You need:1) Your draft2) A pen or pencil3) A separate sheet of paper4) A few markers or highlighters

REVISION STRATEGIES: LET’S BE AWESOME.

1) Underline your focus sentence or where the focus fi rst becomes clear.

2) Continue to underline any places where you refer to that focal idea.

If you cannot underline much, make a note to yourself to refer back to your focus.

SELECT A HIGHLIGHTER/MARKER TO REPRESENT “FOCUS.”

1) Circle every verb in your paper. Remember that verbs are action words.

2) Make sure that you circle EVERY time you use: am, is, are, was, were, have, has, had

VERBS DISPLAY POWER.

On this page, actually write out a list of the fi rst word of every sentence in your paper.

Example: I, We, When, I, The, Then, If, Also, I, We, Next, We, He, Then, I, We, I, Then, Additionally, I, Finally, I

What do you notice?

TAKE OUT THE OTHER PIECE OF PAPER.

1) How many times do you use the word “I” in your paper? Count it up.2) Are there other words/expressions that you use too much? What are they?

WHILE WE’RE THINKING ABOUT REPETITION…

1) Highlight the transitional words you use. 2) Do you have transitions? Are they all simplistic?

If this is a weakness, you should pick up a transitions handout or google search “Wisconsin Writing Center transitions.” This site provides several using transition words by category.

SELECT A COLOR TO REPRESENT TRANSITION WORDS

AND PHRASES.

When we read Morley’s essay about the skate park, many words stood out. Words such as “scraped,” “turtle-like,” and “inaugurated” accomplished the exact mood and imagery Morley intended. Is your diction accomplishing the same thing?

1) Select one color and use it to mark 4-5 examples of perfect diction—the exact right word for that moment.

2) Using the other color, mark 4-5 words that strike you as weak. Work on fixing those.

BEST DICTION—PICK 2 COLORS.

Feeling brain dead yet?

Don’t worry. There’s only one more slide!

Do you have a title?What does it convey?

If you are stuck, consider using one of the following methods for creating a title:--a pun related to your story (depending on tone)--a key place or person mentioned in the story--a topic word that relates to your focus

TITLES