Chapter 11 Grammar and the Writing Process By Jennifer Cerda

Revising and Editing Definitions Revision- the refinement of structure and content. Editing- the correction of grammar and punctuation errors. Attention: Writers sometimes attend too much to mechanics and punctuation. They circle grammar and punctuation errors without commenting on the ideas themselves. Also, careful attention to correct grammar and punctuation may help clarify relationships or establish connections between ideas.

The main focus that contributes to the success of student writing should include: The concept of audience Having a purpose in mind Forming a clear concise focus Development/Structure of ideas The organization of ideas and support

Audience Who is the audience? What is their prior knowledge about the topic? Why should they be interested in the topic?

Focus Is the focus clear? Is the writer committed to their focus throughout the paper?

Development It there a development of ideas? Are the ideas supported? Are the examples appropriate? Do the examples have an explanation of their significance?

Organization Is the paper in a logical order? Is there a pattern of ideas? Does the pattern contribute to the main/controlling idea?

The Writing Process Prewriting Drafting Revising Editing Final Draft

Things to take into consideration while editing include: Correctness Fluency and coherence Consistency (time and tense) Style and word choice

Feedback is important! Without contextualization students assume grammatical correctness is the most important feature of a piece of writing. Novice teachers often spend more time circling errors than they do commenting on student papers or explaining at student conferences why errors are significant enough to warrant attention. Feedback is necessary during the revision and editing part of the writing process.

Resources For word choice, style, and tone: Dictionary Thesaurus Example: Tom hates peas and carrots. Synonyms for hate: abhors, abominates, despises, detests, loathes, etc. Note: Tom abominates peas and carrots is an awkward sentence. A thesaurus merely provides possible word choice options from which the writer must choose the one that fosters the overall context.

Technology as a resource Technology is also a good resource for editing. Example: Microsoft word 2002 Red lines appear underneath misspelled and typographical errors (typos). Green lines appear under sentences that contained possible grammatical or contextual errors

Issue with Word documents They fail to catch misused homonyms such as their, there, and they’re; to, too, and two. Examples of how to use homonyms There, Their, and They’re Did you see that cat over there? There are two cats on the couch. Their cat’s name is Onyx. They’re taking their cats to the vet today. Two, Too, and To I have two cats. You have cats too? We need to name that cat. We have to take our two cats to the vet too.

Word choice & Registers The process of adapting word choice and other aspects of language use the various situations is often referred to as a register. Register implies degrees of formality in a given context. Example: The letter a student might write to a friend is different from a cover letter. The level of social connection to the intended readers and listeners makes determining levels formality a very instinctive process. Common problem: Sometimes novice writers think that their use of a style may fit the occasion but in fact it doesn’t.

Another aspect of register Involves the use of specialized language or jargon and also the use of slang or colloquialisms. Examples: Legalese-referring to lawyers and the court system. Computerese-referring to technology systems.

Jargon Presumes a knowledge base that the general public or non specialists often do not possess. Writers need to be aware of the audience and sensitive about whether to use jargon when speaking to that audience.

Slang Refers to the vast array of made-up or altered words and phrases that are not part of standard vocabulary. Caution: be against using slang and colloquialisms in writing.

Creating fluency for revision Embedding and conjoining sentences are useful ways to enhance the overall fluency and coherence. Definitions Conjoining -basic approach of combining two words, phrases, or sentences to create a more detailed and more concise text overall. Embedding -allows for the inclusion of clauses that convey a range of relationships.

Bottom line of revision Students should be able to examine their drafts, noting the length, complexity, and placement of their sentences. This is important because it allows for students to have the opportunity to review the connections between ideas and they may see opportunities for embedding and conjoining that were not apparent before. Students can also examine overly long, highly embedded sentences to see if they can be simplified. Through peer review students may begin to consider options for making connections between sentences through both compounding and embedding.

That’s all the information folks! But before we go, lets have an activity.

Activity Get into pairs. Exchange your narratives with your partner. Read your partner’s narrative while keeping in mind the main concepts of: Audience, focus, development, organization, correctness, fluency, consistency, style, and word choice. Provide feedback! 