Criteria for
Revising Memoirs
PANYC students read short memoirs, then made the
following lists of
what made these pieces of writing good on the outside and on the inside.
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On the outside,
we see... |
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On the inside,
we see... |
- sentences and paragraphs
- titles (sometimes underlined)
- capital letters
- punctuation: . , ! ' ? : "
"
- italicized words, bold font
- dialogue
- dates
- characters
- indents
- pictures
- foreign words
- page numbers
- author's name
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- foreign words
- references to music
- action sounds, like "push" or "pull"
- descriptions of characters, emotions, and places
- examples
- comparisons and contrasts
- personal experience
- details about characters, setting, emotions, and feelings
- humor
- a memory at the beginning and at the end
- quotes at the beginning
- attitude
- dialogue
- talk about beliefs
- play with words (for example: words are repeated)
- feelings and emotions conveyed through dialogue
- snapshots
- onomatopoeia (words that are what they sound like: buzz, hiss)
- real life
- first person
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Guidelines for
Giving a Writer Feedback |
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Active Listening |
DO NOT... |
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DO... |
- make suggestions for changes
- say what you liked
- say what you did not like
- ask questions about what was unclear to you
- tell your own stories, thoughts...
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- take notes while listening
- use your own words to "say back" the main points of the writing
- ask if your summaries are correct
- say what you DO understand, especially when something is unclear to you
- encourage the writer to talk more
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Pointing |
DO NOT... |
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DO... |
- use your own words
- add to the writer's words
- explain why you chose the phrases you did
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- while listening, write down sentences, words, phrases that stand out to you (positive or
negative).
- repeat back to the writer exactly the words sentences and phrases that you liked
hearing.
- repeat what you liked even if someone else is has already chosen the same words,
sentences, paragraphs.
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"Inside" Criteria Checking |
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DO NOT... |
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DO... |
- say what you liked
- say what you did not like
- make general statements at all
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- keep notes on which parts seem to connect to the criteria
- begin by listing those things that the writer did do well--according to the
"inside" criteria.
- make suggestions by asking questions--based on the "inside" criteria. For example: Have you considered... What if you...
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