September 5, 2001
Language Arts Rules
1. Save everything: it's all a part of the history of the piece of writing, and you never know when or where you might want to use it.
2. Date and label everything you write to help you keep track of what you've done.
3. When a piece of writing is finished, clip everything together, including the drafts, notes, lists, editing checksheet, and peer conference form, and file it in your permanent writing folder.
4. Record every piece of writing you finish on the form in your permanent writing folder. Collect data about yourself as a writer, look for patterns, and take satisfaction in your accomplishments over time.
5. Write on one side of the paper only and always skip lines or type double-spaced (12). Both will make revision, polishing, and editing easier and more productive for you.
6. Draft your prose writing in sentences and paragraphs. Draft your poems in lines and stanzas. Don't go back into a mess of text and try to create order. Format as you go.
7. Get into the habit of punctuating and spelling as conventionally as you can while you're composing: this is what writers do.
8. When composing on the word processor, print at least every two days.
9. Get into the habit of beginning each class by reading what you've already written.
10. Understand that writing is thinking. Do nothing to distract me or other writers.
11. When you conference with me, use as soft a voice as I use when I talk to you: whisper.
12. When you need to conference with peers, use the designated conference area and record responses on a peer conference form so the writer has a reminder of what happened.
13. Self-edit in a color different from the print of your text and complete an editing checklist to show what you know about conventions of writing.