Holiday Memory
What is your favorite memory of the holidays?
Your memory is a gift to others. How will you write it to share? What did you learn from your memory?
Assignment:
Write as a gift to a special person a description of a memory and its importance/lesson to you.
Holiday Memory Sample
How do you write a unique holiday memory to share as a gift?
First:
Writing is NOT talk written down.
Writing is a thoughtful, committed arrangement of precise images and active events
that clearly express the writer's purpose (story, explanation, or opinion)
in interesting language that moves the reader's (the audience's) mind movie into the writer's vision.
Therefore:
Writing in your mind must be PLANNED. Focus on one topic.
Plan, organize, and choose ideas and words before drafting.
Finally:
Revise your writing: reread it for precise words and detailed elaboaration, logical organization with transitions, interesting language using figurative language, and varied sentences (different lengths and different beginnings). Then edit your writing for spelling, capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, paragraphing, margins, legibility, etc.
Prepare:
Preparation to write is planning the possible ideas, details, and precise words (nouns and verbs).
1: Prewrite Interesting Ideas:
What are some of your memories? Make a list. Remember the 5Ws and H: Who What When Where Why How
So, what memories involve your favorite people?
Look at your original list. Who would like to read your memory?
Think and write: What memory affected my heart and the person involved would like to know how it touched my heart? Why is this memory important? What did I learn?
2. Look at your list and decide:
What is my topic? __________________
Who is my audience?
What is my purpose? -- to share a memory and its importance/lesson
What is the message, the main idea I want to explain/narrate to my audience about my topic:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Use your message idea to write a topic sentence:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Prewrite Interesting Ideas with elaboration:
Elaboaration (5Es) includes:
-
elaborate: add more details
-
explain: explain your idea
-
experience: tell some experiences about your idea
-
evidence: add evidence to prove your idea
-
example: give examples (For instance, For example)
Think about your message. Write a new list or choose your ideas from your idea prewriting lists with nifty nouns and a list of details for each main idea. Choose one or more from your prewriting idea list, depending on the memory, the lesson, and the person to whom you are sharing. Do you want a series of things or memories? Do you have one special memory? Always ask yourself: Am I adding to my message?
Your ideas with nifty nouns: | Make a list with nifty nouns that elaborates on your idea-- what details (5Es) will thoroughly explain your memory
4. Prewriting for strong verbs
Look at your message and ideas. Have you written nifty, specific nouns? List the nouns you will write about, and then list strong, vivid, ACTIVE verbs for each noun. Always ask yourself: Am I adding to my message?
Idea Nouns or Noun Phrases | Strong Verbs or Verb Phrases
Cousins hide anxiously in the closet; giggle under the desk
5. Organize.
Look at your ideas. Number them in a logical order. Think about transition words.
Dare:
Dare to write a first draft.
Now especially: Always ask yourself: Am I adding to my message?
Look at your prewriting. Reread your work. Think about your message, your lesson/importance, your person. Start writing your memory. Use many details, nifty nouns, and vivid verbs. Always ask yourself: Am I adding to my message?
Repair:
Repair your writing with revision.
How can you add a grabber beginning?
- ask a question
- tell a story in two-three sentences that introduces your idea
- give an interesting fact
Reread your writing -- revise for:
- Names -- add precise words --nifty nouns
- Details -- detailed elaboaration -- more evidence
- Action -- strong verbs
- Organization (flow) -- logical organization with transition words
- Varied sentences -- different lengths and different beginnings
- Interesting Language -- use figurative language (alliteration, consonance, assonance, simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, etc.)
How can you end your writing in an interesting way?
- Restate your message
- Give an example
- Tell what will happen because of your message.
- Ask a question
Review:
- Have I stayed on topic?
- Have I written to my audience?
- Have I written to my purpose?
- Am I convincing -- did I create interesting mind movies for the audience?
- Did I desribe my memory?
- Did I explain its importance or lesson?
Proofread your writing:
- Edit for spelling, capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, paragraphing, margins, legibility, etc.
Share
Publish your writing in a final draft as a gift from you.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.