![]() While the writer may have a solid foundation of ideas, she might improve the flow of her writing by experimenting with different sentence structures, conjunctions, and subordinating clauses. Returning to some of the terminologies that I referred to earlier, what do students mean when they describe writing as “choppy?” Usually, this means that the sentences within a passage move at an odd pace.Ĭhoppy writing might be defined by repetitive sentence structure (sometimes sounding “robotic”) which rely on simple sentences. Creating Flow Between Sentences: Avoiding “Choppiness” and “Wordiness” Sentence combining activities like the ones here included in Deborah Dean’s article from NCTE are a great way to help students vary their sentences. When comma splices (the joining of two independent clauses with a comma) occur, students can also benefit from activities that focus on uses of compound sentences and conjunctions. Students can eliminate fragments and run-ons when they have additional practice writing complex sentences using independent clauses and dependent clauses. Teaching Varied Sentence Structure in Writingįragments, run-on sentences, and comma splices are issues that can certainly detract from a sentence’s flow, and they often indicate that a student is having an issue recognizing where a sentence begins and where a sentence ends. So let’s break down the different areas of writing that can contribute to the overall flow of a written piece of work. Help Your Students Create a Sense of Flow in Their Writing Having flow implies having comfort as a writer and a mastery of not only the content being written about, but the writing craft itself. > “Flow is a word used to describe writing that has logical structure and varied language within and between sentences and paragraphs.” To help them better understand this sense of discomfort that some writing gives them, we can define writing flow in the following terms: For this reason, students can identify writing which lacks flow as difficult or boring to read, and they can sense the distance it creates between the author and reader. We know this because they are able to use words like “choppy,” “awkward,” and “wordy” to describe writing without being formally taught this vocabulary.Įver since we were read to as children by our teachers and family members, we were being taught to appreciate the phonic quality of sentences and how they are constructed. Most students are aware of the importance of flow, even if they cannot pin down a single definition for it. What is writing flow and why is it important? ![]() Let’s help them understand that there is more than one kind of flow so that the feedback they offer one another in peer editing is more precise and actionable. ![]() So, to help our students, let’s better define flow for them and explain why it is an important writing component. I imagine that for many students, writing flow is a cryptic concept that only innately talented writers can summon. ![]() These students might have a feeling as to which writing flows and which writing doesn’t, but they cannot seem to articulate the how or the why.Īnd I don’t blame them – it can be a challenge to articulate the “how” or “why” a piece of writing flows. Or perhaps you have heard students in peer review tell their partner, “Your writing flows well,” but when pressed, they can’t seem to provide a response as to where or how. ![]() As you can imagine, the student is often met with confusion. I might follow up by asking the student if he is referring to the flow between his sentences, the flow between his paragraphs, or the flow throughout his entire piece of writing. When conferencing with my students regarding their writing, a common request I hear, (usually after some stammering from the student) is, “I want to make sure that my writing flows.” ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |