Here you will find various traits and directions to aid in your writing and grammar / punctuation / spelling.
The Process of Writing
The following steps are part of the writing process:
- Topic : Choose what you will write about first. Your topic should be clear and well defined.
- Reasearch : Gather facts to support your statements and opinions. Try and choose a topic or subject that you have previous knowlege on. When available, try to cite reputable sources.
- Format : The requirements for writing a letter,essay, speech, story, or journal entry are all different. Make sure that you follow the requirements of the format that you are using. For example, for essays, try to have around three - five paragraphs, each with about eight sentences. For narrative stories, it is always better to write in short paragraph form and use proper dialogie spacing.
- Purpose : Your purpose will focus the main idea of the writing. Are you writing to inform, entertain, instruct, or persuade your audience?
- Audience : Your choice of words and writing style should be shaped by your audience. Are you writing for your peears, younger children, or adults? The format for a letter to your friend would have a different writing style than if you were to write a letter to the mayor of your city.
- Outline : Write your thesis (topic) statement clearly. Then write your subtopics in logical or chronological order that leads to the conclusion.
- Point of View : There are three different point of views; first person, second person, and third person. First person is generally used in a self-written narrative story, using the words I and Me. Second person is mont commonly used for instructions, using the words You and Your. Third person is one of the most common, and offeres a detatched point of view using the words he, she, they, and them.
- Rough Draft : Writing a rough draft helps follow your outline, keeping your audience and point of view in order. Each paragraph or dialogue should deal with only one main idea.
- Edit and Revise : Check your work for clarity and spelling, grammar, as well as formatting errors. Now is the time to go back and change any pieces that did not quite fit in. It is a good idea to have a peer read your work and critique on it. Here at SpotLight, we have Beta Readers for that very purpose.
- Final Draft : Prepare a neat copy for submission!
Parts of Speech
There are several different parts of speech used to make a piece of writing.
NOUNS:
- Common nouns refer to any place, person, thing, or idea.
- Examples: woman, country
- Proper nouns refer to any particular place, person, thing, or idea.
- Examples: Jazzie, Norway
PRONOUNS
- Pronouns take the place of a noun.
- Nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence / clause.
- Example: He went to bed.
- Possesive case shows ownership.
- Example: The waterbed is his.
- Objective case recieves actionor is after a prepostion.
- Example: They sold him a leaky waterbed.
VERBS
- Verbs show action or state of being and the time of that action or state.
- Examples:
- Past : She waited in the car.
- Present: She needs gas now.
- Future: She will enjoy her trip.
ADVERBS
- Adverbs describe verbs, adjective, or other adverbs and specify in what manner, where, when, and how much.
- He whimpered miserably.
ADJECTIVES
- Adjectives describe nouns and specify size, colour, number, place, and so on.
- A small light showed in the upper window of the old factory.
ARTICLES
- Articles introduce nouns and are sometimes classified as adjectives. There are only three articles in the English languauge: a, an, and the.
- Example: The taxi screeched to a stop on an abandoned sidewalk.
PREPOSITIONS
- Prepostitions show how a noun or pronoun is related to another word in a sentence.
- Example: I fell down the stairs.
CONJUNCTIONS
- Conjuntions join phrases, words, or clauses.
- Example: Take the cookie and do not eat it until I tell you to.
INTERJECTIONS
- Interjections are also know as exclamations and are indicated by the use of the exclamation point (!).
- Wow! Look at that horse go!
Spelling Rules
- I before E, except after C, or when sounded as A, as in neighing or weighing.
- Final consonants are not doubled when the word ends in more than one consonant.
- conform - conformed - conforming
- help - helped - helping
- When words end in a soft "ce" or "ge", keep the "e" before "-able" or "-ous".