E DITING AND R EVISING N ARRATIVE E SSAYS

I NTRODUCTION  Underline the hook you used in RED MAP PENCIL.  Underline the thesis statement you used in RED MAP PENCIL.  Circle the key word(s) from the prompt in the thesis statement.

C ONCLUSION  Underline the answers to the following questions in PINK MAP PENCIL.  What did you learn from the event/experience?  How did you feel when the event/experience was over?  How did the event/experience change you?

V OCABULARY  Underline weak vocabulary words in BLACK MAP PENCIL.  Replace the weak vocabulary words with more colorful words or synonyms from the thesaurus.

V IVID A CTION V ERBS  Search your essay for verbs and underline them in GREEN MAP PENCIL.  Replace weak or linking verbs with stronger, more vivid action verbs; use the thesaurus to help!  Linking verbs—  have has had do does did am is are was were may might must should could would

D ESCRIPTION AND D ETAIL  Underline descriptive adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases in ORANGE MAP PENCIL.  If you do not have enough “orange,” you must add more detail and description to your essay.

F IGURATIVE L ANGUAGE  Underline examples of figurative language in YELLOW MAP PENCIL.  Simile—comparison using like or as The balloon is as red as a ripe cherry.  Metaphor—comparison NOT using like or as The squirrel is King Kong in his mind.  Personification—giving an object human characteristics The pencil danced across the page as the ideas flowed from my brain into my hand.  Hyperbole—an exaggeration for a specific effect This has been the longest day in history.  Idiom—an expression that does not match the sum of its words I was on top of the world when I heard the news.  If you do not have at least four of the above examples, you must add them to your essay.

F RAGMENTS, R UN - ONS, AND S ENTENCE T YPES  If you are missing a subject and/or a verb and the sentence does NOT express a complete thought, you are to fix the fragment.  If you have a run-on sentence  Join the sentences with a comma and conjunction (and, for, so, but…)  Join the sentences with a semicolon  Separate the sentences with an end punctuation mark and capitalization  You need to have at least one of each of the following sentence patterns  Sentence with a comma and conjunction  Sentence with a semicolon  Sentence with introductory phrases or clauses with a comma  Underline the sentence types with PURPLE MAP PENCIL.

T RANSITIONS  Sentences can not begin with the following words: so, and, but, well, like, anyways, then  Any sentence that begins with these words must be revised by using transitions.  Use your transitions handout in your writing folder.

U SAGE OF H OMOPHONES  Search your composition for the following commonly misused words:  There, their, they’re  Its, it’s  Your, you’re  Then, than  Are, our

S PELLING  Circle any words that you think MIGHT be misspelled.  Use the dictionary to double check the spelling. If you get stuck or stumped, please ask.

T HE O BVIOUS S TUFF  Check capitalization. Be sure the pronoun, “I,” is capitalized as well as al other words that require capitalizing.  Check punctuation. Be sure you have included the correct punctuation. Check dialogue again!!!  Be sure you have NOT skipped lines between paragraphs.  You are to indent the width of your pinky.  HANDWRITING MATTERS!! Write neatly!