Our Writing Process

Norris School District, Fifth Grade

WRITING PROCESS

Follow these steps to become an author.

1) Pre-write and brainstorm ideas; list or map ideas to include in your writing.
2) Write your rough draft.
3) Have a peer conference to get more ideas.
4) Revise.
5) Have another peer conference.
6) Revise and edit your paper.
7) PUBLISH!

This year's focus is on DESCRIPTIVE WRITING.

You will use descriptive writing when you write stories, or to make something clear to another person. You might want to describe a character or scene or explain how something works or what an animal is like. Vivid words and specific details will help you create a picture in the reader's mind of a person, place, or thing. Here are some things to remember.

	Use sensory language including sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings.
	Use exciting words such as brilliant, aromatic, swirling, velvety.
	Use figurative language such as simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, and hyperbole.
	Use rich detail and specific language; avoid general words like 'stuff' and 'things'.
	Use phrases that SHOW the reader what's happening, not just telling him or her.

            Don't tell me the moon is shining;
                show me the glint of light on broken glass.
                    ~Anton Chekhov

Another type of writing we like to use is the personal narrative.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE

A personal narrative is a story about yourself. It is a retelling of an event or situation that you experienced and usually describes it in sequential order. You provide description and details to make the story interesting to the reader. A memoir takes the personal narrative to a different level. A memoir not only retells the story, it does so in such a way that it gives meaning to the experience. It shows how your life was changed or how you became a different person because of the experience. The lesson or meaning is revealed as the story unfolds.

I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter. ~James Michener

Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. ~Author Unknown