For the week of March 11-15
The Art of Revision:
Writer’s Workshop
Ninth grade students will
be revisiting their Of Mice and Men essays next week in an effort to
evaluate and assess their strengths and weaknesses. Students will go through a
revision process with peer review to revise their introduction and one body
paragraph. Students will aim to make their essays “sing.” See “The Art of
Revision” below for the process we will use.
Inquiry Projects continue…
By now all students
should have turned in and received back their inquiry proposals and first
weekly report. Students should be FINISHED
with one book source by MONDAY, March 10th.
Students should have their SECOND book
source by next week.
Students should complete
the “One-Pager,” aka “Illustrated Annotation” by TUESDAY, March 11th, with the following requirements:
1 Central Image (must
capture the theme of what was read)
4 Brainstorms (Each three
words or less, capturing big ideas/topics from book)
3 Citations, aka quotes
(at least 2 sentences, with page numbers)
2 Questions (Must be
open-ended, ideas the book wrestles with)
2 Answers (Cannot be “yes”
or “no”)
1 Universal connection
(thematic, no judgments)
Remember:
Do a rough plan/draft to
make your final the best it can be.
Write neatly or type
Use a lot of color to
illustrate your thoughts and ideas clearly.
Write the title and
author’s name clearly on the page
Your central image can be
digital, hand-drawn, or collaged from magazines. Should illustrate an important
metaphor or visual from the reading.
Brainstorms should be
important or repeated words/phrases/or concepts,
Citations should support
your central image. Use different colors and/or writing styles to individualize
them.
Questions and andswers
should reflect your Guiding Question(s). Be thoughtful and creative.
The universal connection should
reflect the importance of the book and what it meant to you.
DON’T: settle for the
bare minimum, use lined paper, leave blank spaces, use pencil
The Art of Revision
“I am telling you what I
know—words have music and if you are a musician you will write to hear them.”
― E.L. Doctorow,
novelist
“Writing and rewriting
are a constant search for what it is one is saying.” — John Updike, novelist
“Until students are able
to assess and evaluate the quality of their own work, their writing will not improve.”—Carol Jago,
writing-teacher guru
Bravo, you’ve written your first draft. Now, time
to make your essay sing…
1. Reread your essay.
2. Start with the “music”: Highlight lines in warm colors
(pink/orange) words/phrases/sentences/paragraphs that are “luminous.” These
should shine with clarity, ring with musicality, sparkle with specific words,
or sound a strong idea/example/interpretation.
3. On the second read,
notice what does not “sing” or flow,
notice where something is not fully explained for someone who hasn’t read the
book, notice where an idea is underdeveloped, notice what sentences/ideas are
muddy or awkward, notice where word choice is less than stellar.
4. Highlight in cool
colors (blue/green) words/phrases/sentences/paragraphs that are not
flowing/singing/[insert your favorite metaphor for strong writing], and that
you think you can strengthen, either by yourself or with support.
On your Revision Plan in your Writer’s Notebook:
5. Write down one to five strengths your essay has, using language
from the prompt checklist.
6. Write down at least three things you think you can do to
strengthen your essay, using language from the prompt checklist.
7. Write down what you would like feedback on from
someone else. How can someone else’s feedback help you to improve your work?
(ex. “I need help strengthening my vocabulary,” “I need help with
organization—what order should my sentences/paragraphs go in?” “I need help
summarizing/introducing a quote,” “I need help with grammar and editing.”)
Again, use the language of the prompt checklist.
8. Find someone you believe can give you feedback that will strengthen
your essay. Take notes on what they say, ask questions, and then switch roles.
9. Pick two paragraphs to revise. One should be the introduction, one
should be a body paragraph. You will
need a copy of the book. Consider some ideas for revision:
a. put aside your own
first draft entirely and begin again, with new understanding of your ideas,
your purpose, and what you want to make luminous;
b. work with your first
draft to use existing structure but add more “music,” more “flow”;
c. try a whole new
approach to the point you are making, focusing on a new section from the novel
to analyze, with fresh quotes;
d. find a fresh approach
to the organization—have a “conversation” with the text, where you weave in
more than just one quote to really make your ideas shine.
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