Write Ingredient

Write Ingredient

This award-winning PTA funded program recognizes students for excellence in writing and improvement in written expression. Chili peppers are part of our school-wide "Red Hot Writing" theme. Monthly winners are recognized in
Taylors Pride, our school newsletter and attend a special event.

RESOURCES for STUDENTS

Click here for the Writing Process for one page.
Click here for Writing Process Posters

Scroll down for:
Writing Process activities
To learn what good writers do
Know when to use capital letters
Interesting words that can replace "tired" words
Transition words

The Write Ingredient board is a popular spot
with students, parents and visitors to our school. Located off the main hallway, our
Write Ingredient winners are showcased each month on this special board. Students are invited to a "Writing Celebration with Mrs. Overman" to hear a special story and receive some special treats.

Authors love to share their writing.

STEPS	DESCRIPTION	ACTIVITIES
Prewriting (Brainstorming)	In this step, you will gather your thoughts depending on the topic you are writing about.	Think about who will read your writing and why? Form your ideas for writing. Gather and record information. Brainstorm words and thoughts. Think about what to say. Make a list, web, picture, etc.
Writing	After gathering your thoughts, you may start to write and address the topic. This will become your first draft of writing. Remember, there is no revising and editing during the development of your first draft. Revising and editing will come after you develop your first draft.	Write your draft.
Revising	After writing your first draft, your next step is to read over your writing and determine how to make it better. You can make your writing better by expanding on ideas that need further development, adding more details, and by removing words or sentences that don't allow your writing to flow.	Read the writing to yourself. Make it clearer. Change any words that are overused. Read your writing to a friend. Listen to the comments your friend has to make in order to make your writing better. Make any necessary changes in your writing (words, sentences, ideas, etc.).
Editing	Now that you have revised your writing and made it clearer, it is now time to make corrections in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Read over your work again and be sure you make any necessary corrections.	Make sentences complete. Check spelling and make sure to dot your “i’s” and cross your “t’s”. Check capitals and ending punctuations. Have someone else check your work.
Publishing	Now that you have written your first draft, made revisions, and edited your work, it is time to write your final draft and publish it by sharing it with someone else.	Write it over into a nice clean draft. Share your writing with others. Read your writing to the class. Make it into a book. Record your writing into a tape. Illustrate your writing.

Using Capital Letters

Rules	Examples
Capitalize the first word in a sentence.	More dogs went by the school.
Capitalize proper nouns.	Mrs. Overman, Taylors Elementary School
Capitalize geographic names.	Indian Ocean, South Carolina, Empire State Building
Capitalize the pronoun I.	Mr. Officer asked if I would read second paragraph.
Capitalize the names of days and months.	Tuesday, October
Capitalize the names of national, religious, and local holidays.	Memorial Day, Easter, Founder's Day
Capitalize proper adjectives.	French, Spanish
Capitalize words used as names.	Do you need help, Mother?
Capitalize titles used with names.	General Darnell, Mrs. Nuss, Chief Auman
Capitalize the first word in the greeting or closing of a letter.	Dear friends, Yours truly
Capitalize the first, last, and all the main words in the title of a book, movie, song, magazine, play, newspaper, or television show.	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, "The National Anthem"
Capitalize the names of organizations, associations, or teams and their members.	American Red Cross, Parent-Teacher Association, Carolina Panthers
Capitalize the names of businesses and the official names of their products.	McDonald's hamburgers, Colgate toothpaste
Capitalize historical events, documents, and periods of time.	Boston Tea Party, Declaration of Independence, Stone Age
Capitalize initials or abbreviations that stand for names and also abbreviations of titles and organizations.	Dallas Smith, M.D. (Doctor of Medicine), PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) MAP (Measures of Academic Progress)

INTERESTING WORDS
Use interesting words instead of “tired” words.

Said - whispered, cried, screamed, hollered, shrieked, bellowed, believed, wept, howled, wailed, blubbered, shouted, exclaimed, called, yelped, screeched

Good - nice, pleasant, well-behaved, excellent, gracious, phenomenal, extraordinary, unique, fantastic, awesome, super, fabulous, wonderful, amazing, exceptional

Big - large, huge, enormous, gigantic, gargantuan, giant, immense, great whopping, extensive, massive

Small - tiny, miniature, teeny, little, microscopic, petite, undersized, minute

Laugh - chortle, chuckle, grin, guffaw, crow, titter, cackle, hoot, giggle, snicker

Slow - swagger, saunter, shuffle, meander, amble, stroll, sluggish

Happy - tickled, elated, thrilled, lighthearted, delighted, ecstatic, blissful, jovial, overjoyed, jubilant

Sad - pitiable, downhearted, woebegone, forlorn, dispirited, miserable, wretched, dejected, disheartened, depressed

Went - traveled, meandered, scurried, trotted, hurried, scuttled, rushed, darted, dashed, bustled, crept, crawled, edged, strolled, roamed, wandered, ambled, scampered

Nice - pleasant, good, kind, polite, satisfying, enjoyable, pleasing, pleasurable, lovely, amusing, cheery

Look - peer, gaze, peek, stare, glance, peep, glimpse

Eat - nibble, crunch, gobble, wolf, munch, chomp, devour, gorge, swallow, gnaw, chew, bite, snack

FOUR TYPES OF WRITING

There are four common types of writing.

NARRATIVE
Narrative writing is defined as relating a sequence of events which occurs over some period of time. Both what happens and the order in which the events occur are communicated to the reader. Effective narrative requires a writer to give a clear sequence of events (fictional or non-fictional) and to provide elaboration for it.

EXPOSITORY
Expository writing is defined as presenting reasons, explanations, or steps in a process. Logical order should be used with appropriate sequencing of ideas or steps in a process. Effective expository writing should contain a main idea, supporting details, and a conclusion.

PERSUASIVE
Persuasive writing is defined as presentation of reasons and examples to influence action or thought. Effective persuasive writing requires a writer to state clearly an opinion and supply reasons and specific examples that support that opinion.

DESCRIPTIVE
Descriptive writing is defined as the clear description of people, places, objects, or events using appropriate details. An effective description will contain sufficient and varied elaboration of details to communicate a complete sense of the subject being described. Details used are usually sensory ones selected to describe vividly what the writer sees, hears, smells, touches, and tastes.

Transition Words

Transition words and phrases help establish clear connections between ideas and ensure that sentences and paragraphs flow together smoothly, making them easier to read. Use the following words and phrases in the following circumstances.

Words to use to show an Example

For example

To illustrate

For instance

To demonstrate

In particular

Specifically

Particularly

Words to use to indicate a Result or an Effect

Accordingly

Finally

Thus

Consequently

Hence

Therefore

To Compare or Contrast

Although	Yet	However	In comparison	In contrast
Likewise	Similarly	Nevertheless	On the other hand	Whereas

To Summarize

Briefly

To sum up

In brief

To summarize

Overall

To put it briefly

Summing up

To Conclude

Hence

Thus

In conclusion

Given these facts

Therefore

To conclude

Words to use to indicate a Cause or Reason

For

Because

Since

Because of

Due to

For the reason that

To Indicate a Purpose or Reason Why

For fear that

So that

In the hope that

In order to

With this in mind

To Indicate a Specific Time Frame or a Shift From One Time Period to Another

After	During	Before	Soon	Currently	Subsequently
First...Second...etc.	Next	Eventually	Previously	Finally	Meanwhile
Simultaneously	Lastly	Formerly	Later	Immediately	Initially

Words to show More Information

Besides

In fact

Furthermore

In addition

Moreover

Indeed

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Greenville, SC 29602

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CATEGORY	RESPONSIBILITIES
Capitalization	I capitalize proper nouns, like the names of people, pets, and places. I capitalize the pronoun "I". I capitalize important words in a title. I capitalize the first word of every sentence.
Conventions	My handwriting is neat. I leave a finger space between my words. My sentences begin in different ways. My sentences are complete. My story makes sense.
Ideas	I use brainstorming and a concept map or outline to create and organize my ideas. I describe where my story takes place. I describe what the characters look like. I describe what the characters feel. My story has a beginning, middle, and end. My introduction is exciting and inviting. I have a satisfying conclusion. I have listened to suggestions from the teacher or peer writers.
Punctuation	I use a period at the end of each sentence. I use a question mark at the end of each question. I use commas between words in a list.
Word Use	I use the Word Wall and reference materials to spell words I don't know.