Steps for better writing & scoring

by Elaine Gallagher

HERE ARE SOME STEPS TO BETTER WRITING.

 

1. FIVE STEPS TO GOOD WRITING

• Pre-writing
• Drafting
• Revising
• Proof reading
• Publishing

 

2. PROOF-READING CHECKLIST FOR STUDENTS

    Your name: ______________  Date ______

• ___ Did I spell all the words correctly?
• ___ Did I indent each paragraph?
• ___ Did I write each sentence as a complete thought?
• ___ Do I have any run-on sentences?
• ___ Did I begin each sentence with a capital letter?
• ___ Did I use capital letters correctly in other places?
• ___ Did I end each sentence with the correct punctuation        mark?
• ___ Did I use commas, apostrophes, and other               punctuation correctly?
• ___ Did I read my paper aloud to myself or to a friend?

 

• SAMPLE RUBRIC SCORING FOR WRITING    

             Use grade equivalents, such as:

• 4 = Excellent, well-above expectations:  95+
• 3= Very good, above expectations:         85 – 94
• 2= Good, meeting expectations:              75 – 84
• 1= Below expectations:                             65 – 74
• 0= Do it again:  no score                          (Seek help.)

 

• SCORING EXPECTATIONS

SCORE 4

• Correct purpose and audience
• Effective elaboration
• Consistent organization
• Clear sense of order and completeness
• Fluent, good vocabulary choices

SCORE 3

• Correct purpose and audience
• Moderately well elaborated
• Organized, but possible digressions
• Clear, effective language

SCORE 2

• Correct purpose and audience
• Some elaboration
• Some graphic details
• Gaps in organization
• Limited language control

SCORE 1

• Attempts to address audience
• Wrong purpose
• Brief / vague
• Unelaborated
• Wanders off / on topic
• Lack of language control
• Poor or no organization

SCORE 0

• Off topic, or copied the writing assignment
• Blank paper, or did not write enough to score
• Language other than English
• Illegible or incoherent

 

Students can work together in pairs to help each other…NOT to correct or grade each other’s papers, but to read each other’s papers and make comments, suggestions, and advise about necessary correction

 

IDEAS FOR NARRATIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

An expressive narrative…writing «a story»

The writer will sequence events into a story on a specified topic:

 

PRODUCT: Story

ORGANIZATION: Chronological (progression through time)

STORY ELEMENTS: Use the basic elements of a short story with a fully-developed beginning, middle, and end.  This must be more than a sequence of events.  Writer must establish some sort of problem which is solved during the events of the story.

TRANSITIONAL WORDS and PHRASES: then, after, after that, soon, while, later, before, during, next, when, meanwhile, as soon as, finally, at last

NARRATIVE WRITING

1. INTRODUCTION
2.  FIRST: Setting, location, characters, time of day (once upon a time, far away, in old times when wishes came true, on a space station in the year 2,134)
3.  THEN: The problem
4.  LAST: A solution
5. CONCLUSION: happy ending (They lived happily ever after.  They woke up from a dream. They arrived home safely. Etc.)

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A STORY FORMULA:

SOMEBODY    –    WANTED   –    BUT    –    SO    –   THEN

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ELABORATION STRATEGIES

Similies/metaphors…..color, shape, size, texture

(The clouds looked like cotton balls. The lion was like a huge version of my pet cat.)

Conversation…..two complete exchanges

Adjectives or adverbs….1 or 2 with nouns or verbs

(The tall, handsome prince silently glimpsed the princess in the ugly, dark tower.)

 

WRITE SOMETHING EVERY DAY!!!

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