I have been teaching, writing, playing and performing for over thirty-five years, while during these last ten years I have been given the time and space and support (and funds) to create a classroom and pedagogy that through stops and starts...
Sentence Building Rubric
Essential Detail…Images & Actions…Parallel Structure…
Similes & Metaphors…Muscular Verbs
All the Christmases roll down towards the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged, fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find. In goes my hand into that wool-white bell-tongued ball of holidays resting at the rim of the carol-singing sea, and out come Mrs. Prothero and the firemen.
~Dylan Thomas, A Child’s Christmas in Wales
Words by themselves don’t mean much—an uttered sound that means something or performs some small task to splice words together into phrases and fragments that focus and complete thoughts and become sentences that morph into meaning—and sometimes magic.
And that is pretty cool. So cool that I have spent some forty years and more trying to figure out the art and craft of writing well. Many another pen has spent more time more assiduously perfecting the writer’s craft, and there is nothing here that breaks new ground. Good writers will be equally appalled at what is missing as they might be impressed by what is included.
But these five techniques are not for them, but rather for those aspiring souls who simply want to become better, more confident and more capable writers by learning and practicing some essential writing skills for writing better sentences.
Try these on for size and see how they fit. They will last a long time.
~Fitz
#1: Essential Details
Who…What…When…Where…Why?
One of the most common problems with sentences is that they just don’t tell the reader enough or give enough detail to inform and edify a reader. In the same way that any writing piece should always cover who/what/when/where/why, so should sentences—whenever possible. In many cases, this information might be in the sentence before or after, but it is certainly good practice to incorporate who/what/when/where/why into sentences that benefit from this attention to detail.
Here are two simple rules for helping to make your sentences more informative, detailed, and interesting to your readers.
Fill in the Blanks:
Don’t make a reader try to figure out what you are writing about. Fill in the details that help a reader see and know what you are writing about.
For Example…
~He hit a home-run that ended the game. (Dullsville)
~With two outs gone and David Ortiz saved the day with a towering walk-off home run over the Green Monster in left field. (This was a great game!)
Be Specific:
Identify every “thing” you state. Give people names and titles. Tell us what cereal you are eating, what car you are driving and what cleats you are wearing. Doing this enables a reader’s mind to “see” exactly what you want he or she to see (and feel) and your writing is now infinitely more refreshing, lively and informative to read.
For Example…
~I went fishing today, and it was fun (Holy horrible)
~Billy, Owen and I went to White’s Pond today at five in the morning and fished with spinners and spoons until we filled our basket with enough trout, bass and catfish to feed a starving army. (Now this is a real fish story!)
~I got a bike today. (I’m not jealous)
~My rich Uncle Fred surprised me on my birthday with a Yeti Cycles SB6 Turq XX1 Eagle Mountain Bike. (Now I am…Look it up!)
Here is a poem that uses essential details to create the scenes and actions within the poem…
Making It Work
EJ and Pipo squat in the driveway
and poke their heads through
the wheel-well and pass
a half inch socket
and a cold can of WD 40
to my bloodied hand.
I shout out to them:
“The transmission cooler line
is completely shot,
and the thread
on the flare nut
is stripped bare—
it turns, but won’t catch,
into the radiator.
In short: we’re screwed.”
Bellied on the crumbled paving
I hear them giggling
and splashing in the oily cold
puddle I am soaked in.
While Pipo runs to get
the extra red hose we used
to fix the heater on the bus,
I send EJ to get the cement
we used to fix the gasket
on the wood stove.
In my sarcophagus
under the old Buick wagon,
I fumble through my pockets
and find some hose clamps
that just might work.
EJ slathers the flare nut
in an icing of black glue.
And so Pipo can use
his beloved tape measure,
he cuts me a piece of red hose
18 ½ inches long—exactly.
There is no turning back now:
I cut out the old line
and jam the flare nut
into the fitting
until it sets.
For a few minutes, everything
is dead serious:
Pipo lays on his belly
and fits the 18 ½ inch hose
to the cleanly cut ends
of the cooler lines.
EJ takes his flathead
and tightens the hose clamps,
while I keep
the damn flare nut
from moving.
And in the stale air,
beneath a 1988 Pontiac LeSabre Wagon—
soaked in mud, love, oil and anti-freeze—
I am the luckiest man alive.
~Fitz
Exercise#1:
Write five sentences that include of the who? what? when? where? and why? details. The order of who/what/when/where/why is not important. Put the details (who, etc) within parentheses in bold.
For Example…
The young soldier (who) lugging a fifty-pound pack (what) struggled all night (when) through the jungle (where) to reach his base camp before the enemy could reach him (why).
Exercise#2:
Add essential details to these sentences to make them more full and informative. You can change any words, but you can’t change the idea of the original sentence.
~Supper was good.
~The game was exciting.
~I love going to interesting places.
~I have a really cool teacher.
~I should do my homework.
Exercise#3:
Pretend you are a news writer and write a newspaper article about a game or event you saw or were participated in. (300 words minimum)
#2: Imagery and Action
Show, don’t tell…Simple, but true…
It is our job as writers to spark our readers’ imaginations! A lot of writers forget that readers are not “in your head.” The readers can’t “see” anything that is not “specifically” described. Simply saying, “It was a cold day” can mean something completely different to different people depending on the time of year or their place on the planet. So wake up! As you write, be conscious of your reader’s inherent predicament, and be sure to give them the needed imagery and actions to make your thoughts become less vague and more real.
Here are three techniques for creating effective imagery and action.
Image & Action:
Using images and actions to create a vivid and visual experience for your reader is a powerful method for engaging and keeping your audience interested in what you are writing—and that has to be the primary goal of all writers. The most effective images and actions are created using specific nouns and verbs—a specific something doing a specific something.
For Example…
~She ran down the street. (This doesn’t tell us much)
~Ginny down the dusty road prancing like a drunk peacock. (I used a simile to create an image)
~The red car pulled out of the driveway. (We have no idea what this really “looks” like)
~The classic red Mustang convertible barreled out of the gravely driveway and onto the tame pavement on Birch Street. (Oh yeah, a cool car and a crazy dude in a sleepy town!)
Image on Image + Action:
Juxtaposed images connected with a prepositional phrase give the reader more context to see (and feel) the action. Create images using nouns and “essential” adjectives. An essential adjective is something like: a “red” rose; whereas, a non-essential adjective would be a “beautiful” rose.
Then let the images do the action!
For Example…
~The rubber ball in the new snow slowly disappears.
~Three barefoot children stomp a dark puddle on the dry street
~On a withered branch a solitary crow caws.
Narrowing and Expanding: Give me the universe, and I will show you a pebble. Give me a pebble and I will show you the universe…
I often teach this technique of big to small—small to big as a way to develop a theme or thesis in an essay, but it is also an effective technique that creates a compelling scene using complementary, yet often disparate, images. It is similar to using the “image on image” technique, except here we emphasize the contrasting size and action between two images to create a single image.
For Example…
~The moon drifts slowly over a dark and angry sea.
~Not even yesterday’s blizzard could pluck the last leaf from the weary oak.
~We saw the headlights winding slowly up the long road on the broad plateau.
Here is a poem that uses all three Images & Actions Techniques to tell a story of a simple day at the beach with the family…but with a deeper message.
The Tide
They are building a world
and the plastic is fading:
Margaret and Eddie’s
buckets are split,
pouring out the warm Atlantic
as they race
along the tidal flat,
filling pools connected
by frantically dug canals.
Tommy squats naked
and screams in guttural joy
at the solitary horseshoe crab
donated by a stranger
with a large belly
and a huge smile.
Charlie thrashes through the shallows
chasing crabs
and impossible minnows.
Emma is happy
to let only the wind
fill her net.
Pipo steps warily
and warns us sternly
in his broken English
to watch out for
the massive toad lurking
in the undertow.
Kaleigh stands far away,
her toes lapped
by the edge of gravity.
She is almost a teenager.
I see her
framed in a setting sun,
stretching out her arms,
holding back
The inevitable tide.
~Fitz
Exercise #1:
Use specific imagery and actions to make these sentences more image rich.
The tree fell in the woods.
The plane flew through the sky
I am not feeling well today.
The baseball game was fun.
I like ice cream.
Exercise #2:
Write five sentences using Image on Image + Action
Exercise #3:
Write five sentences using Narrowing & Expanding
Exercise #4:
Write a paragraph or poem that uses all three Imagery and Action techniques:
3. Parallel Structure
Repetition for Effect
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
~Robert Burns
Parallel Structure (also known as parallelism) employs the repetition of words, word types, and phrases to emphasize and amplify an idea, thought, experience or fact by adding a rhythmic and powerful cadence to prose and poetry (where it is also called “anaphora).
Types of Parallel Structure:
Words:
Sometimes a single word repeated a few times can add a compelling effect to a series of thoughts:
For Example…
~Believe in yourself; believe that you are the master of your fate, and believe that what you are pales beside what you can be.
Word Types:
Several adjectives used in a series of words creates a rhythmic and powerful parallel structure
For Example…
~You are rude, insensitive and selfish when you could be sweet, kind and giving.
Phrases:
Phrases are like short riffs or–a series of notes in a song–that insert an added punch to the melody. In writing, it is similar. A short series of words “phrased” in an interesting way draws attention to itself and creates a powerful cadence and rhythm to a writing piece. It can be used to effectively organize, clarify, unify, and emphasize a specific point, thought, idea or fact. It is a rhetorical technique that has been employed for thousands of years because IT WORKS!
A wise writer knows when and where (and when not) to use Parallel Structure to draw attention to an important passage.
For Example…
In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King utilizes parallel structure to amplify his thoughts on human justice. The dream he expressed here could just be stated, but by use of parallel structure his dreams are more powerful and memorable.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
In this biblical poem, the use of the phrase “a time to” introduces a series of contrasting realities, quite effectively I might add as this has been a popular poem for several thousand years.There is a time for everything,
There is a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
~Ecclesiastes 3
Creating Clarity & Conciseness:
Parallel structure can also be used to express your ideas in a more concise and compelling way.
For Example…
Original Sentence: Suzie is always willing to help around the house, and she does chores with being asked, while all the time seeming happy to help out. (25 words)
New Sentence: Suzie is always willing to help around the house, to do chores without asking, and to seem happy to help out. (21 words)
Exercise #1:
Create five sentences that show the use of single words to create parallel structure. Use the word at least three times in the sentence.
Exercise #2:
Create five sentences that show the use of word types (adjectives, nouns or verbs) to create parallel structure. Use the word type at least three times in the sentence.
Exercise #3:
Create five sentences that show the use of similar phrases to create parallel structure. Use the phrase at least three times in the sentence.
Exercise #3:
Rewrite these sentences by adding parallel structure. Your new sentence should retain the same meaning but be more clear and concise (and fewer) words—which is always a good practice as a writer.
Original Sentence: The mountains in New Hampshire are beautiful because they are big and rocky, and they are majestic, which makes them breathtaking to see. (24 words)
Original Sentence: I have always hated to do writing exercises that have no purpose, and that are hard to understand and which take forever to finish. (24 Words)
Original Sentence: I am the kind person who likes to play outdoors and go for walks in the woods, and I also like to climb big trees. (25 words)
4. Similes & Metaphors
The Power of Comparison
Similes:
Adding a simile to a sentence is a way to spark a reader’s imagination by adding a new and more powerful image into the sentence that compares two things that are not alike, usually using the word “like” or “as” to make the link.
For Example…
~That plumber smells weird. (What’s weird to you might not be weird to me)
~“He smelled like a plumber’s handkerchief.” ~ Raymond Carver (Yes, that is a weird smell
~The lion roared loudly. (So dull! All lions do the same)
~The lion roared like a monstrous hurricane bearing down on a rocky coast. (Now we’re talking. Get out of his way!)
~He was really cold. (How cold is he?)
~He was as cold as a freeze pop in an ice cube tray. (Now I know how cold he really is!)
~That kid is fast. (Compared to what?)
~That kid is as fast as a runaway train. (But now I “see” how fast he is!)
Here is a famous example of similes (and parallel structure!) being used in a poem…
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
~Robert Burns
Exercise #1:
Use similes to make these sentences more interesting. Be as creative and daring as you wish!
~I am bored.
~The day was hot.
~The meeting was long.
~The hamburger was horrible.
~I am excited to go on vacation.
Exercise #2:
Now try writing five sentences of your own from scratch!
Like any writing technique, you want to use similes with care—like sprinkling salt on your food. You don’t want them everywhere, but when it feels right, go for it. You can always edit and revise later.
Metaphors:
Simply put, a metaphor states that one thing “is” another thing. It is used to make a comparison that one thing has the qualities of another thing. Unlike a simile, a metaphor can be used throughout a writing piece.
For Example…
~My teacher is mean and unpredictable! (So is mine)
~My teacher is a rabid beast! (Oh, man, that’s horrible!)
~I am really strong. (How strong are you?)
~I am a molten ball of iron. (Yikes! I won’t mess with you.)
~Everyday my mother hounds me to clean my room. (Must be messy)
~I come home every day to a fluttering, chattering bird pecking me until I clean my nest. (Now this is a tough situation!)
~When that pretty girl walks down the hall, I get flustered and say and do stupid things. (It’s ok. You just get embarrassed easily)
~When that pretty girl walks down the hall, I become a drooling puppy dog wagging my tongue more than my tail. (What a foolish, lovestruck puppy you are. I have to see this sometime!)
Here is an example of metaphor being used in a poem…
I have been here before
Trying to pull a final day
Back into the night,
Trying to execute
Some stay of time,
Some way to wrap
The fabric of Summer
Around the balky,
frame of Fall, sloughing
My skin, unable to stop
This reptilian ecdysis—
This hideous morphing
Into respectability.
My students, tame
As lab mice, won’t understand
My unblinking eyes,
The hissing of my speech,
The lisping of my tongue,
The expansive hinge of my jaw
Or my insatiable appetite—
Until I swallow them whole
Into my elongating belly, feasting
On their impeccable,
Transient joy.
~Fitz
Exercise #3:
Use metaphors to make these sentences more interesting. Be as creative and daring as you wish!
-
- I am bored.
- The day was hot.
- The meeting was long.
- The hamburger was horrible.
- I am excited to go on vacation.
Exercise #4:
Now try writing five sentences of your own sentences using metaphors!
Exercise #5:
Write a poem that uses metaphor
5. Muscular Verbs
The right tool for the job
There are a gazillion verbs to choose from in the English language, so why use the same tired old verbs over and over? A strong verb adds more power, punch and clarity and conciseness to your writing piece. Anytime you feel the need to add an adverb to a verb, you should think long and hard to find a “muscular” verb that more effectively creates and describes the action.
For Example…
~That new kid runs so fast up the hill. (OK, but so common)
~That new kid bolts up the hill. (Better and more clear and concise!)
~That new kid always shows off his skills on the soccer field . (Not bad, but an overused phrase.)
~That new kid continually flaunts his skills on the soccer field . (A better single verb that is more vivid, specific and powerful!)
~I am confused by this writing technique. (Such a common verb)
~I am bewildered by this writing technique. (A better choice that has a more specific meaning!)
How to find more muscular verbs…
All of us are limited—and enabled—by our vocabularies. The best way to cultivate and grow a more extensive range of words to choose from is pretty simple–live a literate life. “A literate life” means reading broadly and deeply, listening and mimicking words you hear and writing thoughtfully and often—and yes, studying vocabulary; however, just knowing the meaning of a word is a sad substitute for experiencing words in the rich context of reading, writing and conversation, but it is a start.
My emphatic suggestion is to learn to love highlighting. To this day, I never read anything without some way to highlight interesting words, phrases, and passages. Whether you use a pencil, pen, or digital highlighter does not matter. Doing it matters because it forces you to stop and think and learn. When you find yourself in the midst of creating a writing piece and the verb (or any word) just doesn’t feel right, use a synonym finder and figure out if another word is more precise and effective. thesaurus.com is a good start, but whatever works best for you is the way to go. Just be sure that the synonym you choose actually works for you and not against you. Easier said than done, but that is a big factor to consider.
For most of you, your head is already full of awesome verbs. The trick is to find these verbs when you need them and to avoid using the same old same old over and over again. As you write, be aware of every verb you use; avoid the use of adverbs unless you have to, and learn to find joy in crafting sentences that sets minds on fire. In short: don’t be dull. It makes for a long life.
And miserable writing.
Here is an example of muscular verbs being used in a poem…
I did not expect this—
A cold night in early May,
Drowning in a spring gale,
drenching downpours,
Silting sands,
Petulant and moodful
Cutting a chaotic mosaic
Swallowed and melded
by chomping waves
Barking and gnawing
Up stoic dunes, curling,
Hissing fingers, clutching
Dissolving chunks
In a receding tide.
Headstrong grasses expect this,
But my tame and wizened life
Keeps me at a distance,
Spitting out my old aphorisms,
Taunting this angry sea,
Backpedaling down a glistening road,
looking back,
To what I once was.
~Fitz
Exercise # 5.1:
Use better verbs in these sentences.
~I chased the squirrel.
~I threw the ball to Timmy.
~I think about you all day.
~The waves crashed on the beach.
~I walked through the lonely woods.
~He sat in the chair.
~The bird flew in the sky.
~The moon floated in the stars, and the stars twinkled.
~I ran home and watched Ginny swing on the swing-set.
~Fitz’s assignments make me want to yell and scream and pull my hair.
Exercise # 5.2:
Find five synonyms for each of these verbs. Highlight the one you like best for each series.
Change: verb, verb, verb, verb, verb
Build: verb, verb, verb, verb, verb
Drive: verb, verb, verb, verb, verb
Find: verb, verb, verb, verb, verb
Grasp: verb, verb, verb, verb, verb
Increase: verb, verb, verb, verb, verb
Inspire: verb, verb, verb, verb, verb
Overcome: verb, verb, verb, verb, verb
Raise: verb, verb, verb, verb, verb
Save: verb, verb, verb, verb, verb
Exercise # 5.3:
Practice Active Reading: Highlight unfamiliar and/or interesting words–especially verbs. Highlight effective phrases. Highlight and annotate sentences ans passages that point to important themes and ideas.
y
Stones, Words & Walls
`Language is the gift—as well as the tool—that allows and enables us to appreciate, understand, and express the complexity and nuance of our inner and outer lives. Our language builds upon itself, and it evolves, as we evolve, to breathe the newest air of the universe. The right words bring clarity to chaos and echo long enough that those who listen will be enlightened, and those who read will be entranced by the mysterious alchemy of a shared language—and it is this sharing of words that we need to focus on. We need to let the words we use bubble up from the broth of shared experience, and as like minds congregate, you will find your audience as much as they will find you.
I worked for a number of years building stone walls for John Bordman—a brilliant and orneryYankee curmudgeon who was insistent that every wall survive as a testament to eternity—in the hopes that I could learn everything I needed to learn about this “piling on of stones.” From early on in my apprenticeship, he would leave me at a site for hours on end to pick through a mountain of stones trying to find the stones that would “fit together” to make the wall. I placed my stones and squinted at them from a distance (just like John) to see if the hand of gravity (and not the vanity of man) had placed the stone. Invariably, when he returned, he would calmly and quietly destroy ninety percent of my day’s work. As critical as he was of society, he rarely crushed my fragile ego by criticizing my efforts. Instead, he would say things like, “Damn hard to find good stones in this pile!” While in the same breath he would add, “But, it’s all we have to work with.” He would then go on to craft a magnificent wall—a wall that will last for centuries—walls built out of the material at hand, walls that only a true connoisseur of stone walls will appreciate.
It didn’t take long to figure that building stone walls would take its toll on both the body and the fingers of a fledgling folksinger; however, in my world of metaphor, I carry those same stones with me as I struggle to build a song, a poem, a story—or this. Words are the stones we work with; and the more stones in our pile, the more we can build the wall of our dreams; but, equally important is the reality that a pile of good stone does not make a wall—as a thousand new vocabulary words won’t make you a better writer. John Bordman never went out and bought more stone just to have more to choose from; instead he always bought good stone in the first place: stone from walls that edge the fields (and what once was fields) all over New England—hand-picked stones culled from the wisdom of his experience: big, solid, interesting stones, already weathered by the storms and vicissitudes of time.
It’s not so much that we need a lot of obscure words as much as we need good words—and we need to recognize good words. If our experience of life is limited and shallow, our big words will only impress small minds, and they will alienate the truly wise. We need the experience of words used well: words used in elevated writing; words used in great speeches; words we hear and read and feel in meaningful ways; words that we see actually working to bring sense to the senseless.
A truly extensive and effective vocabulary is built on an attentiveness to precise language; it means embracing the world of words used well; it means turning off asinine TV; it means measuring a book by the possibilities it presents, not by its rank on the bestseller lists, and it means discussions informed by wisdom and decorum—not polemics or politics. If you are a writer, it means entering your writer’s space with an open and disciplined mind. It means learning the craft and recognizing the art of writing well.
Words don’t say, they mean…
Active Reading Rubric
Active Reading Rubric
Downloads
Feel free (and they are free!) to download and use any Crafted Word Rubrics. Simply include a link to TheCrafted Word.org and help us spread the news of our site. Thanks!
-
Download as a pdf.
-
Download an editable document
-
Coming soon…Download an interactive iBook from the iTunes Bookstore!
Join Quip.com
-
Active Reading Full Rubric
- Active Reading Blank Rubric
A Guide for Active Reading
Fitz’s Active Reading Rubric #1
Sometimes we read for simply the pleasure of reading. Sometimes we read because we are studying a piece of literature, and we are trying to understand that literature in a deeper and more profound way. When we read a piece of literature in this way, it is a wise idea to practice what is commonly called “active reading.” In active reading, we notate (by adding notes or highlighting certain parts of the text) so that we come away from the reading with an understanding not only of the plot of the story, but also with a richer vocabulary, an appreciation for how the author uses these words in phrases and sentences for greater effect, and, perhaps most importantly, to discover the important themes that the story uses to make it a great (or sometimes not so great) story.
Five New or Cool Words:
Find five new or cool words in use them in sentences.
Knowing a lot of words is pretty useless unless we actually know how to use and understand those words when reading, speaking, and writing. Reading good books and listening attentively is the number one, all-time best way to develop a rich, broad and diverse vocabulary. (The number two best way is to master the vocabulary flashcards I have created for you)
As you read a story highlight, underline, or circle words you don’t understand—or you just think are words that are really cool and you want to be able to use in your own developing vocabulary. Believe me, there are plenty of cool words out there! In the space below, share five words you found in the reading that you think are awesome, cool, and interesting words. Put the word in bold and then try and use that word in a sentence. You do not need to write the definition.
For Example:
Edifying: I never thought that studying vocabulary would such an edifying experience!
- Word: Use the word in a sentence.
- Word: Use the word in a sentence.
- Word: Use the word in a sentence.
- Word: Use the word in a sentence.
- Word: Use the word in a sentence.
Four Fantastic Phrases
Use four “fantastic phrases” in sentences
Jimmy Hendrix was such an amazing guitarist not because he could play a lot of notes (he certainly could), but because of the way he put those notes together as guitar riffs (a series of notes that create a memorable and enchanting musical phrase). Writers do the same sort of thing by using a short group of words to create an interesting and effective phrase. In the space below, share four phrases that you highlighted in the story that you feel are worthy of remembering. Put the phrase in bold and then create your own sentence.
For Example:
Rosy fingers of dawn: I was tired, but it is worth getting up early to see the rosy fingers of dawn.
- Phrase: Use the phrase in a sentence.
- Phrase: Use the phrase in a sentence.
- Phrase: Use the phrase in a sentence.
- Phrase: Use the phrase in a sentence.
Three Enduring Themes
Identify and show three timeless themes
The themes of any conversation, speech, movie, or book are the ideas, topics, situations and/or points of view used to help tell the story and make it relevant to the listener, viewer or reader. A theme needs to be universal, meaning that people everywhere know and understand what that theme represents in a single word, such as peace, friendship, struggle, loneliness, love, loss, regret, family; moreover, we can understand themes in a more specific way as a short phrase, such as missing a friend (loss), learning to cope with failure (frustration), or appreciating your parents (family).
These universal themes make stories interesting, memorable, and rewarding. Without these universal themes, a story just does not work for us because we need to relate to a story in a personal way in order to like and appreciate that story. Every “good” story has one main theme that is focused on throughout the story (called the main theme or dominant theme) as well as any number of smaller themes (called minor themes) that help to create interesting and often profound parts of the story that we can relate to in any number of emotional and intellectual ways.
For Example: “All Quiet on the Western Front”
The Horror of War: In chapter six, when the attack begins, the soldiers become like maddened machines as they kill each other in the most horrific and brutal ways.
- Theme: Describe how and where this theme is used in the writing piece
- Theme: Describe how and where this theme is used in the writing piece
- Theme: Describe how and where this theme is used in the writing piece
Two Quotable Quotes
Copy and cite two quotable quotes
Having a bunch of good quotes from works of great literature in your memory is like having a lot of useful tools in your toolbox—they’re good to have because you never know when they might come in handy. A good writer spends a lot of time creating sentences that are clear, concise, and memorable, and his or her best sentences are remembered by generations of readers.
A good quote says a lot in a small space. Don’t use a quote that is longer than you are able to memorize; otherwise, you will rarely repeat the quote.
Share two quotes from the writing piece that you feel are worth remembering. It is a good habit to always cite your source for the quote you are using. Use quotation marks and italics for your quote. Cite the source afterwards.
Note: a quote is a passage from the piece of literature you are reading. It does not have to be dialogue.
For Example:
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden
- “Put quote in italics here” ~Source
- “Put quote in italics here” ~Source
One Thoughtful Response
Share your experience of your reading
If you like something and think it is worth sharing, then it is worth putting in a bit of time and effort to share your thoughts with other people. It is even better when you can have a conversation with other people and share your thoughts and reflection.
There are a couple of ways you can do this.
- To do this, go to The Crafted Word discussion board and post your thoughts, questions, and reflections about the reading. Check back later and see what other people have posted, and then respond to each other in an open, honest, and respectful way. You can respond directly to an individual post or you can add your own post to the discussion thread.
- Write a reflection in your journal or share your thoughts in a podcast.
- Upload the Personal Reading Response Rubric or the Narrative Paragraph Rubric and write a well-crafted and more formal response, and post to your blog.
I have yet to meet a person who regrets the time he or she spent reading great literature. Reading good books is the only investment that really never fails!
©John Fitzsimmons
TheCraftedWord.org
Explore more of The Crafted Word Rubrics
Welcome to The Crafted Word
read more
Ten Writing Genres
Doing something which is “different” does not come easily to most of us. The wrestling team I coach will look at me sideways if I ask them to practice cartwheels. I’ve even heard that some professional football teams bring in dance instructors to teach their behemoth...
Remember the Time
Write what you know. ~Mark Twain I don’t always practice what I preach, especially when it comes to the simple, unaffected, and ordinary “journal entry.” Much of my reticence towards the casual journal entry is the public nature of posting our journal writing as...
Remote Learning 2.0
Explore, Assess, Reflect & Rethink How to move on to a better tomorrow... For most of us teachers, our first crash course in remote learning is done, and the wise work now is to separate the wheat from the chaff and truly assess what works and what can be...
Haiku Techniques
Downloads
Feel free (and they are free!) to download and use any Crafted Word Rubrics. Simply include a link to TheCrafted Word.org and help us spread the news of our site. Thanks!
-
Download the Haiku Techniques as a pdf.
-
Download an editable “Top Three Haiku Techniques” rubric [Note: The document is a Word Doc. If using an iPad with Pages, download the document and “Open in Pages.”
-
Coming soon…Download an interactive iBook from the iTunes Bookstore!
Fitz’s Top Three Haiku Techniques
To count or not to count?
That is the question…
The writing of haiku is probably one of the most dumbed down exercises in our collective poetry curriculums around the planet. Every year I ask my students the same question: ‘What do you know about haiku?’ And invariably the entire room is shouting 5-7-5 as if it is the code that will stop a bomb from going off. It is almost like asking, “What is baseball?’ and having everybody shout “FIELD” at the same time. Baseball is certainly played on a field, but the answer is a long way from the nuance, practice, and reality of the game.
Haiku has survived as an art form for so many thousands of years because there is something quintessentially cool, fun, and thought provaoking about the writing and reading of haiku—but too many of us teachers forget to keep that in mind and impose a creative rigidity at the start by insisting on a metrical structure that is as unquestioned as gravity.
Things to keep in mind when writing haiku:
- The writing of haiku has to be kept fun and thought provoking. In fact, the term haiku is derived from the word “Hai” which means “insightful,” and the term “Ku,” which means “fun.” (Or something very close to that.)
- Haiku are poems of 20 syllables or less constructed in three lines using an images, actions, and a cutting element (usually a punctuation mark that sets up the twist) that separates the haiku into two sections. This might not be the definition you know, but it is the one we will use for the haiku I teach here. It is not a bad idea to stay close to the traditional 5-7-5 syllable scheme, but it is certainly not the end all be all of “effective haiku.” Only a pedant is going to sit there and count syllables on you.
- A traditional haiku always has what is called in the Japanese language, a kigu, which is a seasonal reference of some sort, though for most western writers of haiku this has gone the way of the 5-7-5.
- A good haiku has neither too little or too much, and it just feels like a haiku when you read it or hear it. It makes you want to say, “Ahhhhh ku…”
- A haiku should be structured like a small cottage or hut: it is a small, familiar place that holds a secret of some sort—as well as the promise of great intellectual depth or emotional warmth.
- Write from your point of view from out of your own experiences.
- Never explain the meaning of what you say. Finding meaning is part of the joy and play of the readers
For poets in a Crafted Word Course…
- If you work on your haiku in your Quip folder, and I will give you feedback on your work as you work.
- Post your completed haiku in your blog. If you can post a black and white photo with each poem, that would be even cooler.
Explore the three techniques…
#1: Images + Action + Cool Twist
Technique # 1: Image + action + cool twist:
Using images and actions to create a vivid and visual experience for your reader is a powerful method for engaging and keeping your audience interested in what you are writing—and that has to be the primary goal of all writers. The most effective images and actions are created using specific nouns and verbs. I like to teach haiku as a way to practice this basic skill of writing because haiku not only use images and actions, they also add in a thoughtful element (the cutting) into each poem.
For example:
In the bog
the kid with the new sneakers
is getting nervous.
~fitz
Try it yourself:
- First create a series of images and actions and make the first two lines of a “potential” haiku.
Nature, and especially the seasons, is the best raw material for haiku. Go outside and watch nature. (Yes, move away from your computer and grab a notebook and a pencil!) - Find a place where you can just sit and observe what is happening around you.
Whenever you “see” something happening, write down that image and action using only nouns and verbs–and occasionally a necessary adjective, and rarely an adverb! - Don’t look for what is “out of the ordinary.” Look for ordinary things doing things in ordinary ways. The most commonplace images make for the best haiku.
For Example:
In her nest of grass
The robin sleeps all day
A single earthworm
Inches across the wet pavement
Three painted monarchs
Dance around a single flower
Lightening flashes
And distant rumbling
Next, take those images and actions and create a haiku by adding a short thought, question, or statement. In traditional haiku this is called the “cutting.” The cutting adds a “twist” into the poem and lets your reader experience the image and action in a new (and often profound—and sometimes funny) way.
- A good way to set off this cutting is by adding a semi-colon, double dash or colon at the end of the first section.
- I generally use a semi-colon in place of a comma and conjunction (so, yet, and, or, nor, for, but).
- I use a colon to introduce a statement or a list.
- I use the double dash when I want to add a cool thought or sudden insight to complete the haiku. Try to keep this line between four and seven syllables.
- Notice that a haiku does not have a title, but the author name is always place below in italics.
Here are the completed haiku using my examples.
In her nest of grass
The robin sleeps all day;
It must be Sunday.
~fitz
A single earthworm
Inches across the wet pavement:
Stop the speeding car?
~fitz
Three painted monarchs
Dance around a single flower—
Sweet waiting nectar!
~fitz
Lightning flashes
And vague distant rumbling:
Somebody’s getting wet.
~fitz
These may not be the greatest haiku in the world, but I hope you get the basic idea of what I am trying to do. By adding the cutting I want you to see that even the most common of experiences can have profound and unique meaning.
My techniques, derived from the Japanese masters, should help you compose haiku that are cool, fun, and insightful, but like any form of writing, the proof is always in the pudding. It is up to you to practice, experiment, innovate and use your own creative judgements while keeping in mind that traditions that evolved over the course of the last several hundred years.
Don’t break the rules because you can; break the rules only after you know them!
#2: Image on Image + Cool Twist
Technique # 2: Image on Image + Cool Twist:
Part of the powerful effect of black and white photography is the visceral response created by the contrasts between shades of black and white. For some reason, a black and white photo is, arguably, more evocative than a color image—and at least to me! For most of my assignments, I ask my students to include a black and white image to go along with their haiku.
For Example:
Outside the bombed cottage
a snow-dusted soldier smiles
and flips the pancakes.
-fitz
Now, let’s try it out…
The important part of this exercise is to practice creating images and actions using nouns and verbs and “essential” adjectives. (An essential adjective is somethibg like: a “red” rose; whereas, a non-essential adjective would be a “beautiful” rose.
First you need to create juxtaposed images–especially if the images are “out of place”–that are connected with a prepositional phrase.
For example:
The rubber ball
in the new snow
A dark puddle
on the dry street
On a withered branch
the black crow
Now add an action of some sort to the beginning or the end that helps add a new dimension and twist to the images and in doing so create a haiku:
The rubber ball
in the new snow
will soon be lost
~fitz
When will the kids find
the dark puddle
on this dry street?
~fitz
On his long grey branch
the black crow
waits all day.
~fitz
#3: Narrowing & Expanding
Technique #3: Big To Small, or Small To Big
Narrowing & Expanding–or Vice-Versa
Give me a stone and I’ll show you the universe.
Show me the universe and I’ll give you a stone.
The technique of expanding or narrowing is common and effective in all types of writing. It is a way of amplifying or focusing attention. It helps us to see the universal meaning in small and specific images; and it allows us to see the unique and particular within the “big picture.”
For example:
All that’s left
of the long winter–
a mitten in the daffodils
~fitz
Here is a way to practice technique #3, Expanding & Narrowing:
The technique of expanding or narrowing is effective in all types of writing. To use this technique to create haiku you simply need to start with either a big or a small image.
For example:
- The last oak leaf [Small: need to expand]
- The moon in the night sky [Big: need to narrow]
Now expand upon or narrow down the image:
Yesterday’s winds:
strong enough to carry away
the last stubborn leaf
~fitz
The moon in the night sky
walks with me
down this wet road
~fitz
Poetry is a craft as much as it is an art. The practice of haiku reinforces everything that is amazing about writing. A good haiku pumps oxygen into an airless room; it gives meaning and metaphor to the most common moments of life, and it captures the beauty and pathos of a moment and shares it with eternity.
Here is my favorite haiku by my favorite haiku poet!
Eaten alive by lice and flees—
now the horse
pisses on my pillow
~Basho
Explore more of The Crafted Word Rubrics
How To Write a Sonnet
How to write a shakesperian Sonnet
You might be the next Shakespeare. Write a sonnet!
Terms to know:
- Iambic Pentameter
- Iamb
- Quatrain
- Couplet
- Rhyming Couplet
- Sonnet
- Meter
- Metrical Line
- Scansion
- Foot
Download The Rubric PDF
It is a cruel task master who asks his or her students to “do” what he or she has not done themselves—and so it is with the writing of strict sonnets—but it is a task I will also undertake if only to know the difficulties I am forcing upon you. After years of coaching football and wrestling, it is all too obvious to me that lazy practices make for lazy athletes. By the same logic, tough practices make for better (though not necessarily happier) athletes. Writing a good sonnet is going to be a tough practice—for me, too. I have written “unrhymed sonnets” (See below) that follow the thematic and metric structure of sonnets, but I have only written a few classical Shakespearean or Italian sonnet. The one I include here I wrote for Mrs. Ward’s retirement celebration.
Sooo, what is a sonnet? In writing sonnets, the emphasis is placed on exactness and perfection of expression. A sonnet, the way I am first teaching you [Shakesperian Sonnet as opposed to the Italian Sonnet, which came first)], is a fourteen line poem that is written in “rhymed, iambic pentameter,” meaning it has three rhyming “quatrains” [four lines of poetry] followed by a single rhyming “couplet.” [two lines of poetry, usually with the same rhyme]. (See how I am able to get in all of my fun poetry vocabulary!)
Other more modern poets use different rhyme schemes to write their sonnets, but all adhere to the basic fourteen line model. What is cool about sonnets is that it forces a poet to be incredibly precise with their language, and it creates a brief and melodic form of poetry that is pleasing to the ear, enjoyable to read, and which deals with some great philosophical truth that all people can (or should be) able to relate to on a deep emotional and intellectual level.
Here, a picture is worth a thousand words:
We’ll use Shakespeare’s Sonnet XXIX
Sonnet XXIX
When in disgrace with Fortune and men’s eyes, (A)
I all alone beweep my outcast state, (B)
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, (A)
And look upon myself and curse my fate, (B)
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, (C)
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed, (D)
Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope, (C)
With what I most enjoy contented least, (D)
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, (E)
Haply I think on thee, and then my state, (F)
(Like to the lark at break of day arising (E)
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate, (F)
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings, (G)
That then I scorn to change my state with kings. (G)
~Shakespeare
Like a lot of people, your first response may be, “I have no clue what Shakespeare is writing about—something about being a king, maybe…” So, it takes a bit more digging, deliberating, thinking and mind-opening to understand that this sonnet is about how being in love (and simply remembering that love) trumps everything and makes a person forget how or her woes and sorrows and his or her misfortunes and jealousies and makes him or her happier and wealthier than any king—and unwilling to change places with anyone on earth.
And that is pretty cool and powerful!
Understanding Poetry
To understand a poem, deconstruct it and analyze how the poem is “put together.” (Kind of like that TV Show “How Things Work.”) This deconstructing is called “scansion” because you are literally scanning the poem to see if there is a pattern that creates the “sound” of a poem. Of course, there is more to scansion than that, but for the here and now that is our definition.
Now, use my rubric (actually, it is probably Shakespeare’s rubric) and create your own sonnet!
1. Notice the rhyme scheme of the poem:
a b
c d c d
e f e f
g g
The first three rhyme patterns are in quatrains (four lines). The last two (GG) are a
2. Notice the meter of the poem:
Each line of poetry is written in iambic pentameter: Five ba-booms per line (or five unstressed/stressed “feet” in real poetry terminology) basically equaling ten syllables per line–though there are some exceptions to this definition, such as when writing with a pattern of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed, which is called an Anapest.
For example…
Sonnet XVIII
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
3. Notice the Thematic Development of the poem:
The thematic development is how the story of poem unfolds. Ultimately, this is left up to the writer, but in traditional
First Quatrain:
Set the Scene and State the Theme:
Rhyme Scheme: ABAB
Use the first quatrain to set the scene and tone and to point your reader in the general direction your poem is going to go.(Similar to the broad theme and narrow theme in the paragraph rubric.)
Second Quatrain:
Show the Theme in Action
Rhyme Scheme: CDCD
Use the second and third quatrains to develop your theme by using real-life examples and descriptions or a deep reflection.
Third Quatrain:
Add a Cool Twist:
Rhyme Scheme: EFEF
Use the third quatrain to add a cool twist or to pose a conundrum—a seemingly unsolvable problem or dilemma—or a paradox, which is a statement that apparently contradicts itself and yet might be true…
Final Couplet:
Craft a Memorable Couplet
Rhyme Scheme: GG
Use this last couplet to create a profound and memorable statement that tries to capture the spirit, theme, and intent of the poem.
This is my Sonnet #3 that I wrote for Mrs. Ward, a beloved teacher at my school, which I recited at her retirement party.
The parting is the hardest part of fate—
The slow untangling knot still left unwound;
We pause as if the hour is too late
To divvy fair the treasure we have found.
Our words like fingers pointing at the moon;
Whose light reveals the shadows that you teach;
And this goodbye that seems to come too soon
The pulsing tide returns you to our reach.
With each soul you shaped the morphable clay
And lay to rest the fickle thorns of time;
You gave us all an ordinary day
Below some harsh summit we could not climb—
I never asked, but wonder how and why
You somehow manage to teach frogs to fly.
~Fitz
The sonnet form can and should be adapted to other forms of poetry.
Here is my unrhymed sonnet I wrote in in fourteen lines of blank verse, using five “ba-booms” for each line.
The Bottom Line
Around my cabin they are dropping trees—
the tall white pines that sentinel these woods,
that crack and thud before being dragged
to the landing, and then bucked and loaded
onto a top-heavy pile of harsh truck.
Every so often the machines will stop and I’ll hear the loggers
and I’ll hear the loggers gam and cuss:
“Ah, for Chris’-sakes, these have all got heart-rot.”
Pissed, probably, they went and bid so high
for what the mill owners will just laugh at.
The slash is piled high and the ground scarfed.
I dip my pen and turn back to my work.
Piecing together the best of our wood
none of us will make a killing today.
Explore more of The Crafted Word Rubrics
Personal Reading Response Rubric
Download the Personal Reading Response Rubric
Downloads
Feel free (and they are free!) to download and use any Crafted Word Rubrics. Simply include a link to TheCrafted Word.org and help us spread the news of our site. Thanks!
The editable rubric is a MS Word document.
If using Pages on an iPad, open the doc in Pages after downloading.
If using Google Docs, upload to Google docs after downloading.
Personal Reading Response
How To Write a Literary Reflection
I am sure that many of you have been asked to do in-class or summer reading of some sort—and I bet, too, that your teachers will ask you to write something about a book, poem or story—or even just a chapter—that you have read. My Personal Reading Response Paragraph Rubric can help you write an awesome and meaty paragraph that is insightful, well-organized, and interesting. Try it!
A personal reading response needs to feel and sound like you speaking at your very best, and it needs to be both honest and thoughtful. Being thoughtful means that you are careful and considered and real in your writing. Being honest means being authentic. Genuine praise is enlightening to a reader; false praise reeks of arrogance.
You can use this rubric when you are asked to—or desire to—craft a “personal” response to a piece of literature. Read the descriptions of each step of the rubric on the left side, and then insert your sentences into the boxes on the right side of the rubric.
When you are completed, paste the full writing piece below the rubric.
The completed response should be 350-600 words in length. It can be compiled as a single paragraph, if that is required and your final piece is closer to 350 words, but I think it works better as a brief essay with multiple shorter paragraphs.
Follow the steps…
Assignment Details
- Assignment Details:
- Follow all of the formatting requirements .
- Follow the directions for each step of the rubric.
- Be sure to “try” and match what you write with the directions for each stage of the rubric.
2. The Broad Theme
(Opening Paragraph)
The Hook
Every writing piece needs a good and pithy “hook” to gain and grab the readers attention.
- Without even mentioning the title, write a brief, single sentence that tries to capture the attention of your audience by stating the major theme of your personal reading response.
- The way you craft this sentence sets the direction, tone and mood of the reflection that follows.
3. Narrow Theme: (Opening Paragraph)
Get Specific
- In the second sentence, introduce the piece of literature, the genre of the piece, and the author, as well as the major effect the writing piece had on you personally.
- Remember that book titles are italicized.
- Short story, song, and poem titles are put in quotes.
4. One/Two Punch: Opening Paragraph
What is the Author Trying To Do?
Every writer writes for a reason, and when doing so he or she tries to get the reader to feel or think in a certain way.
- Write two or three more sentences that tells your reader what “you” feel the author is trying to do in the writing piece.
- For added emphasis and support, you could also include a researched quote from another source to back up your thoughts.
5. Smoking Gun: (Second Paragraph)
Summary & Text Reference
Briefly, using three to five sentences, summarize the story, poem, or song. It is important to give a brief summary of the writing piece because it helps your reader put the writing piece in context. This does not mean, however, to give away all of the details and spoil it for your reader.
- Who: who is or are the major characters?
- Where: where is the action happening?
- When: when is the action taking place?
- What: what is the main conflict that is happening?
- Why: why is this conflict happening?
6. Head & Heart: (Third Paragraph)
Metacognition
Remember that in a personal response, you can’t be wrong―as long as you are truthful. In this section of your paragraph write honestly from your head and heart about your experience reading and understanding the text. Below are some ideas for how to approach this paragraph, but please expand the list to suit your response.
Here are some ideas, but don’t answer these like a list of questions! Weave them into a narrative paragraph that flows “conversationally.” You can’t be wrong here, but you can write in a way that is dull and boring to your readers.
- How did the writing piece affect you? Was it exciting, boring, interesting, dull…why?
- What emotions did it make you feel?
- Did you relate to the content or the characters in some way, shape or form?
- Did it challenge you to think and feel in a different way?
- Did it change any part of your own world view?
- Did it bring up memories of other books or authors you have read?
7. Get Out: Fourth Paragraph
Elevator Review Conclusion
The conclusion is as important as the hook, so do your best to make the end of your paragraph as interesting and refreshing as your opening sentence.
- Imagine that someone in an elevator asked you about what you are reading, and you only have ten seconds to respond.
- You can touch on what you have already written, but don’t use the same words again.
- Really, it should not take more than ten seconds to read this last paragraph!
8. Paste, Proofread & Publish
Do What Writers Do
Paste each step of the rubric in the space below. Proofread, edit and revise as needed. Publish as required by your instructor.
- The rubric is a guide, not a rigid structure. If it sounds too academic it will lose the power of a narrative essay.
- Revise your sentences and paragraphs to create a narrative voice that mimics your real voice.
- Pay close attention to formatting, punctuation, grammar and mechanics.
- Add more paragraphs if you feel it will be more effective for your readers.
- Have fun with your words, and your readers will have more fun reading!
Explore more of The Crafted Word Rubrics
Fitz-Style Blog Entry Rubric
View a “How-To” Video!
Download the Fitz Style Journal Entry Rubric
This is a Word Doc. To open in Pages, simply click on this and “Open in Pages.”
A Fitz Style Journal Entry
Set the Scene & State the Theme; Say What You Mean, & Finish It Clean!
When writing a blog post, is important to remember that a reader is also a viewer. He or she will first “see” what is on the screen, and that first impression will either attract their attention and interest—or it may work to lose their attention and interest; hence, a bit of “your attention” to the details will go a long way towards building and maintaining an audience for your work. Plus, it gives your blog a more refined and professional look and feel—and right now, even as a young teenager, you are no less a writer than any author out there.
So act like a writer. Give a damn about how you create and share your work and people will give a damn about what you create! It is a pretty simple formula.
Below is a rubric for how to create a “Fitz Style” journal entry. I call it “Fitz Style” only because I realized that over time my journal posts began to take on a “form” that works for me. Try it and see if it works for you. You can certainly go above and beyond what this does and add video or a podcast to go along with it—and certainly more images if it is what your post needs. Ultimately, your blog is your portfolio that should reflect the best of who you are and what interests you at this point in your life presented in a way that is compelling, interesting, and worth sharing.
One of the hardest parts of writing is finding a way to make sense of what you want to say, explain, or convey to your readers–especially when facing an empty page with a half an hour to kill and an entry to write (or a timed essay or exam writing prompt). Here is a quick formula that might help you when you need to create a writing piece “on the fly.” At the very least, it should guide you as your write in your blog, and at the really very least, it will reinforce that any essay needs to be at least three paragraphs long! I’ve always told my students (who are probably tired of hearing me recite the same things over and over again): “If you know the rules, you can break them.” But you’d better be a pretty solid writer before you start creating your own rules. The bottom line is that nobody really cares about what you write; they care about how your writing affects and transforms them intellectually and emotionally as individuals.
If a reader does not sense early on that your writing piece is worth reading, they won’t read it, unless they have to (like your teachers), or they are willing to (because they are your friend). Do them all a favor and follow these guidelines and everyone will be happy and rewarded. Really!
Formatting:
- How something “looks” is important. Never publish something without “looking” to see the finished product in your portfolio or blog.
Interesting Title:
- After the initial look, the title is the first thing a reader will see. The title should capture the general theme of your journal entry in an interesting and compelling way.
Cool Quote:
- A short and pithy quote works in tandem with your title to capture the essential theme of your entry. Quotes are easy to find online—or even make one up, or steal one from your writing piece.
Eye-catching Image:
- An image embedded in your post is the final touch of the formatting. A picture really does paint a thousand words and this final touch prepares your readers and entices them to read the important stuff—the actual writing piece you create.
Opening Paragraph
The “Hook!”
A hook is just what it says it is—a way to hook your reader’s attention and make him or her eagerly anticipate the next sentence, and really, that is the only true hallmark of a great writer!
Set the Scene
Use your first paragraph to lead up to your theme. If the lead in to your essay is dull and uninspired, you will lose your readers before they get to the theme. If you simply state your theme right off the bat, you will only attract the readers who are “already” interested in your topic. Your theme is the main point, idea, thought, or experience you want your writing piece to convey to your audience. (Often it is called a “Thesis Statement.)
State the Theme
I suggest making your theme be the last sentence of your opening paragraph because it makes sense to put it there, and so it will guide your reader in a clear and, hopefully, compelling way. In fact, constantly remind yourself to make your theme be clear, concise and memorable. Consciously or unconsciously, your readers constantly refer back to your theme as mnemonic guide for “why” you are writing your essay in the first place! Every writing piece is a journey of discovery, but do everything you possibly can to make the journey worthwhile from the start.
Body Paragraphs
Say What You Mean
Write about your theme. Use as many paragraphs as you “need.” A paragraph should be as short as it can be and as long as it has to be. Make the first sentence(s) “be” what the whole paragraph is going to be about.
Try and make those sentences be clear, concise and memorable (just like your theme) and make sure everything relates closely to the theme you so clearly expressed in your first paragraph. If your paragraph does not relate to your theme, it would be like opening up the directions for a fire extinguisher and finding directions for baking chocolate chip cookies instead!
And finally, do your best to balance the size of your body paragraphs. If they are out of proportion to each other, then an astute reader will make the assumption that some of your points are way better than your other points, and so the seed of cynicism will be sown before your reader even begins the journey
Conclusion
Finish It Clean
Conclusions should be as simple and refreshing as possible. In conversations only boring or self important people drag out the end of a conversation.
When you are finished saying what you wanted to say, exit confidently and cleanly. DON”T add any new information into the last paragraph; DON’T retell what you’ve already told, and DON’T preen before the mirror of your brilliance. Just “get out of Dodge” in an interesting and thoughtful (and quick) way.
Use three sentences or less. It shows your audience that you appreciate their intelligence and literacy by not repeating what you have already presented!
Literary Analysis Essay Rubric
TheCraftedWord.org
Tell Your Story
Writing a Literary Analysis Essay
How To Structure & Craft a Compelling & Insightful Literary Analysis Essay
Some more cool tips & tricks to help you write well…
Literary Analysis Essay Rubric
A Step By Step Guide to Writing
A Five Paragraph Literary Analysis Essay
ESSAY RUBRIC:
Be sure to follow “all” of the details of the rubric explained in the rows below.
This is a literary analysis essay, so do not use “I” or any personal anecdotes or experiences in your essay!
Use these rows for each part of your essay.
When you are finished, paste them into another word document.
1. Assignment Details:
Use a single appropriate and readable font: I prefer Times new Roman size 12 font.
Be sure that your assignment information is in the top right of your document:
Name
Writers Toolbox:
Literary Analysis Essay
Date
All paragraphs should be single spaced with double spaces between paragraphs.
Mike Demsher
Fitz English
Literary Analysis Essay
12/18/2012
MAIN TITLE:
Your main title tries to capture the major theme or themes of your essay in a broad and interesting way
It should be centered on your page in size 18 font two double spaces down from your assignment information.
Living Deliberately
SUBTITLE:
This points the reader in a more narrow and focused direction, and it must include a reference to the writing piece being analyzed
Make this as interesting and compelling as you can.
Use size 14 italic font centered directly below the main title.
Who Are We Meant to Be
Introductory Quote
Choose a quote of from the writing piece that fully captures the theme(s), spirit, and mood of your essay.
Center your quote above your paragraph in size 12italics, single-spaced. (No quotation marks.) Be sure to cite your source in regular font within brackets or italics: e.g. [Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 9]
NOTE: Book titles are always italicized. Use quotation marks for short stories and poetry.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)
Opening Paragraph
Set the Scene
Use one of the techniques described in the the rubric for “How to Create an Opening Paragraph. In the example, Mike Demsher, one of my students in 9th grade, uses technique #3, “Engage Your Reader in an Intellectual Journey.”
If in doubt, use technique number one. It is easy and effective.
Technique #1: Drop Your Reader into a Scene: Describe the scene in the introductory quote using images and actions as if describing this scene to a friend.
Use the present tense when describing this scene (or any scene you use when writing an analysis.
Be sure to include the who, what, when, where, and why of the scene you are describing.
Throughout human history, we have advanced. Whether it is electronically, medically or socially, we have moved forward to a better society; however, could we be moving in the wrong direction? We have advanced our lives to a point where we are constantly hurrying with everything we do. We have been moving into a world where there is no real thought. We are in a philosophical dark age. The only way to snap ourselves out of it is to slow down and think. We must live deliberately each day and remember who we are meant to be.
Opening Paragraph
State the Theme
Transition from setting the scene to stating the theme.
Write a “clear, concise and compelling” guiding statement!This is your thesis statement and the overarching theme of your essay, so it needs to clearly state the direction and scope of your entire essay, which you already indicated in your sub-title.
Be sure to include the main theme, or themes, from your main title and clear reference to the writing piece.
Throughout human history, we have advanced. Whether it is electronically, medically or socially, we have moved forward to a better society; however, could we be moving in the wrong direction? We have advanced our lives to a point where we are constantly hurrying with everything we do. We have been moving into a world where there is no real thought. We are in a philosophical dark age. The only way to snap ourselves out of it is to slow down and think. We must live deliberately each day and remember who we are meant to be.
First Body Paragraph
Copy and paste your first body paragraph you created using the literary analysis paragraph rubric.
Your first body paragraph is the mother of all other body paragraphs: there must feel like there is a natural flow and gravity to the order of your paragraphs.
Since your first body paragraph is followed by another body paragraph, you want to be sure that your last line “sets up” the next paragraph in a logical way. This is called a transition sentence.
Every life needs a purpose; however, sometimes we cannot find what our purpose is. Time and time again lives are thrown away simply because those lives cannot find their purposes. Every person has the opportunity to be who they want and sometimes they forget that basic freedom. In Thoreau’s memoir Walden, Thoreau went to Walden Pond to find his purpose and to live his life to its full potential. Thoreau built a house in the woods and gave himself a place to get away from the distractions that come with living.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)
Thoreau tells us that he went to the woods to live his life deliberately and do what he was meant to do. He wanted to get away from all the confusion of life and focus on thinking. He went to the woods to live his life with a purpose and leave his mark on the world. He didn’t want to die knowing that he could’ve done more with what he had. Thoreau believed that we shouldn’t waste what we have, both in physical abilities and mental capabilities. “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2) Thoreau had a gift for thinking and that is why he went to the woods. He knew that his purpose was to think and share what he learned with the world. He wanted a place where he could nurture his thoughts and therefore become a better philosopher. Thoreau went to the woods to simplify his life and do what he was meant to do.
Second Body Paragraph
Copy and paste your second body paragraph you created using the literary analysis paragraph rubric.
You may need or want to revise the beginning broad theme of your second paragraph, so that you don’t lose the continuity of your main theme.
At the end of this paragraph you need to transition to your final body paragraph, so in your last sentence give your readers a clue that there is more to come!
“Simplify, simplify.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2) Simplicity is a goal. We aspire to simplify our lives and live them deliberately. In chapter two of Walden, Thoreau tells us to simplify our lives. Thoreau lived his life with next to nothing and wrote his story with nothing to comfort him but the birds around him. “Such was not my abode, for I found myself suddenly neighbor to the birds; not by having imprisoned one, but having caged myself near them.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2) Thoreau wanted to live his life simply and write. He wanted his life to be slow and simple.
An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)
Thoreau wanted life to be as simple as possible. He wanted us to live deliberately and know what we want from life. How can we know what we want if we are constantly being pulled away by a hundred different commitments? Thoreau wants us to have only a few things to do and to keep our lives simple. He wants us to live our lives knowing what we are doing and why we are doing them. We are sometimes lost in our own heads, and we sometimes miss the beauty right in front of our faces. It is even truer today. How many times do we sit and think about our world and what it is. When we walk by the woods we see bark and that’s all. We look straight ahead onto our next commitment. We don’t look around and appreciate what’s in front of our eyes. We miss the amazing things around us because we are too busy to notice them. Thoreau wants us to slow down and simplify our lives. Thoreau wants us open our eyes and see the world as it was meant to be seen.
Third Body Paragraph
Copy and paste your third body paragraph you created using the literary analysis paragraph rubric.
This paragraph needs to “feel” like a final paragraph. By the end of this paragraph your readers should feel like you delivered on the promise of your thesis.
Since you are not transitioning to a new body paragraph, your final line of this paragraph should be conclusive, confident—and above all—clear and concise.
Don’t hint that there is more you could have written. Let your previous words speak for themselves!
Closed eyes often remain closed; however, once they are opened, a whole new world appears. In Thoreau’s Walden, Thoreau wants us to live our lives the way they are meant to be lived. He wants us to live deliberately and to open our eyes to the world as a whole. Thoreau wants us to live our lives with our eyes open and he “urges us to wade through the muck that constitutes our everyday lives.” (Sparknotes.com) Thoreau uses his own life and his own story of simplicity to bring the message of living deliberately to the forefront of our minds.
Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry — determined to make a day of it.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)
Thoreau gives us a wakeup call. He tells us to live a day of our lives the way nature does; we should rise with the sun, live our lives without worry of what others think, and make each day count. That is the true meaning of life. We need to live our lives like we only get one. Many of us go through life in a blur, moving from one task to the next, until we die of exhaustion with nothing to show for our lives but the tattered remains of our achievements. How can we truly appreciate our achievements when we toss them to the side as soon as we get them and then move onto the next chore? We must live our lives aware of who we are and what we can be. We mustn’t worry about things that don’t matter. Sometimes and education is sought for the wrong reasons. School is about learning the material; however, all that matters is an inked letter on piece of paper. Life has taken a wrong turn, and we must work to put ourselves back on the right track. We must live our lives deliberately without losing sight of who we are meant to be.
Conclusion
Use the “How to Write an Essay Conclusion” Rubric to help guide you in writing your own conclusion.
Remember to finish it clean! Your conclusion wants to remind readers of the promise in your thesis and the overall importance of your main theme or themes that you so amazingly explicated in your body paragraphs.
There is no need to overdo it, but don’t be dull either. Be sure to include your main theme(s) and a specific reference to the writing piece.
Thoreau wants us to live our lives with a purpose. Thoreau wishes us to live our lives without falling into the dull void that our society is moving towards. He wants us to think, to learn and to appreciate life. He wants us to learn from the world, and to slow down enough to fully see it. Thoreau wants us to live deliberately.
Mike Demsher
Fitz English
Literary Analysis Essay
12/18/2012
Living Deliberately
A Journey of Discovery through Reading Walden
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
~Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2
Throughout human history, we have advanced. Whether it is electronically, medically or socially, we have moved forward to a better society; however, could we be moving in the wrong direction? We have advanced our lives to a point where we are constantly hurrying with everything we do. We have been moving into a world where there is no real thought. We are in a philosophical dark age. The only way to snap ourselves out of it is to slow down and think. We must live deliberately each day and remember who we are meant to be. In Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Thoreau urges us to live our lives purposefully and to not give up who we are. He wants us to live with our eyes open and not to fall into the blur that society is moving towards. Henry David Thoreau wants us to live deliberately.
Every life needs a purpose; however, sometimes we cannot find what our purpose is. Time and time again lives are thrown away simply because those lives cannot find their purposes. Every person has the opportunity to be who they want and sometimes they forget that basic freedom. In Thoreau’s memoir Walden, Thoreau went to Walden Pond to find his purpose and to live his life to its full potential. Thoreau built a house in the woods and gave himself a place to get away from the distractions that come with living:
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)
Thoreau tells us that he went to the woods to live his life deliberately and do what he was meant to do. He wanted to get away from all the confusion of life and focus on thinking. He went to the woods to live his life with a purpose and leave his mark on the world. He didn’t want to die knowing that he could’ve done more with what he had. Thoreau believed that we shouldn’t waste what we have, both in physical abilities and mental capabilities. “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2) Thoreau had a gift for thinking and that is why he went to the woods. He knew that his purpose was to think and share what he learned with the world. He wanted a place where he could nurture his thoughts and therefore become a better philosopher. Thoreau went to the woods to simplify his life and do what he was meant to do.
Simplicity is a goal. We aspire to simplify our lives and live them deliberately. In chapter two of Walden, Thoreau tells us to simplify our lives: “Simplify, simplify.” (Chapter 2) Thoreau lived his life with next to nothing and wrote his story with nothing to comfort him but the birds around him. “Such was not my abode, for I found myself suddenly neighbor to the birds; not by having imprisoned one, but having caged myself near them.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2) Thoreau wanted to live his life simply and write. He wanted his life to be slow and simple.
An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)
Thoreau wanted life to be as simple as possible. He wanted us to live deliberately and know what we want from life. How can we know what we want if we are constantly being pulled away by a hundred different commitments? Thoreau wants us to have only a few things to do and to keep our lives simple. He wants us to live our lives knowing what we are doing and why we are doing them. We are sometimes lost in our own heads, and we sometimes miss the beauty right in front of our faces. It is even truer today. How many times do we sit and think about our world and what it is. When we walk by the woods we see bark and that’s all. We look straight ahead onto our next commitment. We don’t look around and appreciate what’s in front of our eyes. We miss the amazing things around us because we are too busy to notice them. Thoreau wants us to slow down and simplify our lives. Thoreau wants us open our eyes and see the world as it was meant to be seen
Closed eyes often remain closed; however, once they are opened, a whole new world appears. In Thoreau’s Walden, Thoreau wants us to live our lives the way they are meant to be lived. He wants us to live deliberately and to open our eyes to the world as a whole. Thoreau wants us to live our lives with our eyes open and he “urges us to wade through the muck that constitutes our everyday lives.” (Sparknotes.com) Thoreau uses his own life and his own story of simplicity to bring the message of living deliberately to the forefront of our minds.
Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails. Let us rise early and fast, or break fast, gently and without perturbation; let company come and let company go, let the bells ring and the children cry — determined to make a day of it.
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2)
Thoreau gives us a wakeup call. He tells us to live a day of our lives the way nature does; we should rise with the sun, live our lives without worry of what others think, and make each day count. That is the true meaning of life. We need to live our lives like we only get one. Many of us go through life in a blur, moving from one task to the next, until we die of exhaustion with nothing to show for our lives but the tattered remains of our achievements. How can we truly appreciate our achievements when we toss them to the side as soon as we get them and then move onto the next chore? We must live our lives aware of who we are and what we can be. We mustn’t worry about things that don’t matter. Sometimes and education is sought for the wrong reasons. School is about learning the material; however, all that matters is an inked letter on piece of paper. Life has taken a wrong turn, and we must work to put ourselves back on the right track. We must live our lives deliberately without losing sight of who we are meant to be.
Thoreau wants us to live our lives with a purpose. He wishes us to live our lives without falling into the dull void that our society is moving towards. He wants us to think, to learn and to appreciate life. He wants us to learn from the world, and to slow down enough to fully see it. Thoreau wants us to live deliberately.
Henry David Thoreau
Write often, write upon a thousand themes, rather than long at a time, not trying to turn too many feeble somersets in the air–and so come down upon your head at last. Antaeus-like, be not long absent from the ground. Those sentences are good and well discharged which are like so many little resiliencies from the spring floor of our life–a distinct fruit and kernel itself, springing from terra firma. Let there be as many distinct plants as the soil and the light can sustain. Take as many bounds in a day as possible. Sentences uttered with your back to the wall. Those are the admirable bounds when the performer has lately touched the spring board.
(November 12, 1851)
Personal Memoir Rubric
TheCraftedWord.org
Tell Your Story
Writing a Personal Memoir
How To tell a Good Story about a Person, Place or Thing
The Power of Memory
We all have people, places or things in our lives that are really important to us. A “Memoir” is a story we tell about that person, place or thing.
The person could be a friend, a grandparent or parent, brother or sister, or aunt or uncle—anybody whom you know well and who helps you feel special and loved, or who has helped you through a hard time in life, or who is inspired and inspiring.
The place could be a vacation spot, a room in the house, a treefort in the backyard, or any place that you remember fondly and vividly as being different and special.
A thing could be a pet, a toy, a book, a gift or any “thing” that also has that special effect on you that makes “it” worth remembering.
There are many ways to write memoirs, but here is a simple and straightforward rubric to help you write a prose memoir quickly, and, with a bit of thought, effectively and poignantly.
Some more cool tips & tricks to help you write well…
Henry David Thoreau
Write often, write upon a thousand themes, rather than long at a time, not trying to turn too many feeble somersets in the air–and so come down upon your head at last. Antaeus-like, be not long absent from the ground. Those sentences are good and well discharged which are like so many little resiliencies from the spring floor of our life–a distinct fruit and kernel itself, springing from terra firma. Let there be as many distinct plants as the soil and the light can sustain. Take as many bounds in a day as possible. Sentences uttered with your back to the wall. Those are the admirable bounds when the performer has lately touched the spring board.
(November 12, 1851)
Kurt Vonneghut
Vonnegut offers eight essential tips on how to write a short story:
- Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
- Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
- Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
- Every sentence must do one of two things–reveal character or advance the action.
- Start as close to the end as possible.
- Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them–in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
- Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
- Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
James Joyce
Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you desire to arrest attention, to surprise, do not give me the facts in the order of cause and effect, but drop one or two links in the chain, and give me a cause and an effect two or three times removed.
Annie Dilliard
Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed? Can the writer isolate and vivify all in experience that most deeply engages our intellects and our hearts? Can the writer renew our hope for literary forms? Why are we reading if not in hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom, courage, and the possibility of meaningfulness, and will press upon our minds the deepest mysteries, so that we may feel again their majesty and power? What do we ever know that is higher than that power which, from time to time, seizes our lives, and reveals us startlingly to ourselves as creatures set down here bewildered? Why does death so catch us by surprise, and why love? We still and always want waking.
~The Writing Life
A Simple Memoir Rubric
We all have people, places or things in our lives that are really important to us. A “Memoir” is a story we tell about that person, place or thing.
The person could be a friend, a grandparent or parent, brother or sister, or aunt or uncle—anybody whom you know well and who helps you feel special and loved, or who has helped you through a hard time in life, or who is inspired and inspiring.
The place could be a vacation spot, a room in the house, a treefort in the backyard, or any place that you remember fondly and vividly as being different and special.
A thing could be a pet, a toy, a book, a gift or any “thing” that also has that special effect on you that makes “it” worth remembering.
There are many ways to write memoirs, but here is a simple and straightforward rubric to help you write a prose memoir quickly, and, with a bit of thought, effectively and poignantly.
1. Assignment Details:
- It is always wise to format a writing piece exactly as your editor or teacher requires, so be sure that your final piece is presented in the proper style and format.
MAIN TITLE:
- Your main title tries to capture the major theme or themes of your essay in a broad and interesting way
- Your title and quote should help to attract readers and set the tone and style of the memoir you create.
- The quote can be a quote from another person or piece of literature—or it can be a direct quote from the person you are writing about!
- It should be centered on your page in size 18 font two double spaces down from your assignment information.
- Consider inserting an image above your Main Title
SUBTITLE:
- The subtitle points the reader in the direction of your memoir subject.
- Make this as interesting and compelling as you can.
- Use size 14 italic font centered directly below the main title.
Guiding Quote:
- A good quote helps to set the tone and direction—and it serves to reinforce the major theme of a writing piece and prepares the reader for what is coming.
- If you don’t have a quote in your head (and most of us don’t) simply think of a one-word quality of your person place or thing and find a quote online.
- Put your Quote in italics (no quotation marks are need) beneath your title.
- Be sure to note your source beneath the quote without italics.
The Opening Paragraph
Set the Scene & State the Theme
Set the Scene:
- Drop your readers into the scene.
- In this opening paragraph, start with a scene which describes you doing something memorable with your memoir person (or what you are doing in your “place” or or with your “thing”).
- Show us what is happening by describing in vivid detail a single scene from the experience you are retelling.
- Use plenty images and actions (and dialogue if you can) to paint with words a complete picture of the action taking place.
- Describe everything about that scene using specific images and actions to “paint” a scene in reader’s imagination.Remember that your readers were not with you, so be sure to include who was there; what was happening; when it was happening; where it was happening, and why it was happening.
Feel free to use any of the other techniques listed in “How To Write an Essay Opening”
State the Theme:
- End the opening paragraph by writing the one special attribute that you like most about that person, place or thing. That “thing” becomes the “theme” of your memoir.
- stating the theme is a way of creatively and effectively capturing the main reason you are telling this story!
- This is often called the main theme, premise, or thesis of a story.
- Put this sentence (or sentences) right at the end of the first paragraph. It is a logical jumping off place for the any essay, narrative or otherwise.
The Body Paragraphs
Tell Your Story. Say What you mean. Write Well.
- Now tell the whole story using as many paragraphs as you need.
- Consider using the Narrative Paragraph Rubric to write most of your body paragraphs.
- Be sure to include images and actions AND your thoughts and feelings about what is happening as you go along.
- Dialogue is always good to include.
- Remember that whenever a new person is speaking you need to create a new paragraph.
First Body Paragraph
- In your first body paragraph write about why this person, place or thing is important to you.
- Tell us your thoughts and feelings, and describe the specific “actions” this makes this memory so special.
- Try and write at least five sentences–more if you can write more.
- Use my Narrative Paragraph Rubric if it helps to keep you on target.
- Reread “How To Tell a Good Story” and use the suggested storytelling techniques.
Second Body Paragraph:
- You may always write more than three body paragraphs, so these point apply to all inner body paragraphs.
- Copy and paste your second body paragraph you created.
- You may need or want to revise the beginning broad theme of your second paragraph, so that you don’t lose the continuity of your main theme.
- At the end of this paragraph (or series of paragraphs) you need to transition to your final body paragraph, so in your last sentence give your readers a clue that there is still more to come!
Third or Final Body Paragraph:
- Copy and paste your third or final body paragraph you created using the narrative paragraph rubric.
- Be a preacher, philosopher and wise person and “tell” your readers what you learned from this experience.
- In this paragraph you will complete the “trinity of themes” that you explicate in your memoir.
- This paragraph should have a “and not only that, but…” feel to it that helps to make your subject even more “memorable.”
- This paragraph needs to “feel” like a final paragraph. By the end of this paragraph your readers should feel like you delivered on the promise of your thesis.
- Since you are not transitioning to a new body paragraph, your final line of this paragraph should be conclusive, confident—and above all—clear and concise.
The Conclusion: Parting Words
Finish it Clean
Conclusion
- Start your last paragraph by telling us why everyone should have a person like your memoir person, a place like your place, or a thing like your thing in his or her life.
- End the paragraph with one short sentence that” captures” why your person, place or thing is so great—and maybe even use an exclamation point at the end. For example: “Uncle Tony really is the coolest guy in the world!”
- Don’t introduce any new experiences in the conclusion–only reference what you have already written.
- If you need more help, go to “How to Write an Essay Conclusion” for more tips and tricks.
Some examples of Memoirs…
Here is a memoir wrote for my sister. I used the rubric, but I added more body paragraphs to tell the story of my sister’s life.
Always remember that my rubrics are “guides,” not “rules.” The most important thing is to tell a good story to the best of your ability!
John Fitz
Essay Writing
Mr. Mean’s Class
Memoir Assignment
3/30/2014
When Cool Was Really Cool
Remembering the Coolest Sister Ever
Life is not counted by the amount of breaths we take,
but of the moments that leave us breathless.
~Unknown
We were coming home from church one morning and Jimmy Glennon pulled up beside us as we approached the Sudbury road lights. He didn’t notice the well-dressed family of eight scrunched into our old Pontiac station wagon as he revved the engine of his yellow and black mustang fastback. I was crammed in the rearward facing back seat doling out peace signs and air horn salutes, but the scene unfolding in front of me was one of the coolest scenes ever: here was the guy Patty had a date with the night before seeming to challenge my father to a drag race, or at the very least humiliate, the infamous and fiery EJ—on a Sunday morning no less. When the light turned green, Jimmy pulled away in a squeal of burning rubber and glorious smoke, fishtailing his car as he laid down a patch—a testament etched like black marker into the road, and which would last several more months of my bragging to my friends that I had the coolest big sister in town, and I would retell that story to every new kid who sat next to me on the bus as we drove by that spot every weekday on the way to the Peabody Middle School. That moment sealed it for me: I really did have the coolest big sister in town—and now I could prove it in the hardscrabble myth-making of a crowded kid-filled neighborhood. I could now glow in the reflected light of her infinite coolness, and I still live in that light, but it is now deeper, richer, and more penetrating, with a lingering and haunting pain that still leaves me numb and lonely; but, through Patty we can all be cool; we can live with a richer understanding of our dreams, our struggles, and our potential to embrace the scope of the day, and we can simply share the patchwork mosaic that she wove with the divergent strands of our lives.
When I was young, Patty lived in another age. She moved as a phantom through the house because she was like eighteen when I was eleven; she had friends who would hoist me to the top of the basketball hoop bolted above the garage door; she had friends who played guitars in the basement and pierced each other’s ears, and she had friends in prison and friends who died in the Vietnam war, and she had friends that she kept for all of her shortened life—most of whom are here today. My other sisters were never as cool as Patty. Eileen, in her quest for perfection, would charge me a quarter if I didn’t make my bed right; Mary Ellen would lament that I was embarrassing the whole family because of my bad pitching in little league, and Annie, who was almost as young as Patty was old, was too little to be cool and did things like take our meal orders before supper on a stolen Friendlies waitress pad. My little brother Tom never seemed to feel the need to be cool.
So it all fell on me.
I really wanted to be cool. I wanted a different and clear slant on life like Patty, but I certainly did not want to work as hard as her; so, like so many other people, I used her as my mentor—my guide through the vagaries and vicissitudes of life. And she guided me well: she had a way of making your little adventure or undertaking be one of immense importance, but, equally important, she would put her life into your venture by helping to make it become real. She knew that anything worth trying was worth doing, and so any dream could be pounded into reality; any project could be finished, and any problem or struggle had a way through, and her hand was always there to help it happen.
Patty gave me faith in all that is infinite and eternal because that was the nature and source of her energy. Need a book typeset? Just drop it off. Need a sweater? Just drop a hint. How about a party or a place to stay? A weekend at the cape? A babysitter for the weekend? How about a car? Patty would hand down her cars like other people would their sweatshirts. Patty had that rare thing: a wisdom that was not proud of itself and a door that was always open.
The more you knew Patty, the richer you would become. The best part of going to U-Mass was the chance to live near Patty. I mistakenly thought that living near Patty would put us on equal footing. It was there where I lived, not only in the light of her coolness, but in light of her kitchen, where I would show up on a regular basis with a regular stream of spiritually and physically hungry friends, all of whom found that cool as she was, Patty was also warm and magnanimous beyond compare. It was in her kitchen where I first got to hang out with her as a friend, confidant, and cheerleader. My first night at U-Mass, we met for beer down at The Drake, a classic dive of a bar with smoke and pool tables and peanut strewn floors. It seemed strange and normal to be sitting down with her and Donald—her avowed Marxist, long-haired, archaeologist boyfriend who complimented her so perfectly and would soon become her perfect husband and partner and soul-mate until death parted their life together.
It may seem dumb, but it was like a first date for me. But, it was better than Jimmy Glennon burning rubber at the route two lights; it was better than her taking off with Tubby in an old Triumph Spitfire—and Mary and EJ panicked that she was eloping—with a Jewish boy at that. Better than when her and Mary Ellen got caught pinning up their catholic school skirts at the bus-stop; better than when one of her friends escaped from prison; better than hearing that her dorm in Southwest was the target of another drug raid; better than when her and a couple of friends hopped in the back of an old bakery truck and moved to Oregon—and EJ making me promise not to tell her mother that it wasn’t a real bus. It was better because it was finally real and not just my vision of some more exciting reality. We were in a smoky bar and laughing and talking and telling stories, and she was with a guy who made her laugh and made her incredibly happy. I could feel her knitting together the best fibers of our family and creating a tapestry that nothing can undo—a tapestry that has stood the test of time.
Patty showed that small gestures are huge, and that huge actions are always doable. She would call and be as excited about her student Rodney’s wrestling match as she would winning teacher of the year. She would drive five hours to have dinner with my mother, or to bring a swimming list to Alba, or to drop off a present for one of your kids. She showed how simple it is for giving to be a gift for everyone involved.
In the perfect memory of love, Patty will always live on. And we will always be amazed, humbled, and for me, sometimes simply awestruck … and breathless.
Narrative Essay Rubric
TheCraftedWord.org
Tell Your Story
Writing a Personal Narrative Essay
Use This Rubric-based Approach To Writing a Five Paragraph Personal Essay
Use the Narrative Paragraph Rubric and the Personal Narrative Essay Rubric to craft a compelling, well-structured and insightful essay that describes the details and explores the deeper meaning and lessons of a personal experience.
Writing with Rubrics
The only way out is through…
Damn! Another long post…
For better and worse–and through thick and thin–I keep piling on rubric after rubric to help guide the content, flow, and direction of my students’ writing pieces. The greater irony is that I never set out to create or use rubrics with them. I was always (and still am) a great proponent of just writing until your writing skills reach the omega point–that place where you write well just because you don’t know how else to write, except “well.”
I don’t believe this because I think it; I believe it because I know it and have seen it hundreds of times over: if you write a prodigious amount and you try to use good and accepted writing skills, you will become a better writer. By “prodigious” I mean something along the lines of 1500-2000 words a week, week in and week out. By good and accepted writing skills I mean that you practice and imitate and hone those skills that have worked for countless generations of writers before you.
And for those of you with a particular slant of genius, you can be that writer who creates a new way of approaching writing–a way that simply works for whatever audience you envision!
I am not so vain and ignorant to think that I have found a solution for weak writers to become little Billy Shakespeare’s, but I am wise enough to see when something just works. I saw it last weekend when I trawled through the myriad depths of your portfolios and joyfully read post after post that were engaging, enlightening, and edifying. Some of the posts had the raw quality of uncooked food that would benefit from a bit more cooking–more proofreading, organizing, and revising for clarity, conciseness, and completeness. Some more of the posts were utterly perfect in vision, crafting and follow through.
My dream and hope and intent is that you feel and see what I feel and see. I started The Crafted Word out of a belief that words are the clay of our soul and that crafting, shaping, and forming that clay into the shape of your unique and enduring mind and soul and being in an intentional and disciplined way will transform you into craftsmen of words and, ultimately, into fully independent artists that seek and desire the perfection that only true artists can attain–and I want to give you the workshop and studio that helps you reach that perfection.
Which to me is why you are here reading this right now, and today is as good a day as any to start or to continue, for one is as important as the other.
I started making rubrics a few years ago as a way to help writers get started. I spent a long time looking, reading–and listening–to how conversations and writing pieces were structured, and I tried to see what patterns those pieces followed and what irrefutable and universal logic was inherent in what I read and heard; and then I tried, and am still trying, to recreate these patterns as a guide to how we, as writers, consciously and unconsciously follow those patterns.
Are there other ways to do this?
Of course there are other ways. The only true judgment of a writer is in the willingness and desire of a reader or readers to read what you have written–and to want to read more of your writing again and again, but to flail blindly in a thicket of words is no way to reach your destination; while, to boldly carve a new route the same morass is noble and courageous and what every true writer sometimes has to do. Or wants to do! The rubrics are just a map that show “a” way through and out–and sometimes around–a writing block.
All you really need to be a great writer is a realization that once your words are uttered or printed they are no longer yours. They are an intentional gift to an audience.
Give your audience what they need and want and will cherish. Give yourself the time to make that sea of words. It really does work.
And that becomes your reward and your inspiration to reach that higher level.
Some more cool tips & tricks to help you write well…
Henry David Thoreau
Write often, write upon a thousand themes, rather than long at a time, not trying to turn too many feeble somersets in the air–and so come down upon your head at last. Antaeus-like, be not long absent from the ground. Those sentences are good and well discharged which are like so many little resiliencies from the spring floor of our life–a distinct fruit and kernel itself, springing from terra firma. Let there be as many distinct plants as the soil and the light can sustain. Take as many bounds in a day as possible. Sentences uttered with your back to the wall. Those are the admirable bounds when the performer has lately touched the spring board.
(November 12, 1851)
Kurt Vonneghut
Vonnegut offers eight essential tips on how to write a short story:
- Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
- Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
- Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
- Every sentence must do one of two things–reveal character or advance the action.
- Start as close to the end as possible.
- Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them–in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
- Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
- Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
James Joyce
Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you desire to arrest attention, to surprise, do not give me the facts in the order of cause and effect, but drop one or two links in the chain, and give me a cause and an effect two or three times removed.
Annie Dilliard
Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed? Can the writer isolate and vivify all in experience that most deeply engages our intellects and our hearts? Can the writer renew our hope for literary forms? Why are we reading if not in hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom, courage, and the possibility of meaningfulness, and will press upon our minds the deepest mysteries, so that we may feel again their majesty and power? What do we ever know that is higher than that power which, from time to time, seizes our lives, and reveals us startlingly to ourselves as creatures set down here bewildered? Why does death so catch us by surprise, and why love? We still and always want waking.
~The Writing Life
The Power of a Narrative Paragraph!
Fitz's Essay Formula
Notes on Writing an Essay
One of the hardest parts of writing is finding a way to make sense of what you want to say, explain, or convey to your readers–especially when facing an empty page with a half an hour to kill and an entry to write (or a timed essay or exam writing prompt). Here is a quick formula that might help you when you need to create a writing piece “on the fly.” At the very least, it should guide you as your write in your blog, and at the really very least, it will reinforce that any essay needs to be at least three paragraphs long! I’ve always told my students (who are probably tired of hearing me recite the same things over and over again): “If you know the rules, you can break them.” But you’d better be a pretty solid writer before you start creating your own rules. The bottom line is that nobody really cares about what you write; they care about how your writing affects and transforms them intellectually and emotionally as individuals.If a reader does not sense early on that your writing piece is worth reading, they won’t read it, unless they have to (like your teachers), or they are willing to (because they are your friend). Do them all a favor and follow these guidelines and everyone will be happy and rewarded. Really!.
- Set the scene and state the theme: Use your first paragraph to lead up to your theme. If the lead in to your essay is dull and uninspired, you will lose your readers before they get to the theme. If you simply state your theme right off the bat, you will only attract the readers who are “already” interested in your topic. Your theme is the main point, idea, thought, or experience you want your writing piece to convey to your audience. (Often it is called a “Thesis Statement.) I suggest making your theme be the last sentence of your opening paragraph because it makes sense to put it there, and so it will guide your reader in a clear and, hopefully, compelling way. In fact, constantly remind yourself to make your theme be clear, concise and memorable. Consciously or unconsciously, your readers constantly refer back to your theme as mnemonic guide for “why” you are writing your essay in the first place! Every writing piece is a journey of discovery, but do everything you possibly can to make the journey worthwhile from the start.
- Say what you mean: Write about your theme. Use as many paragraphs as you “need.” A paragraph should be as short as it can be and as long as it has to be. Make the first sentence(s) “be” what the whole paragraph is going to be about. Try and make those sentences be clear, concise and memorable (just like your theme) and make sure everything relates closely to the theme you so clearly expressed in your first paragraph. If your paragraph does not relate to your theme, it would be like opening up the directions for a fire extinguisher and finding directions for baking chocolate chip cookies instead! And finally, do your best to balance the size of your body paragraphs. If they are out of proportion to each other, then an astute reader will make the assumption that some of your points are way better than your other points, and so the seed of cynicism will be sown before your reader even begins the journey.
- Finish it clean: Conclusions should be as simple and refreshing as possible. In conversations only boring or self important people drag out the end of a conversation. When you are finished saying what you wanted to say, exit confidently and cleanly. DON”T add any new information into the last paragraph; DON’T retell what you’ve already told, and DON’T preen before the mirror of your brilliance. Just “get out of Dodge” in an interesting and thoughtful (and quick) way. Use three sentences or less. It shows your audience that you appreciate their intelligence and literacy by not repeating what you have already presented!
Set the scene; state the theme; say what you mean, and finish it clean is a simple rubric for writing to keep in your head as you read and comment, and to practice in your writing as you reflect and express yourself with words.
Telling a Narrative Story
How to Tell a Good Story
Call me Ishmael
~Herman Melville
We are born to tell and listen to stories of all kinds, but the most popular and pervasive of these is the narrative story—a story which retells an experience you have had. Every time someone asks you: “how was school? how was your trip? did you catch anything? what do you like about him? “was it a good game”? … and you answer with more than a grunted single-word response, you are telling a narrative story and YOU are the narrator. The only difference between a narrative story and a fictional story is how much you can play with the truth. The art of the story is the same.
Of course, some people tell better stories than other people, but why? The answer is probably because they tell more stories or they read more stories. They are not satisfied with the single grunt because they love and want to recreate the moment as vividly and compellingly as possible, and by the process of elimination and addition they have figured out how to tell a good story. Good storytellers know what goes into a good story, and, just as important, they know what to leave out. They know that a good story, well told, brings great satisfaction to them as the tellers and writers and to their audience as listeners and readers.
Truth be told, if you can’t tell a good story, it will be hard to get people to listen to you when you really want and need them to listen to you, like when you want to get into a certain school, or you want a certain job, or you are meeting new friends, or you are asking someone on a date, or you desperately need to get through that border crossing…really, anytime you are in a position where someone or somebodies want to hear your story, you need to be able to produce—and to produce, you need to practice.
Kind of like I am doing now.
Thankfully, you probably are already a good storyteller, at least in your head. The harder job is to get your mouth to say it like you think it or your hand to write it like you think it—it being the story. Sometimes this means you have to ignore what your teachers may have taught you about writing, for a good story needs to sing and flow with the unique rhythms of your natural way of speaking, which is rarely what a teacher is looking for in your essay. Imagine if your speaking was graded as harshly as your writing pieces? You would barely get out three sentences without being stopped dead in your tracks! Your mouth would be covered in so many red x’s that you probably would never speak again–and that would be the end of good stories. At least from you. (Even now, my grammar checker is underlining way too many phrases and words–even whole sentences–with green scribbly lines asking me to reconsider how I am writing. I just ignore them. For now.)
The irony for you as a writer is that to recreate your inner voice into a story your readers enjoy reading, you have to write deliberately and carefully to be sure that it sounds and “feels” like you, and that (at least for me) takes a good deal of editing and revising and reading aloud–something most of us know how to do. We just don’t do it enough. But if you do, and if you like what you have created: man oh man, what a great feeling!
Hopefully, I have written well enough that you are still with me, and if you are still with me, and if you want to be a better writer and teller of stories, you will “listen” just a bit longer. As Maria sings in “The Sound of Music” when teaching her gaggle of children: “Let’s start at the beginning/ It’s a very good place to start/ When we sing we begin with do, rei, me…”
Rule #1: Get your reader’s attention! (set the scene)
- Your opening line is like the opening whistle in a soccer game, the first pitch in a baseball game, or the kickoff in a football game. It creates excitement and anticipation. No one knows what exactly is coming, but it certainly keeps us in our seats to see what is coming.
- Your opening line (or sometimes even just a word!) should be an expression of your passion for the story you are about to tell. As Robert Frost once said: “If there are no tears for the writer, there are no tears for the reader.” So open with a line that gets you as excited as your reader.
- I enjoy fishing. [NO NO NO: Nobody cares about you!]
- It was a day that every fisherman lives for. [YES YES YES: Every fisherman that has ever fished (or wishes to fish) lives for that day!]
- Sally is a good friend of mine. [Nooooo….]
- A good friend stands by you come hell or high water. [Yessssss! Everybody (especially your readers) wants a friend like that.]
Rule #2: Let your reader know where you are taking them. (state the theme)
- The best place to let your reader know the overall direction and guiding theme of your story is at the end of the first paragraph. Few readers will continue on reading if he or she is not reasonably sure that reading your story is going to be worth the effort.
- Make the last line of your opening paragraph a clear, concise, and compelling statement of where your story is going to take your readers.
- I am going to write about what a good skier I am. [No, no, no, no…no one cares about how good a skier your are!]
- It was that last run through the deep powder that proved to me that even the greatest fears can be overcome. [Yes, yes, yes….now there is some thematic “thing” that any reader–even those who don’t ski–can relate to in a meaningful way; hence, reading your story “might” be worth the effort!
Rule #3: Paint visually rich scenes. (say what you mean)
- Your readers need to see and think and feel the way you see and think and feel. They are not in your head, so you need to put them in your head using images and actions, which are created using nouns and verbs, not vague thoughts. Brain studies have proven that when a brain is presented by words representing images and actions, the part of the brain that commands motion is prompted into action. This is a great time to use similes and metaphors to help make your words feel alive and real ad make your reader feel the motions of your narrative.
- The weather was lousy. [NO NO NO: What do you even mean by lousy weather?]
- The clouds cracked open and dropped unending sheets of pelting rain that scattered the screaming children like startled blackbirds from a muddy field. [YES YES YES: Your readers brain is now saying, “Run, run for cover!” and they are now a part of your story, not just a passive onlooker.]
- The game was really long. [Noooooo: what do you mean by long? Everybody has a different idea of what long means.]
- The game dragged on like a dull movie until even the referee was snoring. [Yessss….Now we know what you mean by loooong.]
Rule #4: Weave your thoughts into the story (say what you mean)
- Tie your thoughts directly to the images and actions of your story. No one really likes to hear or read a story that is just a bunch of one person’s thoughts. Once your readers are engaged in your story, they will relish your thoughts about what is happening, and, if done well, these thoughts will spark their own thoughts, and not only will they be reliving your story, they will be creating a story of their own; they will wonder what they would think and feel and do in that same situation. The story then becomes their wondrous story, too—not just your story.
- The weather was lousy. I wish I wasn’t there. [NO NO NO: Stating the obvious is not stating much at all. And, oh yeah, nobody cares about you–unless you make them care through the miracle work of words strung like emeralds in the sky.
- The clouds cracked open and dropped unending sheets of pelting rain that scattered the screaming children like startled blackbirds from a muddy field. I could almost hear them thinking “Why did I ever come to this godforsaken place!” In the chaos of the mad cloudburst we must all have been experiencing the same nightmare of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but at least we were all in it together [YES YES YES: This is not just sorry old you in a rainstorm; it is everybody who has ever been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time—and a universal and vexing conundrum.]
Rule #5: The End is a new beginning (finish it clean)
- Your story may seem to end with the last line, but for your readers, the end is a new beginning full of the thinking and pondering and satisfaction that is evoked from a story well-told. No reader wants to hear or read, “That’s it. It’s over. Move on.” We don’t need to be reminded with some pithy summary that your story is over because we know it’s over. If we are reading your story, we can see it ending; if we are listening to your story, we will hear your story drawing to its close. This is not the time to point in the casket and say, “He’s dead,” as if it is a revelation we need to hear. It is a time, however, to more carefully and precisely craft your words into a final gift to your audience—like a parent, friend, or lover pressing a handful of gems into your palm before you leave on a journey and saying, “Here, take these; use them as you need them!” Your final words should read more like poetry than prose—a final reward of the best your head can create because the story is no longer yours: it is ours.
- Not… “Sooo, that’s Johnny Fitz’s story about catching a big fish.”
- But, like Norman Maclean in the closing of A River Runs through It:” I am haunted by waters.”
- Not… “This was an experience no one should have to go through.”
- But like Joseph Conrad in the last phrases of The Heart of Darkness: “The Horror, the horror.”
- Not… “It is important that all of us live and think differently.”
- But like Henry David Thoreau in the last words of Walden: “The sun is but a morning star.”
Every story is ultimately given away. It ends when you abandon it to your audience, and it then becomes a new experience—a new beginning—for your audience, and it is these final words they will mince and chew on through eternity, and so they should be crafted with care; however … remember that you have already given your audience the meat and bones of your story, so you do not need to feed them again with any kind of bland and boring summary.
When I finish reading or listening to a really good story, I get an urge to sit down and think for a really, really long time.
The better the story, the longer I think.
Fitz’s Rubric for a Personal Narrative Essay
A Sentence is a thought fully-expressed;
A Paragraph is a thought fully-explained;
An Essay is a thought fully-explored!
My rubric for writing narrative paragraphs and narrative essays is simply that–a rubric. Not a law, rule, or even always the best way to write a personal essay–but it is a solid and practiced approach that can help anyone construct an essay that is unified in theme, that has a logical and natural flow, and which does what a personal essay need to do: engage, enlighten, and edify your readers.
This rubric is geared towards writing the classic “Five Paragraph Essay,” which seems to be the staple of many academic assignments. In the end, use your best judgment, take risks–and always, always, always write in the way that you think and speak and converse with others. A personal essay that is not personal and real is a worthless collection of drivel and hubris.
To truly understand the “Art of the Essay” you must explore how other writers write; you must write in a sustained and focused way, you must hone your craft as a writer, and you must think deeply about how and why a good piece of writing affects you–and most importantly. Check out my essays and you will see where and when I follow my rules and where and when I ignore them, for every writers journey is a journey of discovery
Try this rubric and see how it works for you. When and where it doesn’t work for you, ignore it, but at least give it a shot. You’ll be surprised by what you write.
And that is pretty cool!
For the best results, especially when first starting out:
- Use the “Narrative Paragraph Rubric” for your body paragraphs (watch the video, too!)
- Read “How to Tell a Good Story” for insights
- Use “How to Write Opening Paragraphs” for your open
- Use “How to Write Conclusions” for your conclusion
- Use the “Personal Essay Rubric” to compile your essay
- Proofread, edit & revise like it is religion
- Share because what your write is worth sharing!
…and have fun… Readers sense when you are not having fun!
Set the Stage
Before anything else a reader “sees” the essay–and often makes his or her first judgment at this point. A well-formatted setting of the stage guides the reader in the direction your essay is going to go.
1. Assignment Details:
- Use a single appropriate and readable font
- Be sure that your assignment information is in the top right of your document:
Name
The Crafted Word:
Personal Narrative Essay
Date
- All paragraphs should be single spaced with double spaces between paragraphs.
- Feel free to include an image or images in your narrative essay.
Chris Ruedigger
Fitz English
Personal Narrative Essay
12/18/2012
MAIN TITLE:
- Your main title tries to capture the major theme or themes of your essay in a broad and interesting way
- It should be centered on your page in size 18 font two double spaces down from your assignment information.
- Consider inserting an image above your Main Title
Nothing Gold Can Stay
SUBTITLE:
- The subtitle points the reader in a more narrow and focused direction and it should contain a reference to the major theme of the essay
- Make this as interesting and compelling as you can.
- Use size 14 italic font centered directly below the main title.
How a Baseball Game Taught Me To Cherish the Moment
Guiding Quote:
- Find a really cool quote to put above your story that captures the major theme of your story.
- A good source for quotes is http://brainyquotes.com but you can use a quote from anywhere if it works
- Use size 12 or 14 font centered on the page.
- The quote is in italics; author’s name in regular font
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
-Lao Tzu
The Opening Paragraph
Set the Scene & State the Theme
The Hook:
- Open your first paragraph with a real hook of a sentence that grabs your reader’s attention and prepares your readers for what is coming.
- Sometimes a single word is all you need!
The dreary dark skies shone over the baseball field as I dug my foot into the soft and chunky dirt on the mound.
Set the Scene:
- Drop your readers into the scene.
- Show us what is happening by describing in vivid detail a single scene from the experience you are retelling.
- Use plenty images and actions (and dialogue if you can) to paint with words a complete picture of the action taking place.
- Remember that your readers were not with you, so be sure to include who was there; what was happening; when it was happening; where it was happening, and why it was happening.
Feel free to use any of the other techniques listed in “How To Write an Essay Opening”
I wiped off the rubber, and stared down my last opponent. I took the signal and wound up from the stretch. I fired in a blazing fastball for strike one. Cheers came from the infield, cheering me (Rudy) on for the next pitch. This time a snapped off a curveball that dropped into the zone, and the batter swung. I weak ground ball came right to our shortstop, who cleanly made the play. In the moment, it seemed like an ordinary out, but after, I realized that was the last pitch I will ever throw at Fenn.
State the Theme:
- stating the theme is a way of creatively and effectively capturing the main reason you are telling this story!
- This is often called the main theme, premise, or thesis of a story.
- a story can always include other themes.
- Don’t promise more than you are going to give; otherwise, a reader will feel cheated!
- Put this sentence (or sentences) right at the end of the first paragraph. It is a logical jumping off place for the any essay, narrative or otherwise.
As I walked off the field ,I nearly started to cry. It wasn’t the last pitch that struck me, it was the sign that this was my last ride and time here at Fenn. For the past five years Fenn has been a crazy ride, but one that I will never forget. Fenn has been so special to me because of the numerous opportunities and warm and caring teachers that support me.
The Body Paragraphs
Tell Your Story. Say What you mean. Write Well.
- Now tell the whole story using as many paragraphs as you need.
- Consider using the Narrative Paragraph Rubric to write most of your body paragraphs.
- Be sure to include images and actions AND your thoughts and feelings about what is happening as you go along.
- Dialogue is always good to include.
- Remember that whenever a new person is speaking you need to create a new paragraph.
First Body Paragraph
- Copy and paste your first body paragraph you created using the narrative paragraph rubric.
- Your first body paragraph is the mother of all other body paragraphs: there must feel like there is a natural flow and gravity to the order of your paragraphs.
- Since your first body paragraph is followed by another body paragraph, you want to be sure that your last line “sets up” the next paragraph in a logical way. This is called a transition sentence.
- Not every paragraph needs to use the rubric. A bit of variety is always good!
“Nobody ever made a mistake if they never tried something new.” Albert Einstein once said. As I went through my time at Fenn, opportunities for growth were pounded all over campus. Over these years, I have grown so much from all of the opportunities, but the most memorable one was Acapella. I came to Fenn as a somewhat shy, timid fourth grader who didn’t have a strong passion for music. In seventh grade I finally decided I would a try. I had played piano and guitar, but never felt comfortable with signing. After a quick audition I came to the first rehearsal. Ever since that day, I have loved Acapella and become so much more confident on stage. I can really put on a solid performance. Acapella has been a unique and distinct group I will never forget; however, theres plenty more opportunities that I have been apart off. Not many places can say they ofter a broad range of activities for kids to grow and learn from. Sure, I made some mistakes, but I am just like everyone, as Albert Einstein says. I have grown way more than I ever expected, thanks to the opportunities Fenn has provided. It’s not just the opportunities tough, it is the warm and supportive teachers that I also remember.
Second Body Paragraph:
- You may always write more than three body paragraphs, so these point apply to all inner body paragraphs.
- Copy and paste your second body paragraph you created.
- You may need or want to revise the beginning broad theme of your second paragraph, so that you don’t lose the continuity of your main theme.
- At the end of this paragraph (or series of paragraphs) you need to transition to your final body paragraph, so in your last sentence give your readers a clue that there is still more to come!
Everyone needs care and support. During my days at Fenn, it has been from all the faculty that care so deeply about me. I can trust and feel comfortable around any teacher now; however, it is no more evident than with Mr. Sanborn, my sixth and eighth grade math teacher. As I found myself in his class in sixth grade, I often understood the math work we were doing. Except, one day, I completely zoned out and couldn’t learn any of the material. Nervous and scared, I approached Mr. Sanborn to ask for extra help. Despite my fear, I knew it was the right thing to do: to get caught up. After quietly asking to check some problems, he patted me on the back and sat me down. There, for the next forty-five minutes, we discussed the work and the best way to approach it. It is rare that a teacher can give each student that kind of care and warmth, and I am every so grateful to have had this. It hasn’t just been Mr. Sanborn tough, it is all the loving and supportive teachers that make Fenn the amazing community it is. The care and support that I received is something that I will never forget as I depart from Fenn.
Third or Final Body Paragraph:
- Copy and paste your third or final body paragraph you created using the narrative paragraph rubric.
- Be a preacher, philosopher and wise person and “tell” your readers what you learned from this experience.
- This paragraph needs to “feel” like a final paragraph. By the end of this paragraph your readers should feel like you delivered on the promise of your thesis.
- In this paragraph, reflect upon what you learned from this experience and why it was an important experience in your life.
- Since you are not transitioning to a new body paragraph, your final line of this paragraph should be conclusive, confident—and above all—clear and concise.
It is still bittersweet emotions, and I know I will miss Fenn deeply, especially the opportunities and respect from teachers. As I walked off that rubber, it was walking away from Fenn. Moving on is difficult, but I will take my growth and apply it to my next school. There is no way that you can go through Fenn without accomplishing or trying some new thing. That is special. There is no way that you can go through Fenn without connecting to some teacher. That is special. Acapella and Mr. Sanborn are just two examples of many, but two that will certainly stick with me.
The Conclusion: Parting Words
Finish it Clean
Conclusion
- Remember to finish it clean! Your conclusion wants to remind readers of the promise in your thesis and the overall importance of your main theme or themes that you so amazingly explicated in your body paragraphs.
- Don’t introduce any new experiences in the conclusion–only reference what you have already written.
- There is no need to overdo it, but don’t be dull either. Be sure to include your main theme(s) and a specific reference to the experience you just wrote about.
- If you need more help, go to “How to Write an Essay Conclusion” for more tips and tricks.
It is important to cherish all the moments you get at Fenn, and never take them for granted because someday when you step off the rubber, you will see what I mean.
Chris Ruedigger
Fitz English
Personal Narrative Essay
12/18/2012
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Cherishing the Moments at Fenn
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
-Lao Tzu
The dreary dark skies shone over the baseball field as I dug my foot into the soft and chunky dirt on the mound. I wiped off the rubber, and stared down my last opponent. I took the signal and wound up from the stretch. I fired in a blazing fastball for strike one. Cheers came from the infield, cheering me (Rudy) on for the next pitch. This time a snapped off a curveball that dropped into the zone, and the batter swung. I weak ground ball came right to our shortstop, who cleanly made the play. In the moment, it seemed like an ordinary out, but after, I realized that was the last pitch I will ever throw at Fenn. As I walked off the field,I nearly started to cry. It wasn’t the last pitch that struck me, it was the sign that this was my last ride and time here at Fenn. For the past five year Fenn has been a crazy ride, but one that I will never forget. Fenn has been so special to me because of the numerous opportunities and warm and caring teachers that support me.
“Nobody ever made a mistake if they never tried something new.” Albert Einstein once said. As I went through my time at Fenn, opportunities for growth were pounded all over campus. Over these years, I have grown so much from opportunities, but the most memorable one was Acapella. I came to Fenn as a somewhat shy, timid fourth grader who didn’t have a strong passion for music. In seventh grade I finally decided I would give Acapella a try. I had played piano and guitar, but never felt comfortable with signing. After a quick audition I came to the first rehearsal. Ever since that day, I have loved Acapella and become so much more confident on stage. I can really put on a solid performance. Acapella has been a unique and distinct group I will never forget; however, theres plenty more opportunities that I have been apart off. Not many places can say they ofter a broad range of activities for kids to grow and learn from. Sure, I made some mistakes, but I am just like everyone, as Albert Einstein says. I have grown way more than I ever expected, thanks to the opportunities Fenn has provided. It’s not just the opportunities though, it is the warm and supportive teachers that I also remember.
Everyone needs care and support. During my days at Fenn, it has been from all of the faculty that care so deeply about me. I can trust and feel comfortable around any teacher now; however, it is no more evident than with Mr. Sanborn, my sixth and eighth grade math teacher. As I found myself in his class in sixth grade, I often understood the math work we were doing. Except, one day, I completely zoned out and couldn’t learn any of the material. Nervous and scared, I approached Mr. Sanborn to ask for extra help. Despite my fear, I knew it was the right thing to do: to get caught up. After quietly asking to check some problems, he patted me on the back and sat me down. There, for the next forty-five minutes, we discussed the work and the best way to approach it. It is rare that a teacher can give each student that kind of care and warmth, and I am every so grateful to have had this. It hasn’t just been Mr. Sanborn tough, it is all the loving and supportive teachers that make Fenn the amazing community it is. The care and support that I received is something that I will never forget as I depart from Fenn.
It is still bittersweet emotions, and I know I will miss Fenn deeply, especially the opportunities and respect from teachers. As I walked off that rubber, it was walking away from Fenn. Moving on is difficult, but I will take my growth and apply it to my next school. There is no way that you can go through Fenn without accomplishing or trying some new thing. That is special. There is no way that you can go through Fenn without connecting to some teacher. That is special. Acapella and Mr. Sanborn are just two examples of many, but two that will certainly stick with me.
It is important to cherish all the moments you get at Fenn, and never take them for granted; because someday when you step off the rubber, you will see what I mean.
Narrative Paragraph Rubric
TheCraftedWord.org
Tell Your Story
How To Write a Narrative Paragraph
Use the Narrative Paragraph Rubric to Help
Craft a Compelling Story from Your Life!
The Meaning of Paragraphs
Moreover, I, on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men’s lives
~Henry David Thoreau
If some alien linguists came to earth to study how we communicate with each other, they would probably return to Alien World University and tell their scholarly alien brethren how we create and assign words to our thoughts, and then we share these words either by sound (by talking with each other) or by changing those sounds into a strange and silent written language (written words) that tries to recreate the way we humans talk with each other. Further study would show that we group our thoughts (and hence words) into blocks that we call sentences and paragraphs. Sometimes we group a series of related paragraphs together into an essay, or a speech, or a story. In short, they might say that we communicate using a trinity of expression: a sentence is a thought fully expressed; a paragraph is a thought fully explained; while an essay (or any longer writing piece) is a thought fully explored.
The perceptive alien would notice that we humans have no difficulty speaking in sentences and paragraphs, but we sometimes have a heck of a time trying to do the same when putting our words into writing because most of us humans do not really know (or even have to care) what is and what is not a paragraph. But we should care, because a well-spoken or well-written paragraph adds detail, clarity, and beauty to even the most common thought. It is important to remember that a paragraph is always born in a single thought, and that paragraph ends with the original thought more fully developed and explained. In a way, a paragraph is like caterpillar that transforms into a butterfly. The original thought ends the same, yet different.
How long it takes for that caterpillar to become a butterfly is up to the writer. There is no minimum length for a paragraph. The maximum length is just before the writer drifts or shifts away from the original thought. Generally speaking, the more deep and complex the original thought, the longer a paragraph needs to be; however, if a writer is simply presenting the facts of a story (as in the news) the paragraphs are often remarkably brief–oftentimes just one or two sentences. In short, a paragraph simply needs to do what you (as a writer) need it to do.
All of this might fly in the face of those of you who have been told that a paragraph needs to be five sentences long, or have three supporting facts, or a topic sentence at the start, or it needs a quote. Really all a paragraph must do is explain, elucidate, expound, and/or explicate an idea, thought, experience, or fact—in short—much like a full essay—a paragraph simply needs unity, theme, and purpose. Once that is created after three, ten or ten hundred words, it is time to end the paragraph and move on to the next one or another one.
One of the ironies of my life as a writer is that I have always felt that writing is an organic process that tries to recreate the voice that speaks within us; but, here I am as a writing teacher creating all these “rubrics” and “formulas” to help my students write more effectively. My hope is that the rubrics will help them any aspiring writer find and develop that inner voice that is completely and uniquely his or her own.
This formula for narrative paragraphs is based on the way we would naturally talk about an experience we have had: we introduce what we want to talk about; we narrow it down to something specific and more focused; we offer proof that we have had the experience, feeling, or thought, and then we add some commentary or further explanation. Anything less than this and we run the risk of sounding disjointed, confusing, and random. There are no laws for writers, nor are there really any rules aside from what teachers or employers impose, but there is an audience out there, and if confuse them, you lose them. At the very least, if you try this formula, you will write a focused and logically structured paragraph; moreover, with a little bit more effort, you can write paragraphs that ring with beauty, clarity, and resonance!
So, here is my formula for writing a good narrative paragraph. In narrative writing we write about our own lives and thoughts and feelings, and so we write in the first person (except where noted).
This rubric is designed to help writers organize the flow and focus of a personal experience narrative paragraph. In a narrative paragraph, a writer writes from a personal point of view about something “worth writing about” in his or her life.
This rubric breaks a paragraph down into three areas:
- The first part of the paragraph introduces and narrow downs a theme from a broad theme (interesting and catchy enough to anyone) to a more narrow and focused theme that a writer can explore and explain in a single paragraph of 350 words or less, (but seldom less than 250 words).
- The central part of the paragraph (the setup and smoking gun) focuses on introducing and describing the experience that captures the essence and importance of your theme in a series of images and actions that tell the who, what, when, where, and why of the experience. (This is similar to text support or facts in expository or analytical writing). It proves the author has the authority and enough experience to write about this theme from the point of view of someone who has lived through the experience—and now has a story to tell that is meaningful, memorable—and above all, written with real and natural narrative voice.
- The last third of the paragraph (the head & heart and the conclusion or transition) explicates (which means to explain in detail) how the theme works within the experience the author just described. In the diagram you can see how the triangle starts small (narrow) and expands back towards a solid base. In practice, the writer should focus first on the parts of the experience that show the theme in action. Towards the end of the paragraph, the writer can (he or she does not have to) write about the importance of the theme in a more universal way.
- The closing line or transition will either be a brief and pithy conclusion or a sentence that transitions to a new paragraph that is logically linked together with the paragraph just completed.
NOTES
Read each section carefully to be sure you are following the flow of the rubric. A narrative writing piece needs to have the natural flow of human speech to be effective. If it is too choppy, it will be an ineffective piece because it won’t feel or sound real.
Remember that no writing piece is ever “done.” It is abandoned, and every minute before that time is a good time to “change” your paragraph for the better. Before you abandon this piece, let it sit for a couple of days, then go back to it with fresh eyes and a fresh mind and do what you need to do to make it more perfect—at least in your mind.
This rubric, if used wisely, is essentially a brief essay—and a damn good one if you give it the time and focus that well-crafted writing needs.
Example Prompt: The Power of Family
No matter how a family is created, it is, for better or worse, the most universal theme and common thread that binds us all together as humans. Every family develops its own dynamic, their own way of doing things that they borrowed from traditions, religions, cultures, and often trial and error; but the basic fabric of a family is the same the world over—it is a group of people who are somehow brought together and figure out what it means to be a family.
Think of your own family and use this rubric to write a one paragraph reflection on some aspect of your experience with your family that illustrates the theme of the power of your family in a single experience in your life.
STEPS OF THE RUBRIC: Read each section carefully and try to follow all of the steps of the rubric. Read each section out loud or use text to speech and proofread carefully. A narrative should “sound” just like you would speak. Except better.
Now get started on your own paragraph…
Some more cool tips & tricks to help you write well…
Henry David Thoreau
Write often, write upon a thousand themes, rather than long at a time, not trying to turn too many feeble somersets in the air–and so come down upon your head at last. Antaeus-like, be not long absent from the ground. Those sentences are good and well discharged which are like so many little resiliencies from the spring floor of our life–a distinct fruit and kernel itself, springing from terra firma. Let there be as many distinct plants as the soil and the light can sustain. Take as many bounds in a day as possible. Sentences uttered with your back to the wall. Those are the admirable bounds when the performer has lately touched the spring board.
(November 12, 1851)
Kurt Vonneghut
Vonnegut offers eight essential tips on how to write a short story:
- Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
- Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
- Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
- Every sentence must do one of two things–reveal character or advance the action.
- Start as close to the end as possible.
- Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them–in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
- Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
- Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
James Joyce
Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you desire to arrest attention, to surprise, do not give me the facts in the order of cause and effect, but drop one or two links in the chain, and give me a cause and an effect two or three times removed.
Annie Dilliard
Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed? Can the writer isolate and vivify all in experience that most deeply engages our intellects and our hearts? Can the writer renew our hope for literary forms? Why are we reading if not in hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom, courage, and the possibility of meaningfulness, and will press upon our minds the deepest mysteries, so that we may feel again their majesty and power? What do we ever know that is higher than that power which, from time to time, seizes our lives, and reveals us startlingly to ourselves as creatures set down here bewildered? Why does death so catch us by surprise, and why love? We still and always want waking.
~The Writing Life
The Power of a Narrative Paragraph!
1) The Major Theme
- Writing out your theme as a single word or short phrase is a good way to help keep focused as you write the paragraph.
- Put your one word or short phrase theme centered on the page.
- It should constantly remind you that THIS is the theme you have to stay focused on throughout your paragraph!
The Power of Family
3. GUIDING QUOTE
- If you are only writing a single paragraph, I think it is a great idea to put a quote above the paragraph that captures the mood, tone, and theme of your paragraph.
- The guiding quote helps to prepare your reader mentally for the coming paragraph.
For example: if I wish to write about The Power of Family, I could use a quote like this, put in italics, with the author’s name below the quote.
Home is where when you get there,
they have to let you in.
~Robert Frost
3. BROAD THEME:
- Write a short declarative statement that touches on a broad theme that all of us can relate to in some way or other.
- This acts as a “hook” that will attract your reader’s attention.
- Despite what you might wish, no one really cares about you when they read; a reader cares primarily about himself or herself.
- This broad theme is a theme that almost any person can relate to on some level, and hopefully it is intriguing enough to make your reader want to read on.
For example: if you want to write about the importance of family, here is an example of a broad theme:
- It is only our immediate family that gives us unconditional love.
4. NARROW THEME:
- Narrow down your theme by writing a phrase or sentence using the theme word that captures how your chosen theme is used in a specific way in the experience you are going to write about.
- Make sure it is “clear, concise and memorable” because this is what you want your readers to remember “as” they read your paragraph.
- This is the sentence that “steers” your reader in the direction you want your paragraph to go, and in that sense, it is what your paragraph is going to be about.
- YOU should be in this sentence; otherwise a reader may be misled into thinking you are merely writing about the importance of the theme, not about an experience you have had.
For example:
- It was my family that I turned to when I had no place left to go.
5. THE ONE/TWO PUNCH
- Follow your topic sentence with one or two more sentences that add detail or explanation to your topic sentence.
- These sentences can (and maybe should) be longer sentences.
- This helps to “narrow down” the focus of your paragraph so that you only have to write what can be fully explained in one paragraph.
For example:
- When I was alone in the world; when nothing was going my way, I knew that the door of family would always open for me and welcome me back into the arms of those people who love me without reservations.
6. THE SETUP:
- The setup is the lead-in to your smoking gun.
- It prepares your reader for the description of your experience in the smoking gun by giving context to the experience.
- Try to answer these questions.
- Who is there?
- What is happening?
- When is it happening?
- Where is it happening?
- Why is it happening?
For Example:
- At no other time in my life was this more obvious than when I returned to my family home in Concord after a long journey to China to discover the essential truth about life.
7. THE SMOKING GUN
- When writing about a personal experience, chose a specific personal experience (or even a smaller part of an experience) that explicates, illustrates, and amplifies the theme of your paragraph.
- This personal experience is proof that you have been there and done that, which is why we call it the smoking gun!
- It is evidence that you are the one who had the experience that only YOU can write about with full authority. When you write the smoking gun, be sure to include as much detail as needed—the who? what? when? where? and why?—to fully capture the theme of your paragraph.
For example:
- Broke, disheveled, and disenchanted, I stood on the doorstep and tentatively rapped on the door. No smile was wider than my mom’s; no arms were wider than my dad’s as they pulled me into their arms and into the living room I left so long ago.
7. THE HEAD & HEART
- Show your reader your thoughts!
- Write as many more sentences as you “need” (but at least three more) to illustrate and elaborate upon whatever you introduced in your theme-setting sentences.
- This is where you reflect upon your experience and describe the ways that your experience reflects your broad and narrow theme.
For example:
- It didn’t matter that I left home without even telling them where I was going. It didn’t matter that I had once criticized their lives as dull and meaningless, and it didn’t matter that I never called and never wrote. It only mattered that I was home again with my family.
9. CONCLUSION:
- The closing line or transition will either be a brief and pithy conclusion or a sentence that transitions to a new paragraph that is logically linked together with the paragraph just completed.
For example:
- For me, it only matters that I will never turn my back on my family again because when times are tough, family is all that really matters
THE PROOFREADERS RULE OF THREE:
- Literature is abandoned, not finished! Go back and re-read what you have written.
- Find three areas or sentences that you can make better. If you can’t or won’t do this, then you are light years away from being a writer.
- Often you can find a better broad or narrow theme sentence somewhere else in the paragraph. You can almost always find a more clear and effective way to write a sentence than you wrote on your first try.
- If the rule of three was too easy (meaning you easily found mistakes) do it again…and again if you have to.
- When you are convinced you have done all you can, submit your final review as required by your teacher or editor.
Book Review
TheCraftedWord.org
Tell Your Story
How To Write a Book Review
Some more cool tips & tricks to help you write well…
The Book Review Rubric
Simple Steps for Critiquing Literature
This is an effective rubric to use when writing a book, movie or game review. It works great for summer reading reviews, homework assignments, or just a great blog entry. Give it a try and see how it works for you.
Book Cover:
1. Assignment Details:
Use a single appropriate and readable font: I prefer Times new Roman size 12 font.
Be sure that your assignment information is in the top right of your document:
Name
Writers Toolbox:
Literary Analysis Essay
Date
All paragraphs should be single spaced with double spaces between paragraphs.
Mike Demsher
Fitz English
Book Review
12/18/2012
Title:
Quote:
A quote from the book helps to set the tone and direction of your review–and even pique your reader’s interest a bit more.
- Choose a quote from the book you are reveiwing:
- Center the quote below the book title
Introduce the Book:
- Write an opening statement giving essential information about the book, including: book title, author, first copyright date, type of book, general subject matter, and any other factual information that will help your reader know “about” the book.
- Write two or three sentences that try to capture the general plot of the book.
- Write one sentence that states the overall theme of the book.
Body Paragraphs
Summarize the Story:
- Briefly summarize the plot, but don’t want to give away the story.
- How is the story told, and what is the point of view of the author?
- Who is the intended audience?
- What is the general field or genre, and how does the book fit into it?
- How did the author keep you interested?
- What is the author’s style? Is it effective for the author’s intended audience?
Theme Analysis:
- Share the major theme of the piece of literature you are reviewing by using the Literary Analysis Paragraph Rubric that details how to explicate the major theme of the writing piece.
- This should always reinforce the major theme you mentioned in the opening paragraph.
- If there are more themes you want to discuss, you can add additional analysis paragraphs.
Personal Response:
Remember that in a personal response, you can’t be wrong―as long as you are truthful.
In this paragraph write honestly from the head—and the heart. Below are some ideas for how to approach this paragraph, but please expand the list to suit your response.
- How did the book affect you?
- What emotions did it make you feel?
- Did you change any ideas you held because of it?
- How does it fit in with what you think or did it challenge you to think and feel in a different way?
- What was good and/or bad about your reading experience.
- Did it change your own personal world view?
- Did it bring up memories of other books or authors you have read?
Elevator Review:
TheCraftedWord.org
Read. Write. Create. Share. Tell Your Story!
Recent Comments