It's Monday? Write Again! #6
Submitted by kim on Tue, 10/23/2012 - 18:48 in Homeschooling, Writing
When you revise a piece of writing, think of yourself as a photographer. Sometimes a photographer takes a photo using a wide-angle lens, getting the whole picture. Sometimes he or she takes a photo close up, zooming in on just one part.
Writers use both approaches when they revise. They focus on the big ideas of the whole paper, and they work with individual sentences and words.
The Wide Angle
- Read the entire piece of writing.
- Did the writing fulfill the purpose or assignment?
- Is it written for the target audience?
- Does the overall structure and organization help or distract from the writing?
- Does your personal narrative have characters, a setting, a problem, and a resolution?
Zooming In
- Does the story have enough supporting evidence?
- Is each individual paragraphs about one idea only?
- Do the sentences within paragraphs support the idea of the paragraph?
Micro Shot
- Is there variety in sentence structure and length?
- Do all the sentences make sense if read in isolation?
- Does the word order within each sentence seem logical?
- Does the word choice work for this audience?
Remember revising involves changing the content of your writing. Revising is not working on spelling, mechanics, grammar, and punctuation. Research shows as students focus on revising the content of their writing, and work on getting their ideas down, it helps improves mechanics, grammar, and punctuation.
