Six Great Ways to Start a Piece of Writing
or
What's a Good Lead?
With a question: What could be scarier than spending the night in a haunted house?
With dialogue: "I dare you stay in there past midnight," my sister said.
With an interesting fact: According to surveys, half of all adults believe in the supernatural, and one person in ten claims to have seen a ghost.
With a strong opinion or feeling: There's no such thing as ghosts!
With a single word or sentence fragment: Me? Scared?
With something that leaves the reader wondering: There was a sound in the basement, and I knew it wasn't just a mouse.
Personal Editing Process
1. Whisper read to see if I left anything out.
2. Circle the beginning word in every sentence to make sure I varied my sentence beginnings.
3. Square any words I need help spelling.
4. Star any other questions.
5. Give my writing a title.
6. Does my lead make people want to read more?
7. Is my writing focused on ONE idea?
8. Does my writing make sense?
9. Did I end my writing well by writing in a circle?
Peer Editing Process
1. Listen to your partner like you would want to be listened to.
2. Find something you liked about your partner’s writing and make a positive comment about it.
3. Ask questions about the things you didn’t understand or are curious about.
4. Share suggestions with your partner, but remember that they must choose what to do on their own.
5. Some ideas for discussing writing with a partner:
a. How do you feel about your writing so far?
b. What part do you like the best? Why?
c. What part, if any, doesn’t work for you? Do you want help reworking it?
d. Tell me more about…
e. I don’t understand what you meant when you wrote…
f. Why did you choose this topic?
g. Did you say what you really wanted to in this writing?
h. Is this how you would tell the story if you were telling it out loud?
Six Great Ways to Start a Piece of Writing
or
What's a Good Lead?
With a question: What could be scarier than spending the night in a haunted house?
With dialogue: "I dare you stay in there past midnight," my sister said.
With an interesting fact: According to surveys, half of all adults believe in the supernatural, and one person in ten claims to have seen a ghost.
With a strong opinion or feeling: There's no such thing as ghosts!
With a single word or sentence fragment: Me? Scared?
With something that leaves the reader wondering: There was a sound in the basement, and I knew it wasn't just a mouse.
Personal Editing Process
1. Whisper read to see if I left anything out.
2. Circle the beginning word in every sentence to make sure I varied my sentence beginnings.
3. Square any words I need help spelling.
4. Star any other questions.
5. Give my writing a title.
6. Does my lead make people want to read more?
7. Is my writing focused on ONE idea?
8. Does my writing make sense?
9. Did I end my writing well by writing in a circle?
Peer Editing Process
1. Listen to your partner like you would want to be listened to.
2. Find something you liked about your partner’s writing and make a positive comment about it.
3. Ask questions about the things you didn’t understand or are curious about.
4. Share suggestions with your partner, but remember that they must choose what to do on their own.
5. Some ideas for discussing writing with a partner:
a. How do you feel about your writing so far?
b. What part do you like the best? Why?
c. What part, if any, doesn’t work for you? Do you want help reworking it?
d. Tell me more about…
e. I don’t understand what you meant when you wrote…
f. Why did you choose this topic?
g. Did you say what you really wanted to in this writing?
h. Is this how you would tell the story if you were telling it out loud?