The sixth element of the Conventions The sixth element of the 6 + 1 Writing Traits PowerPoint Modified from a lesson found at http://so024.k12.sd.us/conventions.htm#Power Point

What are conventions? Spelling Punctuation Capitalization Grammar Paragraphing Having correct conventions means that the reader can pay more attention to your creative thoughts and ideas.

For starters… Do not let conventions slow down your writing…. Write, write, write… While writing, don’t stop to look up the spelling in the dictionary, etc. Circle the word in question and come back to it later. When you’re writing and you feel stumped, alert yourself to return, but don’t stop altogether. Model this technique

Spelling Look it up in the dictionary or on your dictionary app Unacceptable Excuses: I am a bad speller! Spell Check auto-corrected it this way. Remedies: Look it up in the dictionary or on your dictionary app Proofread: Ask a friend, parent or teacher Look at the resources around you

Punctuation Know the different types of punctuation. period . comma , question mark ? exclamation point ! colon : hyphen – ellipse … parentheses ( ) How are all of these punctuation marked used?

Capitalization When do I use capital letters? Names of people – Christopher Columbus Words used as names – Nana Titles used as names – President Obama Abbreviations – NFL Proper Nouns – New York City Historical Information – Civil War Organizations - Republican

Capitalization continued Geographic Names – Yokosuka, Kanagawa-shi Nationalities – Japanese Languages – Spanish Titles – Wonder First Words – The sky is blue. Days & Months – Monday, September Holidays – Labor Day Greetings – Dear Charlie, Closings – Your friend, Margo

Grammar Check all your sentences. Do your subjects & verbs agree? Do you have sentence fragments or run-on sentences that don’t work? (Refer back to the sentence fluency trait) Do your subjects & verbs agree? Yuki walk to the fishing hole. (nope) Tyrone, Shaun, and Amy loves to go fishing. (nope) * Read aloud to check; share with your “editor”

Paragraphing A paragraph is a group of sentences that concentrate on one topic. Indent each time you begin a new topic. Most paragraphs should include a… Topic sentence – tells what the paragraph is about Body – detail sentences that back up the main idea Closing sentence – sums up the big idea Discuss how some ideas can be shortened paragraphs, especially dialogue.

Conventions In order to be good at editing you need to develop an eye for mistakes. Check everything Check it again Read it out loud Have a friend check it It is hard to edit your own paper because you know what you want to say, although that may not be what is written on the page. Some teachers think it’s the most important trait… however, it’s one trait! But know that you are JUDGED by your conventions expertise. Show them what you’ve got!

Let’s look at our drafts…  The End