Rainbow Revisions: Creating Sentence Variety

You’ve written a great How-To Essay, instructing six year-olds. NOW, let’s make sure we’ve hit our major writing goals for this essay:

· Varied sentence structure and word choice

· Use commas properly in a series

· Ensure correct capitalization and spelling

Materials Needed:          

Colored pencils or fine markers

Red pen

Highlighter (preferably yellow)

Your most recent draft

Procedures:

1. With your YELLOW pen or highlighter, highlight sentences that begin with adjectives or adverbs (“Starved, we stopped at McDonald’s”).

2. With your BLUE pencil or fine marker, underline sentences that begin with prepositional phrases (with. in.. into. over..).

3. With your RED pencil or fine marker, underline sentences that begin with “‘A’ or ‘The’ _____”.

4. With your GREEN pencil or fine marker, underline sentences that begin with a pronoun (he, she, we, it).

5. With ANOTHER COLOR OF YOUR CHOICE, underline sentences that begin with verbs (“Whirling around, I saw.” or “Running, she tripped in front of the robber..”).

6. With a PURPLE pencil or fine marker, underline sentences that begin with a time element or word (after, later that day).

Verdict:

When you’re finished, nearly every sentence should be colored. If you don’t see a rainbow, your sentences need more variety!! Revise, revise!!!

E-Mail

Jeanne Donovan

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