ENTRIES DUE MARCH 3RD YGA Writing Contest

Drafting Write/Finish your rough draft REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING:  No more than 5 pages  Topic: Your choice  Font Style: Times New Roman  Font Size: 12 point  Double-spaced  Each page must have the header below:  ABC (your initials) 7 th RESA14

REVISING IMPROVE your writing by completing the following steps….

Revising-Adding Transitions Add a transition word to each of the five paragraphs (near beginning or near the end of the paragraph) Use your Transition List from your Toolbox to make sure the transitions are STRONG and POWERFUL. Do not use these: first, next, then, finally. Highlight the transition words.

Revising-Improving Word Choice Re-read your essay Highlight drop-dead words (over used, lost meaning, BORING) Use your Toolbox or a thesaurus to replace the words with a stronger, more powerful, more descriptive word!

Drop Dead Words AdverbsVerbsAdjectivesNouns/Pronoun s VeryLike/loveFunIt ReallyWalkCool/awesomeStuff NextSaidGood/greatFriend AlsoGo/wentPrettyHome TooGetUglyThing MakeMad Bad Sad

Revising-Coordinate Adjectives 2 adjectives working together equally Can switch the order Are always separated by a comma Ex: The musician played a beautiful, haunting melody. YOUR JOB: Add at least one pair of coordinate adjectives to your essay. Circle your coordinate adjectives.

Revising-Adding an Appositive Appositive- a word or phrase that renames a noun or pronoun A comma comes before and after appositives An appositive can be removed & sentence will still make sense Ex. Interactive video games, Wii Fit and Just Dance, are being used in P.E. classes across the nation. The book was written by Jim Murphy, author of 30 non-fiction texts. Add an appositive to your essay. Underline it.

Revising- Improving Style Simile: I was swept along in the crowd like a leaf in a windstorm. Metaphor: I became a rock kicked along by the crowd down the street. Personification: Enthusiasm for P.E. would rocket sky-high! Hyperbole: The wind swept through DeKoven Street like a typhoon. YOUR JOB: Add one sentence that contains figurative language to your essay.

Revising- Elaborating Write more=Higher score Add examples, specific details, adjectives, adverbs, appositives, more figurative language. Your job: Add something to each of your five paragraphs to improve the content of the paragraph.

YGA- Edit and Publish! Run spell check on the entire document. Read over your writing. Have the person beside you read over your story. Make sure each page has the following at the top (ABC being your initials): ABC7 th RESA 14 Print and turn in to Mrs. Darnell