Crafting Quality Writing: Tips and Guidelines for Strong Composition

1. 02.07.2011WRITER’S WORKSHOP English II CP | Mr. Smith

2. Warm-up • In your opinion, what is “good” writing? How would you describe it? What does it look like or sound like?

3. Vocab List 02

4. Vocab List 02 • candid – honest; blunt; direct • Brenda was candid when she told Jeff she never really liked him. • discernment – insight; ability to see things clearly • Police detectives have excellent discernment that helps them solve crimes. • disdain – contempt; scorn • Most girls that Jeff tries to hit on tell him no because they have disdain for him. • abstract – theoretical; lacking substance • Freedom and justice are abstract ideas; you can’t see or touch them.

5. Vocab List 02 • temperate – moderate; restrained • The weather in North Carolina is generally temperate – not too hot, not too cold. • enigma – mystery; riddle • The Sunday crossword puzzle can be so difficult it seems like an enigma. • inevitable – unavoidable; bound to happen • If you don’t do your homework, it is inevitable that you’ll earn a poor grade. • eccentric – not conventional; odd; irregular • The eccentric man would only eat foods that were white.

6. Vocab List 02 • provincial – limited in outlook to one’s own small experience; narrow • The provincial young man from the country didn’t understand the ways of the big city. • futile – hopeless; without effect • Some scientists believe that it’s futile to attempt time travel.

7. NC Writing Rubric (FOSS) [ Mini-lesson ]

8. Features of quality writing • Focus • Organization • Support • Style

9. Focus • The writer establishes a main point that is clear. • Can be stated either at beginning or end • Can be implied • The writer sticks to the main point throughout the composition.

10. Organization • Composition has a clear and strong sense of beginning, middle, and end. • The ideas in the composition progress logically (within the entire composition and within the individual paragraphs). • General to specific • Abstract to concrete • Chronological (order based on time)

11. Support • Author provides clear concrete details and commentary. • Support must be sufficient and relevant. • Sufficient = there are enough details to support the main idea • Relevant = the details used clearly relate to the main idea

12. Style • Writing is fluent (i.e. it “flows”). • The author demonstrates strong word choice (e.g. no good, thing, very, etc). • The author uses a variety of strong sentences (e.g. simple statements, complex sentences, questions, fragments).

13. Conventions & Mechanics • Don’t forget that your writing should also have correction conventions and mechanics (i.e. spelling, punctuation, and grammar).

14. So what? • As you write, keep these criteria in mind. • As you revise and edit, check that your writing meets these criteria. • As you conference with others, check that their writing meets these criteria.

15. Protected Writing Time

16. Agenda • Definition Essay • Prewriting (Brainstorming, Shaping the Essay) • Drafting

17. Author Share

18. Be proud of your work! • One idea • One detail • One sentence • One paragraph • Whole essay

19. Homework

20. For tomorrow: • Meaningful sentences