John Panaccio Ms. Rieger Period 3 May 6, 2010

Writing Workshop

Thesis Statement

The information regarding grammar, style, and basic writing skills I collect will be incorporated into a online workshop created to improve the overall writing of Mr. Power’s eighth grade English class.

Elementary Rules of Usage

Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ‘s

Do not break sentences in two

Use the proper case of Pronoun

Do not join independent clauses with a comma

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Ed. Edward A Tenney. 4th ed. 1919. New York: Pearson Education Company, 1959. Print.

I

Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ‘s

Follow this rule whatever the final consonant. For example,

Lewis’s car

Ryan’s sweater

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Ed. Edward A Tenney. 4th ed. 1919. New York: Pearson Education Company, 1959. Print.

Do not break sentences in two

In other words do not use periods as commas.

He was an amazing player. A man who had played soccer all over the world.

Do not break sentences in two

In other words do not use periods as commas.

He was an amazing player, a man who had played soccer all over the world.

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Ed. Edward A Tenney. 4th ed. 1919. New York: Pearson Education Company, 1959. Print.

He was an amazing player. A man who had played soccer all over the world.

Use the proper case of pronoun

The personal pronouns, as well as the pronoun who, change forms as they function as subject or object.

Who calls?

Give this cookie to whoever looks hungry.

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Ed. Edward A Tenney. 4th ed. 1919. New York: Pearson Education Company, 1959. Print.

Do not join independent clauses with a comma

If two or more clauses grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semi-colon. (Shrunk & White pg.5)

Ms. Rieger’s anecdotes are entertaining; they are full of humorous details.

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Ed. Edward A Tenney. 4th ed. 1919. New York: Pearson Education Company, 1959. Print.

Ms. Rieger’s anecdotes are entertaining, they are full of humorous details.

Principles of Composition

Choose a suitable design and hold to it

Use the active voice

Use definite specific, concrete, language

Express coordinate ideas in similar form

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Ed. Edward A Tenney. 4th ed. 1919. New York: Pearson Education Company, 1959. Print.

II

Choose a suitable design and hold to it

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Ed. Edward A Tenney. 4th ed. 1919. New York: Pearson Education Company, 1959. Print.

Use the active voice

I shall always remember my first concert.

My first concert will always be remembered by me.

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Ed. Edward A Tenney. 4th ed. 1919. New York: Pearson Education Company, 1959. Print.

Use definite, specific, concrete language

Ohmann, Richard. "Use Definite, Specific, Concrete Language." College English 41.4 (1979): 390-97. JSTOR. National Council of Teachers of English. Web. 2 Mar. 2010.

Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, and the concrete to the abstract. (Shrunk and White pg.21)

Express coordinate ideas in similar form

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Ed. Edward A Tenney. 4th ed. 1919. New York: Pearson Education Company, 1959. Print.

Unclear focus and relevance

Insufficient proofreading and

revision

Poor attitude towards writing

Lack of style

Common Problems a Young Writer Might Face

III

Unclear focus and relevance

Freedman, Sarah Warshauer. “Student Characteristics and Essay Test Writing Performance.” Research in the Teaching of

English 17.4 (1983): 313-325. JSTOR. Web. 1 Dec. 2009.

Insufficient proofreading and revision

Poor attitude towards writing

Lack of style

Concepts vital to becominga superior writer

IV

Write to YOUR Audience

Components Of A

Well Written Paper

Proper Grammar

And Mechanics

READ !

PSSA Writing Rubric

“Writing Workshop”Instructional Ning

“To supplement the English/writing curriculum of Mr. Powers 8th grade English class with research conducted regarding various writing topics and techniques”

Say hello to my Students!

Breakdown of the Ning1.) Students complete assignments given to them by

either me or Mr. Powers.2.) Students then upload their finished word document,

with their first name and last initial included in the title,

to the Ning page “John Panaccio’s Writing Tutorial

Service” 3.) After reviewing each individual submission I print out

the essays I feel I can improve with my feedback and

conference with those student’s when I visit the Middle

School. ( I do so bi-weekly.)

Assignment #1 – Practice PSSA Prompt

“Many people like to borrow clothes, shoes, iPods, and other items. However, if

borrowed items get lost or damaged, people can end up having arguments. Write an essay explaining how to resolve this problem”

Assignment #2 – Peer Review Activity“ - Being assigned shortly - ”

Assignment #3 – Differentiated Instruction

“Prompt 1-”“Prompt 2-”“Prompt 3-”

After completing a K-W-L regarding the specific topic assigned, students will be separated into corresponding groups with each group asked to respond to a different prompt.

“How to be a successful Writer” Power Point Presentation