There are many ways to calculate the estimated reading level of a writing sample. We will look at a series of methods used to determine the reading levels for different student age groups. Teachers can use these methods to determine whether new material is suitable for their class and also…
Category: Writing
Comments and suggestions on writing.
Evaluating Errors One of the challenges for teachers of composition is deciding how serious an error is. How serious we judge an error to be affects both grading and teaching. We tend to focus a great deal more on serious errors than those we know are minor oversights. This guide…
Perfecting Paragraphs Use paragraphs to pace the story Your teachers probably told you that paragraphs are sets of related sentences. Then they added rules. One outrageous rule was that a paragraph must have at least three sentences. Yes, a paragraph is a set of sentences, but serious readers know that…
A plot is not a story, nor does every story have a strong plot. Good writers know the importance of both plot and story, especially before they dare to write a story with a “weak” or “thin” plot. Any plot can feature a love story; that illustrates the difference. Plots…
Point of View Selecting the narrative perspective There are two levels of point-of-view to consider when writing a story. In the larger sense, there is the perspective of the narrator. On the scene level, you should consider the perspectives of individual characters. Narrative Points of View Narration is said to…
Maybe it is my computer programming and management background, but I approach writing as I do a development project. I spent far too many years treating writing as a hobby. This attitude led to my acceptance of the myth “creativity cannot be turned on like a tap.” Yes, it can…
Setting the Story Choosing the when and where Every story occurs in some place, at some time. This guide offers some advice for establishing the right setting for a story. The setting can be determined by the story, or the story can be determined by the setting. Either way, the…
Embrace a Theme Frame your story around a message The primary theme of a work is the unifying message conveyed throughout the story to the audience. Themes do not have to be ethical or logical, but they do suggest why the author created a particular work. While you can have…
These tips for writing for a general audience are derived from various books by writers and personal experience. Write in “plain” English: reduce jargon, clichés, and regional elements to those essential to the text or story. Write dialogue like a person might sound: few people speak “proper” English and even…
A lexicon is a dictionary of specialized terms. The terms defined in the following lexicon should be known by writers and editors. [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M][N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z] – A –…