Embedded Files
Planning
Planning
What is the purpose?
What is the purpose?
P - persuade someone to do something or think the same as you
I - inform (You'll give us new information.)
E - entertain (It's for fun!)
Who is my audience?
Who is my audience?
little kids: kind characters, funny, simple problem, simple language, clear facts
students: action, gory details, examples, drama, friendship, emotion, dialogue
adults: polite, formal language, lots of reasons or details
Put your main idea in the middle.
Put bubbles for the introduction and conclusion.
3. Put a bubble for each of the main parts (these will be your paragraphs.)
4. Add details to each section. Think about what you MUST say.
Think about the main idea and make sure you put it in the beginning (a hint), middle, and end.
Conventions
Conventions
What is a run-on sentence?
What is a run-on sentence?
A sentence has 4 things:
a subject (who or what)
a predicate (what is happening - verb or action)
a complete thought
punctuation at the end
Punctuation helps your reader understand when a thought is finished. Also, it gives the reader time to pause for comprehension.
What is a sentence.docx
When you put too many ideas together, you make a run-on sentence. It is harder for your reader to understand and it can be tiring to read.
Tips:
When you are writing, put in the periods right away when you finish a thought.
Re-read your writing out-loud. Where should the pauses go? Do you have punctuation there?
When Do We Use Uppercase Letters?
When Do We Use Uppercase Letters?
1. At the beginning of a sentence.
1. At the beginning of a sentence.
The first word in quotation marks.
The teacher said, “Good morning everyone!”
2. I (when you are talking about yourself)
2. I (when you are talking about yourself)
When I went to the store, I bought an orange.
3. Names
3. Names
a) People and Titles (Tom Holland, Ms. Newbold)
b) Places or Companies (Dollarama, Netflix, Charlottetown)
c) Times (Monday, February, Valentine’s Day)
d) Books, Movies, TV Shows, Video Games (Amulet, Fortnite, Toy Story)
How Do We Punctuate Dialogue?
How Do We Punctuate Dialogue?
1) Put quotation marks around the part that the person is saying. It acts like a speech bubble. The marks look like a 66 and 99.
"I'm having a good time"
2) Put a comma between the dialogue and the surrounding sentence.
Sam told me, "I'm having a good time," but his face said he wasn't.
3) Start a new paragraph when a new person starts talking. Don't forget to tell the reader who is talking.
Sam told me, "I'm having a good time," but his face said he wasn't.
"Cheer up," I said. "You're not losing that badly!"
4) If you are using an exclamation point or a question mark in your dialogue, you do not need the comma, because you already have punctuation. However, you still use a lowercase letter to finish the sentence.
"Why am I always rolling a one?" he complained.
*Check out this video if you have questions.
Use Paragraph Breaks
Use Paragraph Breaks
It is really tiring to look at a page of text with no breaks. You are making your reader work hard to focus. It is also difficult to tell when things are changing.
Use paragraphs to group things that happen together.
Use breaks to show when things are changing (a different time, place, feeling, action, etc.)
Use breaks to separate people who are talking (just like a speech bubble.)
Paragraphs can be used for dramatic effect, as well.
When we are writing, we can indent the first line of a new paragraph. Or, we can leave a space between paragraphs. Choose which one you want to do.
When you are editing, you can leave a note for yourself to add a paragraph by adding a symbol that looks like a backwards P.
Voice
Voice
Read your work out loud and notice where you put emphasis and where you pause. You want to make your reader do the same thing. You want to focus what your reader is thinking and feeling. For a silly example of this, look at The Book With No Pictures by BJ Novak.
1)
You want: to show a strong emotion (excitement, surprise, horror)
Try: Exclamation Point (!) with bold font and/or ALL CAPS
Example: "Hey! That's MY cake!"
2)
You want: to build tension or suspense
Try: ellipsis (...) and different fonts
Example: The teacher looked into her cup...and saw a large black fly SWIMMING in her tea.
3)
You want: a hurried feeling OR a sentence with a punch
Try: short sentences or paragraphs, exclamation points
Example: Suddenly, he fell. CRUNCH!
4)
You want: to create a powerful image
Try: lots of detail and descriptive words (slow down)
Example: The crystals on her bracelet slipped off the broken string, one by one. In each one, she could see the horrible reflection of her ex-best friend's laughing face.
*Look at the story without pictures.
Transition Words
Transition Words
"A long time ago, in a galaxy far away..." ~Star Wars
Transition words help the readers understand how things in our stories are connected. It lets them know when you are introducing new information, changing the time or place, or ending your story. Without transitions, your story may be confusing in places.
Transitions of Time
Transitions of Time
Several years ago...
Nearly a week ago...
In 2053...
Monday morning...
A little after three o'clock...
Early that morning...
Later that day...
After / before...
Earlier... (for flashbacks)
Moments later...
While this was happening...
Meanwhile...
First...then...next
Transitions of Ideas
Transitions of Ideas
and
because
also / too
but
however
although
yet
still
Transitions of Place
Transitions of Place
above
around
behind
below
beside
beyond
down
here
in front of
inside
nearby
next to
on
on the other side
over
through
Introductions
Introductions
Fiction
Fiction
Give your reader the 4Ws:
Who? Tell your reader who the main character is and basic information about him/her/them. (name, age or grade, looks)
When? Give your reader an idea if the is modern day, in the past, or in the future. If the time of year is important, include it. The time of day is often important.
Where? Tell your reader about the setting (a school, a spaceship, a haunted house.) If the country is important, include it.
What? What is happening before the main events of the story?
Then...make sure you have a hook. There should be something to interest the reader, so they want to read more! It can go at the beginning or the end of the paragraph.
Example:
Jennifer knew from the moment she woke up that something was wrong. Her foot got tangled in the sheets, and she fell as she got out of bed. When she looked in the mirror, all she could see were knots in her messy brown hair. Her toast started burning while she looked for her favourite black sweater. When she looked out the window, she saw a pile of fresh snow burying her car in front of her apartment. At this rate, she was going to be late for school. And this was just the start of her problems. She had a long day of work ahead of her.
Conclusions
Conclusions
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