Page 180 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: English, 2007 (Revised)

audience (e.g., use a piece of experimental writ- ing from their writer’s notebook to develop a character in a short story; use a series of entries in a personal journal as starting points for draft- ing a memoir; determine the most effective way to organize paragraphs in writing a review of a book, movie, or CD for a student audience; draft a text that tells the“story”implied by a piece or pieces of visual art; effectively incorporate expert opinions into a piece of journalism)
Teacher prompts: “How could you use obser- vations of people that you recorded in your writer’s notebook to develop one of the char- acters in your short story?” “What material or ideas in your writer’s notebook could you use to develop an interesting dialogue or script?” “Which of the ideas and pieces of information you have gathered would make the most effective opening and the most effective closing for your review?”
Drafting: Focus on Style
2.2 use appropriate text forms and stylistic ele- ments to communicate ideas and experiences effectively in their writing (e.g., use an interior- monologue or stream-of-consciousness style to reveal character; convey authority in writing a critical review; use dialogue to reveal the distinc- tive personality traits of two characters; use unconventional grammar for effect in a rap; use colourful expressions and unusual diction to evoke a particular region in a piece of dialogue; use sentence fragments where they might be appropriate to both the content and style of a piece of writing, and effective for the purpose)
Teacher prompts: “What tone of voice would suit the narrator of your essay?” “How could you alter the dialogue to make these two contemporary teenage characters more believable?” “Keep in mind, when you are developing a character or a tone, that every word you choose must suit your purpose. Initially, fill in words to ‘make do’, but return to that spot later and persist until you find the most effective word to use.” “How could you use dialect or non-standard English to convey character without stereotyping or demeaning the character?”
Revising
2.3 revise drafts by reviewing and refining con- tent, form, and stylistic elements to produce clear, coherent, and effective written work (e.g., review their work to determine if varying the type and length of the sentences would better achieve their purpose, and make changes where appropriate; review a personal essay to determine
whether using or changing transitional words and phrases would make it more cohesive, and make changes where necessary; review their use of the active and passive voice in a short story to ensure that it is appropriate, and make changes where needed to make the story more effective; review the conclusion of an essay and make revisions to achieve the effect intended; review the feedback and assessments provided by the teacher and their peers, and incorporate sugges- tions where appropriate)
Teacher prompts: “Would compressing the ideas or imagery in your poem strengthen its impact?” “Is the way you have organized your essay the most appropriate way to con- vey your thesis?” “Where could you incorpo- rate more specific descriptive details to strengthen readers’ impression of the setting of your story?” “How could you change the dialogue to help readers form a stronger impression of these two characters?” “Do you think the assessment you received from the group is valuable? Have they understood or misunderstood your intentions?” “Which of the suggestions offered by your peers in the workshop session have you decided to use in your revision?”
3. Editing, Proofreading, and Publishing
By the end of this course, students will:
Editing and Proofreading
3.1 edit and proofread their written work, apply- ing the conventions of spelling, usage, punctu- ation, and grammar appropriately and effec- tively (e.g., read their work to a partner to help identify errors they may have made in punctua- tion and subject-verb agreement; use electronic grammar and spell-check programs to identify possible errors; use a peer conference to address a specific aspect of their work, such as sentence errors; use a student-directed teacher conference to address a specific aspect of their work, such as recurring grammatical errors)
Teacher prompts: “Reading your writing aloud always improves it. You catch things that you wouldn’t notice otherwise.” “Ask a partner to read your work, and listen to determine if there are any problems in it.” “How do you know if a computer program has accurately identified problems in your writing?” “If you suspect that a peer’s work contains grammatical errors, mark them with a highlighter pen.”
PRACTISING WRITING
179
The Writer’s Craft
EWC4U