Literacy Speaks Volumes

Good writing should improve the experience of the reader. Good writing is knowledgeable and intelligent. Good writing informs the reader or explains something to the reader. Good writing tells a story or shares an experience. Writers create good writing using different styles and techniques. Although authors' styles are different, there are some qualities that all good writing shares. Good writing is clear and gets to the point. Good writing has voice and personality. Good writing includes the writer's personal experiences.  Good writing contains vivid imagery. Good writing uses proper grammar. Good writing provides practical and accurate information. Before you begin writing, you must decide who your audience is. Ask yourself these three questions: What do my readers need to know? What do I want my readers to understand? What experience do I want my writing to give to the reader? Good writing should be fresh. You want your writing to be original, out o...

What are the conventions of English? The conventions of Standard English are the rules about grammar, usage, mechanics, and spelling. Conventions in English are the accepted practices of writing English. Conventions include punctuation, layout or format of the document. Think of conventions as your toolbox—the place where you keep those rules for writing. Conventions are the surface features of writing. Conventions are a courtesy to the reader, making your writing easier to read by putting it in a form that the reader expects and is comfortable with. Learning conventions includes mechanics, usage, and syntax. I will teach you the basic conventions of English this year. They will be taught in the context of writing. Once I teach you a convention, I expect you to use that convention correctly in your own writing. Conventions are edited in the last stage of the writing process. You don’t need to worry about correct spelling or punctuation or how to use a part of speech until yo...

Types of Writing There are six primary genres in writing: ·          Narrative ·          Informative ·          Explanatory ·          Persuasive ·          Argumentative ·          Poetic Narrative writing tells a story. It has characters, setting, and conflict. It can be fiction or nonfiction. Prose or poetry. Some types would be novels, novellas, short stories, autobiographies, biographies, memoirs, personal narratives, literary nonfiction, and narrative poems. Informative writing gives information. Newspaper articles, textbooks, encyclopedias, and food labels are types of educational writing Explanatory writing explains a process or how to do something. Recipes, instructions, and directions are examples of explan...

In ELAB, you have to write every day. You might write for fifteen minutes or thirty minutes. Writing is what it is all about in ELAB. Sometimes, writers get what is called "writer's block." Writer's block is when an author cannot think of any interesting topics. Even professional writers get writer's block. Today, you are going to create a list of topics that you can write about when you think that you have no ideas of interest. We will call this our treasure trove of writing topics. You are going to write for fifteen minutes. Brainstorm and list as many ideas as you can in that fifteen minutes. Here are some of my treasure trove of writing topics: Writing a blog Training Lab puppies Kayaking in the ocean Planning a vacation My father’s death Raising respectful children Creating lessons in Microsoft Word Photographing flowers Writing poetry Journaling every day Using Evernote in the classroom W...