1. 9th grade style expectations
STYLE CAN BE DEFINED AS HOW THE WRITER EXPRESSES HIM OR HERSELF. OR AS I MIGHT TELL A YOUNGER STUDENT, “IT’S HOW YOU SAY WHAT YOU SAY.” THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF WHAT 9TH GRADE WRITING SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT SOUND LIKE.

2. 9th grade style expectations
Creative Titles
Do not use book titles or assignment titles as your title for anything longer than a short response.
Try alliteration or figurative language or a subtitle.
9th grade “grabbers” and “zingers”
NEVER use onomatopoeia in isolation or “imagine”!
Try to move away from using fragments.
Try to grab and zing with your own words –ie. no more quotes!
The best zingers connect back to the grabbers.
Essays
only

3. 9th grade style expectations
Vocabulary
Ask yourself –do you sound more like an 8th grader or a 10th grader? Without forcing them, try to include at least two SAT per paragraph, knowing that longer paragraphs should include more. However, remember tone, formality of the assignment, and audience when writing.
Transitions
Fit best at the beginning of paragraphs.
Move beyond simple transitions such as “first”, “next”, “another”, or “last” to phrases/clauses.
Avoid repetitiveness with transitions.
EX. “One reason that…” followed by “Another reason that…”

4. 9th grade style expectations
Show evidence of the plethora of style tips you’ve received over the years; know that style is not a checklist. Rather, ask yourself “what did you do?” depending on the type of writing. Did I use… -magic 3’s like if’s, and’s or but’s, or snap-crackle-pop -alliteration (or other sound devices such as consonance/assonance) -punctuation variety such as a semi-colon or colon -irony (either situationally or verbal) -hyperbole to help create tone Etc. etc. etc.

5. 9th grade style expectations
Words and/or phrases to avoid:
Vague words such as nice, good/bad, stuff, said, pretty, and things
Linking verbs (this encourages STRONG action verbs)
Phrases that give a play by play… “This paper will explain.”
Cliché or overused expressions such as “This quote shows”, “All in all” and “In conclusion”

6. 9th grade style expectations
And because we often write about literature…
Remember that it has its own style rules (literary present, pronoun usage, and incorporation/citation of excerpts).
Be sure to TAG the text by listing the title, author, and genre of the text early in the writing.
Avoid the “in this book”… it’s redundant.