Category Archives: revising first drafts

Should students focus on spelling, word order and capitalization when composing?

Posted on January 26, 2026 | Leave a comment

A reader asks:  Why do students not need to focus on spelling, word order, or capitalization when composing on electronic devices?

There are several reasons, but the most important reason is the same reason students don’t need to focus on those things when they are writing in long hand.  Continuing the flow of your ideas is what is most important while composing.

If a writer stops to check citation style or any other detail  while composing, the writer loses the flow of his or her ideas.  It’s better to keep writing while you know what you are going to say next and focus on details or fix mistakes later.

Another reason is that composing is a much harder task than editing.  Composing involves many higher level thinking skills—applying information, analyzing in a clear order, evaluating choices while you write, and bringing together ideas.  These skills are more difficult than fixing a spelling mistake.  So it is better to work on harder composing skills without interrupting your flow with editing details.

Still another reason is that electronic equipment fixes many mistakes when a writer reaches the end of a sentence.  The “fix” might not be correct or what you want, but again, you can make needed changes when you have finished composing.  Many writers compose during their most alert hours, during quiet hours when their minds work best.  They save their editing for times when flow is less important.

Polishing writing is important.  It is during revising that so-so writing becomes great.  Revising means analyzing whether everything you need to say is said, whether your information is in the correct order, whether you need to delete or insert material, whether you have named your sources.  Revising is not as hard as composing, but it is easier than editing for English conventions.  Some writers revise as they compose and others might wait until the end of a composing session.

Eventually, students do need to focus on spelling, word order, and capitalization, but not while they are composing.

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Posted in composing on electronic equipment, editing, English Writing Instruction, flow, revising first drafts, writing tips

How to mark a student’s writing

Posted on January 26, 2026 | Leave a comment

A reader has asked me, when I mark a student’s writing, why do I put light boxes or highlights around the text rather than crossing it out?

Here’s why:  I try to put myself in my student’s shoes.  If 12-year-old me saw parts of my writing crossed out by my teacher, how would I feel?  Pretty down, I suspect.  And on the defensive.

But if I saw my writing with a box around it, the words still visible, I might wonder why the teacher did that.  Maybe it was great writing!  Maybe not, but maybe something about the writing needed to be discussed.  I would feel open to hearing what the teacher would say  about my writing.  I wouldn’t be on the defensive as I might if the writing were crossed out.

When a student’s text is highlighted or boxed (because I think it should be deleted), I usually suggest it be moved to the end of the passage where it stays intact.  The student can read the passage without the boxed part.  If the student disagrees with my judgment, he or she can always put the boxed part back or can put part of it back or put it elsewhere.

As a longtime writer, I have had many editors and first readers suggest deleting phrases, sentences, and paragraphs.  Once a first reader I respected suggested I delete the first 37 pages of a story I was writing.  I know such suggestions are meant to improve my writing, so I listen and consider carefully what my readers suggest.

But student writers haven’t had years of feedback.  They might not trust my opinion.  So I want my markings to be as benign as possible to encourage students to listen with open minds to my revision suggestions.

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Posted in editing, English Writing Instruction, revising first drafts

Tips about Writing from Stephen King

Posted on April 5, 2025 | Leave a comment

Stephen King, the King of Horror, has written dozens of fictional bestsellers, many of which have become blockbuster movies.  He also wrote a book, On Writing, telling how he writes.  Here are some of his ideas.

From his own experience, King believes a writer’s job is to recognize two previously unrelated ideas and to make something new from them.

Writers write their first drafts for themselves, to tell themselves a story.  When they rewrite, they take out everything that is not part of the story.

Writers shouldn’t “dress up” their natural short-word vocabulary with long words.  They should use the first words that come into their heads.

You don’t need to write in complete sentences all the time.

Avoid passive verbs.  Timid writers use passive verbs because they seem safe.

Forget using adverbs.

Fear leads to bad writing.

Use “said.”

To make possessive nouns, add apostrophe S every time.

Easy-to-read books contain lots of white space and dialog.

To be a good writer, do two things:  read a lot and write a lot.

If you don’t have time to read a lot, you don’t have the time or the know-how to write well.

To learn what not to do, read bad writing.

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Posted in adverbs, apostrophes, fear of writing, fiction writing, fragments, good writing v. bad writing, how to write better, passive verbs, possessive nouns, practice reading skills, practice writing skills, revising first drafts, said, short words, writing tips

What to revise to improve writing

Posted on January 6, 2025 | Leave a comment

Students often think revising means editing, that is, making small changes. Adding an apostrophe or improving spelling is not revising.  Revising means making significant improvements to writing.  Revising is the process by which okay writing becomes great.

So what exactly is revising?  Here are some examples, though there are many more.

Change weak (nonspecific) verbs to specific verbs.  If possible rewrite the verb to be (is, are, was, were) and come, go, give, take, get, start, put, look, and see, but not say or said.

  • I got tired raking leaves, so I came inside and took a nap.  This becomes, After I tired from raking, I snuggled on my bed and napped.

After weak verbs, find infinitives or nouns that can be turned into strong verbs.

  • When the car started to spin, Mom took her foot off the gas pedal. This becomes, When the car spun, Mom released the gas pedal.

Use active, not passive verbs.

  • The apple was eaten by Mary. This becomes, Mary ate the apple.

Change long nouns (e.g., encouragement, contamination, habitation) to verbs.

  • Use moderation in your dietary habits. This becomes Moderate your diet.

Combine frequent small sentences (fewer than 10 words) to add sophistication to writing.

  • That’s my brother. His name is Akhil.  He is seven.  He can write a two-wheeler.  This becomes My seven-year-old brother, Akhil, can ride a two-wheeler.

Delete a sentence with just one bit of new information and put that information in another sentence to eliminate wordiness.

  • The baby fell out of the carriage. The carriage rolled down the hill.  This becomes, The baby fell out of the carriage which rolled down the hill.

Combine sentences to eliminate wordiness.

  • My uncle was wounded playing football. He played for the University of Georgia twenty years ago. He played before I was born.  This becomes, My uncle broke his leg playing football for the University of Georgia twenty years ago, before I was born.

Identify the sentence structures used (simple, compound, complex and compound-complex).  Rewrite the sentences to create more complicated simple sentences and easy-to-understand complex sentences, and to eliminate most compound sentences.

  • I watched the Rose Bowl Parade on TV, and I enjoyed it. I could not believe the floats!  They were covered with flowers, seeds, leaves, and other living things.  I hope, when I am older, to see the parade in person.  This becomes, I enjoyed watching the Rose Bowl Parade on TV.  Flowers, seeds, leaves and other living things covered the floats.  Someday, I hope to see that unbelievable parade in person.

Limit the number of dependent clauses in sentences to two.

  • The resort where we vacationed used to be a private club that attracted millionaires in the 19th century who arrived by train before wealthy people had air conditioning. This becomes, We vacationed at a resort that used to be a private club for millionaires.  In the 19th century, wealthy people arrived there by train.  They wanted to escape the heat in an era before air conditioning.

Change first words of sentences to add variety. 

  • See previous changes.

Count the number of words in each sentence.  Average them.  Aim for an average of 14 to 18 words with some longer and some shorter.  If the average is 10 or below, increase the number of words per sentence.  If the average is 20 or above, decrease the number of words per sentence.  Don’t count the number of words per sentence until you have made other changes or you will need to recount.

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Posted in "to be", active verbs, how to write better, number of words per sentence, passive verbs, revising first drafts, revising sentence length, sentence structure, verb choice, voice, writing tips

Let students learn from other students’ writing

Posted on December 8, 2024 | Leave a comment

Students love to read what other students have written, especially if everyone is writing about the same thing and if everyone is the same age.  Students are immediately engaged, checking to see how their peers handle the same writing assignment as themselves.

For example, I have asked elementary students to read the textless picture book Flora and the Penguin by Molly Idle.  Then I have asked them to analyze the table below.  It contains student-written versions of parts of the Flora story.

Linda Marion Nancy
One day there was a girl On a cold winter day a girl Once upon a time Flora
There was a penguin who wanted to play with her. When a penguin poked its beak out of the water A penguin named Steve put his body in the water.
They started to dance while ice skating.  They did more and more ice skating until they were tired. They skated this way and that way. They skated and danced together.  They jumped and twirled.  They slid across the ice.
When the penguin saw a fish, he jumped in the water. The penguin smelled a school of fish. Steve poked his head in the water.  Flora said, “What are you doing?”  Steve disappeared.
When he came out he had a fish in his mouth.  Then the penguin gave it to her as a present. The penguin came back with a fish in her mouth.  Flora was outraged.  The penguin gave the fish to Flora. Steve got a fish.  He gave it to Flora as a present.  Flora thought the fish was disgusting.
She threw it back in the water. She threw it back in the water. So, she threw it back in the water.
Before she left, she put her [shoe]lace in the water and tried to get a fish.  So, she kept on pulling until she got a fish. Flora felt sorry for the penguin, so she took off one of the lacings on her skates.  She dipped it in the water so she could get a fish for the penguin.  The two of them pulled as hard as they could and out came a fish. She took her [shoe]lace out.  She put it in the water just like a fishing net.  A fish approached.  They both tugged and tugged and tugged and tugged on the lace.  They caught the fish.
The fish got eaten by the penguin. They started skating and they were happy. They started skating all over again.

Usually when  students analyze the writing of other students, they recognize when it is good.  They note that “This version has dialog” or “This version tells that it’s morning.”  Analyzing the writing in the table above, one second grader said he like the “tugged and tugged and tugged and tugged” part because it shows how hard it was to catch a fish.  Another said she liked “They skated and danced together.  They jumped and twirled.  They slid across the ice.” because it showed different kinds of play.

Students are surprised to see that some second graders write better than some fifth graders.  We discuss what the second graders do that the fifth graders don’t.  “More details.”  “Different ways to start sentences.”  “More interesting verbs.”

Help your students become better writers by exposing them to the writing of other students.  Encourage them to analyze why some writing is better than others.  Take a simple scene such as a girl and a penguin sliding across ice and ask students to describe it.  Then share responses and discuss what is good about them.

As they say, good writing is not rocket science.  Mostly it’s revising.

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Posted in action verbs, adding details, critical thinking, details in writing, English Writing Instruction, how to motivate child writers, revising first drafts, student writers as teachers, teaching writing