Heeeeeyyy class! I just finished grading a clump of your "Yellow Wallpaper" Dialectical Journals. I was struck by how much you've all grown as writers and analytical thinkers since the beginning of the year. If you want to check out your own development and give yourself a moment of celebration, go look at your DJs for "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" and compare them to your DJs for "Yellow Wallpaper." Then take a moment to celebrate what you've accomplished. In this post, I'll be discussing strategies for revision. I'm dividing these strategies into two major groups: the micro and the macro revision techniques. For this revision, we'll start with the micro. Keep reading until the end for the big reveal of a SECRET REVISION WEAPON. The Micro: Revision on a Sentence and Word LevelIn class I discussed how some revision techniques are universal and applicable to any piece of writing, whether it be a short story or an analysis. These techniques are what I refer to as the "micro" revision strategies. With these strategies, you look at the fabric of your text: the words and the sentences. Then you see if you can locate opportunities to strengthen your writing. List of Micro Revisions:
1. Revise for VerbsStories are composed of action, and action happens in verbs. One easy way to increase the effectiveness of any piece of writing is to locate all the instances of the verb "to be" and look for places where you can turn the linking verb into an action. You can either highlight each instance of the verb on paper, or you can control "f" the difference forms of "to be." The first step is to gather data and see how many times you used the verb. Then try to make that number smaller. Here are all the forms of the verb "to be" you need to look for:
2. Revise for Sentence LengthDo you vary your sentence length? Do you use the different types of sentences as a way to enhance the meaning of your words? Or are all your sentences about the same length? Either using two different color highlighters on old-school paper or using the highlighter function in your word processor, highlight the sentences of your short story in two different colors. Then you will be able to see the lengths of your sentences and the texture of your prose will become visible to you. Armed with this information, revise the length and structure of your sentences for variety to enhance your prose. 3. RepetitionSome words seem to come out into our writing more than others. For example, in a piece I wrote a few weeks ago, I noticed I used the word "thrumming" multiple times. The first "thrum" was effective and evocative, but the second "thrum" was boring and redundant. Check your work for repeated words. When you've located them, revise to avoid repetition. SECRET WEAPONAll these revision techniques involve collecting data about your writing and using that to find areas where your prose can be strengthened. Since we live in the time of computers, there's actually a tool we can use to bypass the whole data collecting step. It's called ProWriting Aid, and you can find it in Google Docs as an add-on. Once you add it (you might need to use your personal email account), you'll be able to run the free "Summary Report" and see all kinds of data about your writing. Maybe even too much data. My favorite is the sentence length graph. Below is an example of a visual for "Yellow Wallpaper" sentences.
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AuthorI'm a Houston high school teacher. Welcome to my adapted, socially-distanced, quarantined AP English Literature and Composition classroom. Archives
May 2021
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