1. Mr. Aasen’s Writing Roundup Please note: This is in no way, in any shape or form, an endorsement for country music.

2. The Writing Process 1.Pre-writing – this starts by getting your ideas down on paper. Your only focus here is to generate and brainstorm ideas. 2.Drafting – during this stage you are focusing your ideas into the assigned format. In other words, you are organizing your ideas and getting ready to put together the writing assignment. 3.Revising – you are fixing your writing until there are no errors. Editing and proofreading are taking place. You are reading it aloud and reading it backwards to check for spelling mistakes. 4.Final Draft – a quick overview takes place to make sure it is formatted correctly and have met the necessary criteria

3. How to Format Your Work Your Name Social Studies 9 The Date Mr. Aasen The Title of Your Work This would be your opening sentence of your paragraph. Notice how it was indented. Please remember to double space your work. Blah, blah, blah, blah this is the best paragraph ever written in the history of paragraphs.

4. Common Errors in Spelling Its / It’s – Its is the possessive (The dog wagged its tail.) It’s is a contraction of “it is” (It’s going to be a good day.) There/Their/They’re – There indicates a place (Over there!) There is the possessive form of they (Their dog is a Golden Retriever.) They’re is a contraction of they are (They’re the best students a teacher could have.)

5. Continued... Your/You’re – Your is the possessive of you. (Your house.) You’re is a contraction of you are (You’re learning about writing.) A lot – “Alot” is not a word. Always leave the space.

6. Sentence Structure Comma Splice (Run on sentences) -A comma splice is when you join two complete sentences with a comma. This is a common error in writing. Let’s fix these sentences: 1. History helps us to understand our surroundings, and how each individual can fit into the society we built. 2. Professional historians benefit from a shared human fascination about the past, history is engaging to many members of society.

7. Time for you to try one... Fix this sentence: Comma splices and run on sentences are common writing mistakes, they are easy to fix once you slow down and think about what you are writing.

8. There are a few possible solutions to this sentence: 1.You can separate the two ideas with a period. Comma splices and run on sentences are common writing mistakes. They are easy to fix once you slow down and think about what you are writing. 2. You can put a semi colon between the two main ideas. Comma splices and run on sentences are common writing mistakes; they are easy to fix once you slow down and think about what you are writing. 3. You can use a semi-colon followed by transitional phrase. Comma splices and run on sentences are common writing mistakes; however, they are easy to fix once you slow down and think about what you are writing.

9. Things That Will Make Mr. Aasen Super Super Angry So Do Not Do Them -Do not start a sentence with “Also”. -Do not use informal language such as: slang, contractions, and abbreviations. -Avoid using phrases like “it seems”. Believe in what you are writing about! - “What are you trying to say here” -Do not write sentences that do not have meaningful information in them. Do not assume that I can understand what you are talking about. -Avoid words like “obviously”, “clearly”, or “of course”.