Quarter 2 - Creative Writing
WRITING LESSONS - Quarter 2
* Elements of Narration (continued from Quarter 1)
+ setting (see Q.1)
+ character (see Q.1)
+ point of view (See Writer's Inc., p.239) - both who tells the story and in what tense it is told
- first person narration
> story told by a character in the story using first person perspective and pronouns
("I" and "me" and "we")
- second person narration
> addresses the reader directly utilizing the second person pronoun "you"
> much less common and conventional in fictional writing than first or third person narration
> generally to be avoided in formal writing
- third person narration
> story told from the perspective of a narrator (either omniscient or limited) using third person pronouns
("he" and "she" and "they")
- present tense, past tense, and future tense
+ plot (See Writer's Inc., p.239)
+ theme (See Writer's Inc., p.241)
* Literal versus figurative language (cont. from Quarter 1)
+ simile (see Q.1)
+ metaphor (see Q.1)
+ personification (see Q.1)
+ idiom (See Writer's Inc., p.139)
* various literary techniques
+ epiphany (See Writer's Inc., p.235)
+ suspense
+ foreshadowing (See Writer's Inc., p.137)
* 3-paragraph essay format
+ paragraph 1 begins with a sentence introducing the topic, then continues with the discussion of the first point
+ paragraph 2 discusses the second point
+ paragraph 3 discusses the third point, then ends with a concluding sentence which wraps up the topic
+ NOTE: a good paragraph contains a minimum of three sentences, and a good sentence is usually at least as many words long as you are years old.
* Agreement - your writing must be consistent (in terms of agreement) in the following ways:
- must be the same in number (singular/plural)
- must be the same in gender (masculine/feminine)
- must be in the same tense (past/present/future)
- must stay in the same point of view (1st/3rd person)
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Grammar lessons, listed below, are derived from common and consistent errors made by the students in their writing for class. This is not a grammar course, per se, and systematic grammar instruction should continue at home as part of your language arts curriculum.
GRAMMAR LESSONS - Quarter 2
* We are continuing to learn how to avoid sentence fragments and avoid run-on sentences.
* Ways to correct a run-on sentence:
+ Make it two separate sentences. (Use a period and a second capital letter.)
+ Place a comma and a conjunction between them. (There is no second capital letter.)
+ Separate them with a semi-colon. (There is no second capital letter here, either.)
* Parts of Speech Review:
+ verb - a word that shows action or state of being
+ noun - a person, place, thing, or idea
+ adjective - a word that modifies (further describes) a noun
+ adverb - a word that modifies (further describes an action (verb) - often ends in -ly
* third person singular indefinite pronoun:
+ We discussed the current "politically correct feminist" climate of our changing language as related to
conventions regarding the third person singular indefinite pronoun when referencing an individual
whose gender is unknown. Click on the above link for a thorough discussion of the rules.
* either/or versus neither/nor
* review of rules for forming possessives
(Click on the link for a concise summary of the rules.)
* rules for using commas:
+ to separate two or more adjectives modifying the same noun (See Writer's Inc., p.457.2)
+ between items in a series (See Writer's Inc., p.458.3)