2. Word Choice I do not choose the right word. I get rid of the wrong one. –A.E. Houseman Say EXACTLY what you WANT Keep it NATURAL The dog was big and mean. or A hundred pounds of snarling yellow fur launched itself from the porch, straining at a rope as thin as spaghetti.

3. Tips for success in Word Choice Keep a journal Collect quotations Think of another way to say it Think verbs Make a picture Incorporate vocabulary words Read!!!

4. Forbidden Words Create a list of ten words. Ex.: said, a lot, very, so, much, great, beautiful, big, small, etc.

5. Paul went down the road. Rewrite the sentence to make Paul seem… Very happy In a hurry Old Lost As if hes trying to hide from someone Extremely tired

6. Sentence Fluency Notice how your sentences begin. These beginnings are repetitive and boring: –We went to the beach. We had fun. We saw seagulls. Yawn! Vary the openings and combine very short sentences. –Despite being overrun with pesky seagulls, we had fun at the beach. Dont let sentences drift on too long. If a sentence feels unwieldy, out of control, slice it in half. Make two sentences.

7. How can students achieve sentence fluency? Read aloud and do so often. Practice free-writing. Play around with sentences. Experiment! Review a sequence of sentences in your writing. Do you see a pattern? Use the sentence structures sheet to inspire variety. Use various voices.

8. Quick Fixes Get rid of there is and there are sentence beginnings. Avoid the passive voice. If you use pronouns, make sure its clear what they refer to! Combine a series of little, choppy sentences into one smooth sentence. Use transitional words/phrases to show how ideas relate. Add details to complete the pictures.

10. Onceuponatime Therewasnosuchthingastransitionaldeviceswithinandbet ween sentencesspacesbetweenwordsandsentences didnotexistandpunctuationmarksweremanyyearsinthef uture itcametopassthatsomescholarcontrivedtheideaof separatingonesentencefromanotherwithablankspace it was not too long after this that another scholar hit upon the next logical step of separating the words within the sentence with blank spaces while this did much to end some of the confusion it was still a little difficult to tell where one sentence ended and another began to resolve this the period was invented. closely on the heels of the period came the capital letter to begin the sentence. We were on our way. At this point in the evolution of the sentence it was up to a fiendishly clever or sadistic scholar to introduce internal punctuation marks; the world, by this way, has not been the same since.

11. Conventions Spelling Punctuation Grammar/usage Paragraphing Capitalization

12. Tips for success in Conventions Edit both the electronic and hard copy. Edit spelling from the bottom up. Make all rough drafts double spaced. Learn copy editors symbols. Start in the middle. Be a sleuth. Have other people edit your text. Keep practice short and focused. Work on one kind of error at a time.

13. Real newspaper headlines Iraqi Head Seeks Arms Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over Miners Refuse to Work after Death Stolen Painting Found by Tree Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

14. Bulletin Bloopers Ladies, dont forget the rummage sale. It is good to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands. Next Sunday is the family hayride and bonfire at the Fowlers. Bring your own hot dogs and guns. Friends welcome. Everyone come for a fun time. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say hell to someone who doesnt care much about you. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the hall. Music will follow. At evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be What is Hell? Come early and listen to our choir practice. Weight Watchers will meet at 7:00 PM. Please use the large double door at the side entrance.

15. Questions???