Composing and Writing Process – Students use skills needed to begin writing, drafting, and revising and using editing and proofreading skills.

Skills and Concepts

RIT Scores between 161 and 170

Prewriting Skills

• Use short complete sentences
• Identify a brainstormed single word list about a given topic

Use Drafting and Revising Skills

• Identify correct word order in 4-6 word sentences
• Choose correct word to complete a sentence
• Form question order of simple sentences
• Choose a simple 2-4 word main topic
• Add simple details to topic
• Describe a given picture in a simple sentence
• Identify gerund phrases
• Add details as appropriate to a given topic

Use Editing and Proofreading Processes

• Use imperatives
• Use capitals at the beginning of the sentence
• Use present participles
• Use verb phrases
• Categorize words
• Write letters to a specific audience
• Use capitals for title of names
• Use periods
• Use superlatives correctly
• Use exclamations for emphasis
• Use third person pronouns
• Spell irregular verbs correctly
• Align subjects and direct objects
• Align subject-verb agreement
• Use nominative case
• Use capitals for holidays
• Use rhyming words in poetry
• Use apostrophes for contractions
• Use future tense

New Vocabulary: sentence, letter, picture, period, capital letter, misspelled, proofread, missing word, choose, list, question, correct order

RIT Scores between 171 and 180

Prewriting Skills

• Choose main topic
• Select purpose of writing
• Recognize genre
• Determine audience

Drafting and Revising Skills

• Create 5-8 word sentences with correct syntax
• Revise to stay on topic
• Use vivid descriptors that denote tone and mood
• Draft mood and tone in the detail selection
• Categorize main ideas and supporting details
• Use vivid adjectives and adverbs
• Combine simple sentences to create compound sentences
• Add adverbs to describe action
• Use imaginative language to support topic
• Choose language appropriate for audience

Use Editing and Proofreading Processes

• Capitalize names of countries
• Spell 3-4 syllable words
• Edit out off-topic sentences
• Punctuate correctly
• Use comparative words
• Capitalize professional titles
• Use interrogatives
• Create strong sentence beginnings
• Use verbs correctly (present perfect, future)
• Edit for subject–verb agreement
• Use strong conclusions
• Write directions
• Use dashes correctly
• Edit for pronoun-antecedent agreement
• Proofread for tense agreement
• Use commas in a series
• Use apostrophes for possessives
• Use quotation marks
• Write personal letters
• Use prepositional phrases
• Use capitals with initials
• Use capitals with titles
• Use paragraphing strategies
• Use independent clauses correctly
• Avoid double negatives

New Vocabulary: underlined, phrase, describe, story, question mark, incomplete sentence, topics, main topic, outline, complete sentence

RIT Scores between 181 and 190

Prewriting Skills

• Create a simple outline
• Write in a selected genre (i.e. a simple fairy tale)
• Create starter sentences
• Categorize around a main topic
• Select appropriate sentences for topic
• List sentence details
• Pre-write sentences that convey purpose of topic

Drafting and Revising Skills

• Use compound and complex sentences
• Use a variety of modifiers
• Use infinitive phrases for emphasis
• Use figurative language (simile, metaphor)
• Use vivid descriptor phrases
• Combine simple sentences to form complex sentences
• Vary sentence order
• Vary word order
• Use sentences of 8-10 words to vary language
• Use details for effective sentences
• Vary sentences to show same meaning related to topic
• Use correct word order in interrogative sentences
• Use precise nouns and verbs
• Create word list of strong nouns and verbs

Use Editing and Proofreading Processes

• Capitalize first word of sentence
• Use periods with abbreviations
• Capitalize greetings and personal titles
• Capitalize inside quotations
• Use comparative phrases
• Use commas for introductory words (i.e. well, no)
• Use commas between two main clauses
• Use descriptive writing mode
• Write business letters
• Use commas in adverbial clauses
• Identify subject from predicate
• Use past participial phrases
• Use correct compass points
• Use compound personal pronouns
• Use correct indentation
• Use auxiliary verbs correctly
• Capitalize literary titles

New Vocabulary: comma, initials, compound sentence, main headings, punctuation mark, exclamation point, poem, book report, fairy tale, directions, advertisement, mood, catalog

RIT Scores between 191 and 200

Prewriting Skills

• Select point of view (i.e. I, He, You)
• Choose a mode of writing
• Use clear descriptors
• List details in outline form
• Determine tone and mood
• Choose tone by determined audience
• Outline main topic with descriptors
• Organize sentences for paragraphs
• Create a list of possible word choices
• Select main headings for outline
• Choose subject and brainstorm (i.e. word lists, webbing, free writing)

Drafting and Revising Skills

• Revise and replace misplaced modifiers
• Use figurative language to describe
• Use creative figures of speech
• Write to stay on purpose
• Use symbolic language
• Create a variety of sentences, simple, compound, and complex
• Use phrases and multi-word modifiers to enhance details
• Use adjective and infinitive phrases
• Begin topic with strong sentence starters
• Use a variety of genres

Use Editing and Proofreading Processes

• Capitalize royal titles, professional titles, and personal titles
• Use similes for comparison
• Identify suffixes
• Use slang words for a direct purpose
• Proof for spelling errors
• Use commas between city and state
• Edit sentence fragments
• Use correct return address format
• Capitalize government bodies
• Use parallelism between subject and direct object
• Use appositives

New Vocabulary: comparison, point of view, persuasive argument, narrative, description, quotation marks, syntax, title, revising, first draft, editing

RIT Scores between 201 and 210

Prewriting Skills

• Choose formal or informal language
• Select purpose of paragraph
• Choose syntax that illustrates point of view
• Outline expository mode

Drafting and Revising Skills

• Use participial phrases in correct word order
• Use of figurative speech in context
• Select the best title for a piece of work
• Use precise language
• Correct use of transitional expressions
• Use vivid descriptors
• Use adverbial clauses in complex sentences
• Avoid run-on sentences
• Use sentence variety
• Use correct word order when using adjective phrases

Use Editing and Proofreading Processes

• Use capitals in magazine, newspaper, essay and titles
• Use commas in letter closure
• Punctuate introductory dependant clauses
• Capitalize inside addresses
• Punctuate non-essential parenthetical phrases with commas

New Vocabulary: run-on sentence, formal and informal language, composition, simile, subheading, detail, subdetail, style, figure of speech, suffix, capitalization, caret (editing mark), research report, apostrophe

RIT Scores between 211 and 220

Prewriting Skills

• Create comprehensive outlines
• Use compound sentence selection
• Outline verbiage for imaginative stories
• Categorize using main topic as guideline

Drafting and Revising Skills

• Revise syntax for correct order
• Use subject-verb agreement
• Use a variety of sentences from simple to complex
• Use infinitive phrases to denote emphasis
• Use subordinating clauses
• Edit for misplaced modifiers
• Combine sentences to make compound and complex
• Use parts of a news story for complete description of an event
• Write strong conclusions

Use Editing and Proofreading Processes

• Use commas in a series of participial phrases
• Use strong topic sentences with strong verbs
• Use capitals in a letter closure
• Use abbreviations in appropriate places

New Vocabulary: tone, summary, synonym, personification, metaphor, fantasy, complex sentence, rough draft, personal narrative

RIT Scores between 221 and 230

Prewriting Skills

• Select words based on main topic
• Outline a complex topic selection
• Choose appropriate words for a selection
• Evaluate possible point of views (i.e. personification)
• Choose vivid descriptors
• Select method for brainstorming

Drafting and Revising Skills

• Use exaggeration to make statement
• Use adverbial clauses
• Ask leading questions
• Use gerund phrases

Use Editing and Proofreading Processes

• Use complex sentence order in paragraph
• Use verb phrases
• Use exaggerated figures of speech for emphasis

New Vocabulary: nonparallel construction, sentence fragment, faulty tense change, irony, exaggeration, fragment

RIT Scores between 231 and 240

Drafting and Revising Skills

• Use metaphors as a figure of speech

Use Editing and Proofreading Processes

• Identify strong adverbs
• Identify indefinite pronouns
• Use metaphors for emphasis
• Conjugate irregular verbs correctly

New Vocabulary: none