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writing the yearbook

Writing and Revision Tips
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What do you do when you
revise?
The assumption here, of course, is that you do revise.

Yearbook writing is like any writing: in order to do it

well, there needs to be a process in place.

If you simply slap it together and give it to the editor to

touch up, then you are not doing enough.
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Youre not a bad writer; youre a
quitter.
A yearbook is
history. YOU ARE
WRITING IT.

The only
difference
between the
writing you do in
this class and an
English class is
that here, your
writing WILL BE
READ.
Be a journalist!
+Your notes should be 4 times
as long as the copy you write.

You need to weed out the riff

raff.
 5 steps to
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revision
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Step 1: Read the piece aloud.

Read aloud everything you write that is going to be read by

someone else.

Repeat this step every time you change something.

As you read, have a highlighter in your hand.

Mark any place you stumble, pause in confusion, or have to re-read.

If you stumble, your reader will stumble over them in their mind.

Listen for repeated words. Throw away your thesaurus and save
your SAT words for the test.

Rewrite those sentences and do it again. And again. Until its right.
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Step 2: Look for summarized or
implied dialogue.
Rewrite the actual exchanges that took place.
Observation of the class this
If you werent there, interview as many people as possible to
whole first paragraph. But
get as much information as possible to put it together. This is
these descriptions SHOW the
journalistically sound.
passion she has.
______ tucked the unruly wisp of hair back into place
with her mud-caked hands. She had battled with her bangs
for the last 30 minutes as her bowl took shape on the pottery
wheel. Anybody got like a clippe? ______ said to no one in
particular in her Art 1 class third period.
Her feet kept the wheel in a steady rotation with
alternating tapping as the bowl became rounder and rounder.
My grandma will love this bowl, Alexis said. It has
to be like absolutely awesome.
Done from an interview. Its a mix of what you observe and what
you get in an interview.. What a great copy caption!!
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Step 3: Circle all the adverbs.

Suddenly is terrible!! Get rid of it forever, everywhere.

Look at the parts you wrote. Adverbs are crutches for

weak verbs. Look for the lys

If your adverb enhances the verb (slowly walked), then

get rid of it!!! Choose a better verb.

If your adverb contradicts the verb (hastily dragged),

keep it! This is interesting writing.

Completely severed vs. partially severed

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Step 4: Editors! Let them do it.

Tell them to find all their VERBS. Underline the verb

phrases twice.

On a separate sheet of paper, list all the verbs going

down the margin. Look for repeats.

You can let bad verbs be the backbone of your writing.

Get rid of helping and be verbs.

Look near your verbs for ion nouns. These are verbs
in drag.
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Step 5: Spell check and
grammar check with Word.
This is editing.

Stay below 8th or 9th grade reading level.

Check your passive sentences.

To help her students understand plot development
in tales, Ms. Shelly OForan, English, cloaks herself
in a cape and voice-changing speaker to set a
chilling mood while reading The Raven by Edgar
Allan Poe. After creaking the door shut and
displaying rubber slime ooze down the windows,
OForan made Halloween frights come alive in her
classroom. Since I have been doing this for years, I
enjoy [my classes] reactions, said OForan. I do
these grammar themes so grammar wont be dry,
so they can be mentally awake for it. OForan
began her re-enacment with glow-in-the-dark
eyeballs and plastic, severed limbs as props. When
she finished her tale, the students broke into
raucous applause.