson involves how to understand
how writers employ lists. This is one way, right? We have good clarity, understand how lists
enhance and argument, right? And how they enhance another writer's argument and how they can enhance
your own. So this has to do primarily with the for response section of the exam. That is question
one, question two, question three, the writing portion. So let's get to learning. So how do we build
right? We go from word to phrase to clause to sentence, right? Nouns, verbs, adjectives, these things
create phrases, right? Noun phrase, verb phrase, all these different building blocks as it says here.
And then we have clauses independent and dependent clauses. All of these work together, work in
concert to then create sentences, right? Simple, all these different kinds of sentences, right?
And we want to kind of build that, understand how these things really, really work together
to build meaning, right? So things to consider when looking at writing, right? Analyzing writing
and creating your own. So we want to worry about clarity. Is the writer, are you getting your
point across logical order, right? Of ideas. Does the sentence do the sentences flow and build
on previous points, right? Clear flow throughout a paragraph for instance, right? We can consider
rhythm in other people's writing changes in the cadence, right? How you as you read, right? You have
a certain pattern and that can work to help clarity, right? Sounds, sometimes writers use sound
and you can also do that, right? To incorporate in your sentence structure. Does that do these
sentences maintain interest, right? And all these things combined, right? All of these things
build on each other. They build that interest, right? Because people want to know and like you
as a reader, you want to know what's next and you want your readers to know what's next. So all of
these and create tone and voice, right? Overall tone, right? And you want to make sure that that is
consistent, okay? And recognize those things in other people's writing. So a little bit of practice
here are rule of three with lists, right? Make lists of three. I like apples, oranges, and bananas.
Let's assume you do, right? Use parallelism, okay? Same elements of language. You consider the order
and you think about sound and rhythm. So here I like sour apples, tart oranges, and sweet bananas,
right? You're adding to that level of meaning, right? And then finally we have a like apples that
have ripened on a tree, oranges that easily peel and bananas that keep for a long time. So you see
that kind of building of structures, right? And make it more interesting, more, you get to read or
more involved. So here we have to create tone here, right? Different kinds, right? Here we have
formal and serious informal and lighthearted, right? I like apples as much as I like oranges and bananas,
right? Pretty matter of fact, right? Because of their crisp taste, I like apples. Because of
of their refreshing tartness, I like oranges. And because of their nutritional value, I like bananas,
right? That's pretty formal, ish, right? A serious type of tone. So our apples are just bananas,
I like them all, right? Little playful, little lighthearted. Apples, oranges, and bananas,
they're all right in my book. Actually, they're my favorites. What's not to like? They're yummy
and healthy. So you see the differences here in tone, right? So you want to notice that as you read
others' writing and then you want to work on creating those things, right? And as we kind of looked
at before, all of those building blocks contribute to you being able to do this, being able to
recognize it and then being able to do it yourself because that's really where we want to go, right?
So when you want to illustrate your points, right? And when you're kind of analyzing others,
you want to show, don't tell, right? Concrete and vivid language is important. Strong verbs,
right? We've seen that in those examples. You use listing with language that illustrates your
knowledge, right? And we saw that, right? Because those examples about apples of bananas,
you know certain things, and you use those lists to draw out your point, right? And that's
important, considering various possibilities, right? This is another feature of using lists.
And then ultimately, and finally, amplify or support your reasoning, right? That's a good thing.
So let's look at an example of all this in kind of real writing. And if you want, you could
point your camera there and look at this TED talk eventually. But we're going to look at how
this writer has used lists, right? So do your parents, are we individuals or investments? When
you're growing up, your parents push you in different directions. Some say pick up an instrument,
go play a sport or get into the arts, right? There's your one list. But one thing your parents
never say is go pick up a skateboard. Now they would never promote something as dangerous and
reckless as skateboarding, which makes sense. Why would they encourage you to sprain your ankle,
get scabby knees, or even break your neck, right? There's another list. But I did it anyway. I
picked up my first skateboard at 10 years old. It took a while to get my balance. It took a while
to gain confidence. I would fall, but I would pick myself right back up. The moment I perfected
my first Ollie, I became hooked. And that's a skateboarding move, right? We all know that. I loved
how skateboarding could be a form of self expression. I love how it offered me so much freedom.
You see those phrases there, right? We would look up timetables for trains and buses so we could
roam uncharted territories all by ourselves to look for places to skate like this place,
which we skateboarders call rooftops, which is actually the abandoned Miami Marine Stadium in
Key to Skate. So to get places like this, and this is a metaphor, you have to jump over fences or
go past, do not enter signs, break a rule or two, right? And that's really what skateboarding is
all about to go explore, to take risks, and to allow yourself to fall. So this speech is for the
parents out there who couldn't ever imagine letting their teenage son or daughter pick up a skateboard
who stifle their children by not allowing them the freedom to go out and explore,
who don't do their children any favors by not allowing their children to fall. You can't bubble
wrap the world. It's more than okay for us to get hurt. So we want to notice a few things here,
right? The listing styles, right? Those are different. These are different phrase structures and
links, right? Again, we pay attention to those building blocks. How are they working within these
lists and then how the lists have an impact? And this is, you know, pretty nice. They have
parallel phrasing, right? We mentioned how parallelism works in concert with this.
So we go on. Skateboarding showed me that perseverance and hard work will always yield results.
Not everyone gets what it's like to try one trick for hours. Just to take abuse for 99% of it
and eventually land it if you are lucky. Not everyone gets what it's like to grind down an eight
foot rail. And of course, not everyone gets what it's like to feel at pain when you don't land
the way you expect it, right? There's your rule of three, right? And we used the feature here
called an Afro, where there's a repetition of a phrase of a word or phrase at the beginning of,
you know, here, three different phrases, right? Not everyone, not everyone. So those,
again, have an effect. So, but all those falls taught me how to feel responsible for my own
choices, whether to commit to that trick or kick out in that split second when you're in the air
and there's no one there to catch you. It's just you in a concrete pavement. And what you learn
in skateboarding is that there is a way to pad that hard landing, coping mechanisms, if you will,
like bailing out, sliding out, or a tumble roll to mitigate that fall, right? Here's another rule
of three, right? Using skateboarding jargon, right? It has its own jargon, its own language, right?
And this is also kind of a metaphor, right? So there's there's that abstract, right? This is this
physical thing of bailing out, sliding out, or tumble, right? But, you know, it's it's all of these
are a metaphor for these kind of coping mechanisms, right? And that contributes to the overall meaning,
okay? So these are things once again that you want to notice and then eventually you want to use
in your own writing, okay? So then there's more, right? Now there are different types of parents,
Tiger mom, the dance mom, the stage mom, the soccer mom. I'm your friend on Facebook mom that never
cut the umbilical cord mom. And I'm just, and I'm not just blaming moms. I'm also blaming dads,
probably important, right? There are the baseball dads living vicariously through your son, dad,
or daughter, the suit and tie dad, the not my son dad, right? All these parenting styles share
two things in common. First is that they all want what's best for their kids. Second, unfortunately,
the way they're going about it is isn't achieving that goal. Again, according to this writer,
so a lot of cliches here, right? Typical cliches, you know, maybe a little bit outdated, but that's
okay. So you know, mixed in, right? This list has a mix of those things and that kind of makes it
livelier, right? It makes it more interesting, right? Which is one of the features we want. And then
again, we are ultimately here talking about parenting, okay? We thought we were talking about
skateboarding, but we're actually talking about something else. And it's because they are
most likely looking at their children, not as individuals, but as investments, right? And that's
kind of the criticism here that this speaker is providing, right? But again, all of this based on
this bit, these building blocks of lists, right? Which is one of the ways, right? To, that writers
use to make their writing much more effective. And of course, that you can use to make your writing
more effective. All right, I hope that helps. Thank you for listening.