English Language Arts 20
Module 4: Anticipation
Lesson 15: Values and Goals
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Lesson 15
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Lesson 15
Objectives
In Lesson Fifteen students will have the opportunity to:
 practice correct spelling.
 recognize and use correct capitalization.
 become aware of and avoid using sexist language.
 recognize and use correct subject-verb agreement.
 use the revision process to revise writing.
 develop an awareness of computer tools helpful in
writing.
 draft and revise previously prepared material.
 demonstrate organizational skills in locating and
including required materials.
 assess contents of a portfolio.
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Lesson 15
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Lesson 15
Introduction
In Lesson Fifteen you will review rules that apply to spelling, capitalization, and
subject-verb agreement. You will also have the chance to use the revision process
to draft, write, and revise pieces of your writing from earlier lessons. Your overall
goals in this lesson are to demonstrate your writing skills and to organize and assess
a portfolio of your writing from English Language Arts 20.
Spelling Demons
Spelling is very important in written communication because
spelling errors detract from a writer’s overall message. Society is
less tolerant of poor spelling than of any other problems with
language.
As a student writer, you may not reflect on your spelling very often.
You might be a naturally good speller, or, you might need a little
help with it. In either case, if you wish to improve your spelling, you
need to think about how you write before you can improve your
spelling. For example, what do you do when you are writing a
composition and want to use a word, but do not know how to spell
it? You might turn habitually to one of the following methods to
solve your spelling problem.




Spelling errors
always land me
in such trouble!
check a word visually
use a dictionary
ask a good speller
use a spell-check program on a computer
What are some other ways you might use to spell words correctly?
It is important to determine what words you need to learn, then learn how to spell
them. You may wish to use some of the following strategies.

Keep a list of words you misspell often, and try learning to spell one of them at a
time.

Watch for patterns in your own spelling problems and learn the rule that applies
to them. e.g., pneumonia, pneumatic

Notice homonyms (words that sound alike). e.g., their - there - they’re

Pronounce words carefully. e.g. accept – except
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Lesson 15

Read as much as you can. The more often you see a word spelled correctly, the
more likely that you are to spell it right.

Proofread your own writing carefully for spelling errors. Mark all words you think
you may have misspelled, and check their spelling by using either a dictionary or
the spell checker on your computer.

Develop memory aids for particular spelling problems. e.g., Wolves don’t golf
might help you remember that the plural form of wolf, wolves, is not spelled with
an f. e.g., E stands for envelope in stationery.

Develop a way of studying new words that works for you. Try a method like the
one illustrated in the “Spelling” section of your English Language Arts Ready
Reference.
What particular spelling difficulties do you want to overcome?
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Read the “Spelling” section of your English Language
Arts Ready Reference and complete the
Comprehension Check that follows.
Comprehension Check
Circle the word or phrase that best completes each of the following
statements.
1.
In the method illustrated for learning to spell tricky words, the word is
written down (three / four) times.
2.
Write i before e except (before / after) c.
3.
The letter y preceded by a consonant changes to i before a (prefix /
suffix).
4.
The letter y preceded by a vowel (does / does not) change to i before a
suffix.
5.
The letter y in a family name (does / does not) change to i when an s is
added.
6.
The letter y (does / does not) always change to i before adding ing.
7.
Most words drop the final silent e before a (prefix / suffix) beginning with
a vowel.
8.
Words (beginning / ending) in ge and ce keep the e when able and ous
are added.
9.
Most words keep the (initial / final) silent e before a suffix beginning with
a consonant.
10. Words (beginning / ending) in ie drop the e and change the i to y before
adding ing.
11. When (adding / removing) a suffix to a word that ends with a single
consonant after a single vowel and stressing the last syllable in the
pronunciation of the word, the final consonant is doubled.
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Did You Know?
Noah Webster, a U.S. lexicographer, lived from 1758 – 1843. His American
Dictionary of the English Language was first published in 1828.
If you were to tell Mr. Webster that you have difficulty locating a word in his
dictionary because you do not know how to spell it, he would probably tell you that
similar sounds are often spelled differently in English. Consider other ways a word
might be spelled when you cannot locate it in the dictionary.
Both vowel and consonant sounds can be spelled in a variety of different ways. For
example, notice the different spelling for the following consonant.
The sound of the letter:
F appears as friend, physical, and enough.
G appears as ghost, gossip, and guest.
H appears as who, and hot.
J appears as jade, pledge, and gem.
K appears as kind, crisis, Christian, physique, success, and khaki.
N appears as know, sudden, pneumonia, sign, and never.
R appears as right, rhythm, and wrench.
S appears as sincere, science, centre, and access.
SH appears as schilling, wish, and chignon.
SK appears as scanner, school, and whisk.
W appears as when, were, suede, swing, and Juan.
Z appears as zebra, xylem, and phase.
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Check Your Spelling
Underline the word or words misspelled in each of the following statements. Write
the correct spelling above the misspelled word. Check your answers after you have
completed the exercise.
1. Mel insisted that after a little practicle guidance and some dicsiplined practice,
the Physical Education Comittee could be persuaded to allow her to compete in
the Febuary competition.
2. Adrian considered Mel’s enthusiasm to outway her development and experiense
as a gymnast.
3. Mel told him, “When we discused my performance, my coach’s only critisism was
that I should improve my rythm.”
4. Adrian thought that Mel should be embarassed by the eigth repetion of her
ridiculous gymnastics routine.
5. “At least I have the intelligence to see no benifit in attending another disastrous
athletics compitition,” said Adrian to Mel.
6. Mel was horified by Adrian’s casual cruelty and told him, “Are you really trying to
start an arguement, or are you just unwilling to sacrifise your precsious
Psychology seminars for my gymnastics competitions?”
7. Adrian immediatly apologized, “I’m sorry, Mel. A lot of excellent amature
competitors have to sacrifice other activities for practise time.”
Check your answers below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
prac tical, disc iplined, c omm ittee, February
outweigh, experience
discussed, critic ism, rhythm
embarrassed, eighth, repetition
benefit, com petition
horrified, argum ent, sac rific e, precious
imm ediately, am ateur, practic e
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Homonyms
Sometimes writers confuse one word for another because they sound alike. Words
that sound alike but that are spelled differently, and that mean different things, are
called homonyms. e.g., coarse, course Words that have two or more different
meanings for the same spelling are not homonyms. e.g., pen (meaning writing tool)
and pen (meaning an enclosure for animals)
Review the section on “Commonly Confused Words” in
your English Language Arts Ready Reference. Many of
the words you will find there are homonym pairs. Use
your dictionary and the section on “Commonly
Confused Words” in your English Language Arts Ready
Reference to complete the following activity.
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Are We Their – There – They’re Yet?
Circle the word or words that best complete each sentence. Check your answers
after you have completed the exercise.
1. Mrs. Tenshun told her students that the (right / rite / wright / write) answer to
(right / rite / wright / write) was that dancing around the Maypole was an ancient
spring (right / rite / wright / write).
2. When Mrs. Tenshun’s class decided to (meat / meet) at a local campground to
see a Maypole dance, the (affect / effect) on the students was (altogether / all
together) surprising.
3. Mel offered to give Jenny directions about how to get there, but Jenny said she
would have to be suffering from (contemporary / temporary) insanity in order to
accept help form Mel.
4. Everyone in the class (accept / except) Mel and Mrs. Peya Tenshun laughed.
5. “Don’t give up (quiet / quite / quit) yet, Mel,” urged Mrs. Tenshun. “You (no /
know) how to give clear directions.”
6. The windy (weather / whether) would not change the class’ plans to see the
Maypole dance.
7. The class did not (waist / waste) their chance to drive (through / threw) the spring
countryside.
8. Adrian worried that he had (passed / past) the exit for the campground (because
/ cause) he had not listened to Mel.
9. Jenny sighed and asked with a rueful smile, “(Who’s / Whose) directions should
we (have / of) followed?”
10. Mel actually offered to give Jenny (advise / advice) again about how to get (their /
there / they’re).
11. “(Were / We’re / Where) finally (hear / here)!” exclaimed Frank. “We didn’t really
(loose / lose) our way after all.
12. “(Your / You’re) pretty good at giving directions, Mel,” said Jenny apologetically.
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13. “Yeah, thanks for helping us find (are / our) (course / coarse) through the
countryside,” said Adrian. Frank agreed.
14. “(Its / It’s) no problem,” smiled Mel, “Just remember next time that I can give
good directions, (to / two / too).”
Check your answers below.
1. right, write, rite 2. meet, effect, altogether 3. temporary 4. except
5. quite, know 6. weather 7. waste, through 8. passed, because
9. Whose, have 10. advice, there 11. We're, here, lose 12. You're
13. our, course 14. It's, too
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Contractions and Possessives
Contractions and possessives are parts of spelling that can create some confusion
for many student writers. Both contractions and possessives use the apostrophe
mark (’).
A contraction represents spoken language by replacing unpronounced
letters with an apostrophe. Contractions are acceptable in informal
English, but are not usually used in formal academic writing, e.g. can’t
represents cannot, doesn’t represents does not.
With the exception of won’t (will not), the apostrophe in a contraction goes exactly
where the letter(s) have been left out.
we’ll – we will
let’s – let us
aren’t – are not
you’re – you are
I’d – I would
we’re – we are
who’s – who is
they’re – they are
The possessive form of singular or plural nouns and indefinite pronouns
uses an apostrophe to show that one thing belongs to another. e.g. Gail’s
paycheck, no one’s fault, anybody’s guess, team’s bus. An apostrophe is
not used to indicate possession for these pronouns: its, his, hers, ours,
yours, theirs, whose.
A few simple guidelines can help you to use the apostrophe correctly to show
possession.
1
Add ’s to singular words not ending in s.
Frank’s computer skills amazed his classmates.
2
Add’ to singular words that end in s.
Smithers’ love for his pets filled his spare time.
3
Add only ’ to plural words ending in s.
His classmates’ level of skill with computers was minimal.
4
Add ’s to plural words not ending in s.
Children’s lack of fear of technology is well known.
5
Add ’s to compound words.
A father-in-law’s role was not what Mr. Update had in mind.
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6
Add one or two ’s to show possession by two or more owners,
depending on possession.
Individual possession: Mel’s and Adrian’s activities began to suffer because they
spent so much time together.
Joint possession: Jenny and Frank’s disgust for Mel and Adrian’s lovey-dovey
behavior was clear.
Do not use the apostrophe to make singular words plural unless referring to cited
words or to an abbreviation that would otherwise be unclear.
Can your spell checker find all the if’s?
Dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s.
Crazy Cooper’s is the best place to buy cd’s!
Complete the following activity to check how well you understand contractions and
possessives.
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Contract and Possess!
Underline and correct each of the errors in contraction and possession. You will
have to both add and remove apostrophes. After you have completed the activity,
check your answers.
1.
Jennys plan’s for the future include travelling to the worlds most undeveloped
areas.
2.
Jenny cant abide peoples ignorance of human rights violations: she doesnt
hide her intention to do something about it.
3.
If Adrians love for Mel ever fades enough for him to concentrate, he wont
hesitate to study Shakespeares writings extensively.
4.
Adrian and Mels recent dates havent caused Mels parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Update, any concern.
5.
Frank and his trainers intention is for Frank to part’cipate in Frances next Tour
de France.
6.
Franks interests in computer’s and in the internet dont harm his employment
prospects.
7.
Mel’s sports hero is baseballs McGuire and swimmings Smith.
8.
Mr. and Mrs. Updates concern about whos getting a ride in their daughters
car is only natural.
Check your answers below.
1. Jenny's, plans, world's 2. can't, people's, doesn't 3. Adrian's, won't, Shakespeare's
4. Adrian and Mel's, haven't, Mel's 5. Frank and his trainer's, participate, France's
6.Frank's, computers, don't 7. Mel's, baseball's, swimming's
8. Mr. and Mrs. Update's, who's, daughter's
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Capital Letters
Using capital letters accurately is an important part of written communication. It is
best to avoid overusing capital letters, so capitalize only when a rule or a dictionary
tells you to do so. You may remember the rule about capitalization for proper and
common nouns. Do you remember what proper and common nouns are?
A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, thing, or idea.
Proper nouns begin with a capital letter. e.g. Canada, Jenny, Arctic Cat,
Romanticism
A common noun names a general class. Common nouns begin with a
lower case letter. e.g. poets, country, boy, snowmobile
It is appropriate to use capital letters to begin the types of words that follow.
1.
the first word of every sentence
We ran. Tracy is a Canadian. You study English.
2.
proper nouns
Ken Mitchell, the Mediterranean Sea, the Prairies, the Skydome
3.
proper adjectives
Shakespearean, Canadian, Elizabethan
4.
the personal pronoun I
You and I could write a movie script.
5.
races, nationalities, and languages
German, British, Mexican, Spanish, French,Cree
6.
days of the week, months, holidays
Friday, July, Canada Day, Remembrance Day
7.
initials, titles and abbreviations as part of persons’ names
Professor Heather Marks, Dr. C. Clarke, Mr. McGoo
8.
important words in titles
Gone With the Wind, Out of Africa
9.
names indicating family relationships
Mom, Uncle Harry
10.
words naming religions, followers of a religion, the supreme being, or sacred
writings
Judaism, Christians, Lord, Manitou, Allah, the Bible, the Talmud
11.
abbreviations for organizations (corporate and government), radio and
television call letters
CBC, RCMP, Z99, CJME
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Capital Idea!
Capitalize when necessary. Check your answers after you have completed the
activity.
1. jenny, because of her strong analytical skills, has considered applying for work at
the cbc.
2. “i always wanted to visit the maritimes – i hear that people there speak french.”
3. my study of the bible, the talmud, and the koran has convinced me that people
truly believe in a higher power.
4. “the call is for ms. c. white.”
5. next year i hope to travel to ireland for easter monday.
6. the prime minister met members of greenpeace at last night’s performance of the
royal winnipeg ballet.
Check your answers below.
1. Jenny, CBC 2. I, Maritimes, I, French 3. My, Bible, Talmud, Koran 4. The, Ms.C. White
5. Next, I, Ireland, Easter Monday 6. The, Prime Minister, Greenpeace, Royal Winnipeg Ballet
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Nonsexist Language
Sexist language is a form of bias in writing. (You previously studied bias in “Bias and
Target Audience” in Lesson Eight.) Sexist language can wound or irritate readers,
and it shows the writer’s stereotypical, if not conscious sexism. For example, an
avid shopper might be said to “shop like a woman.” “Helpless as a husband,” might
be used to describe a man, or a police officer might be referred to as a lady
policeman.
Sexist language stereotypes or demeans men or women in relation to
temperament, behavior, ability, or occupation.
Most often, sexist language merely reflects and reinforces pre-existing stereotypes.
Why can’t a male work as a nurse or a maid? Why can’t a female work as a pilot or
a welder? Examine the following types of sexist language and methods of correcting
each.
1. Using words containing man to refer to all human beings
SEXIST: These shoes are manmade.
NONSEXIST: These shoes are synthetic / manufactured. (Use a different term.)
SEXIST: Our mailman is prompt.
NONSEXIST: Our letter carrier is prompt. (Use a different term.)
2. Employing the generic he
SEXIST: Each driver passed his test.
NONSEXIST: Each driver passed his or her test. (Use his or her. Try to avoid using he or she,
his or her more than once every several sentences.)
NONSEXIST: All the drivers passed their tests. (Make the subject plural.)
NONSEXIST: All the drivers passed the test. (Avoid the pronoun.)
3. Reflecting stereotypical thinking
SEXIST: The lawyer told the inexperienced client that, in his opinion, she should sell the farm.
NONSEXIST: The lawyer told the inexperienced client to sell the farm. (Avoid mentioning
gender.)
4. Assuming that all readers are men or women
SEXIST: If hygiene becomes a problem during your hunting trip, get the guys to help rig an
outdoor shower.
NONSEXIST: If hygiene becomes a problem during your hunting trip, get your friends to help rig
an outdoor shower.
SEXIST: When you remove the cake from the oven, be careful not to singe your skirt.
NONSEXIST: When you remove the cake from the oven, be careful not to singe your clothing.
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5. Including demeaning or patronizing language.
SEXIST: You will want to pinch the bottom of the sleek American Motors Beauty, a sexy new set
of wheels.
NONSEXIST: You will surely admire the sleek American Motors Haute Design, a stylish new set
of wheels.
6. Following different conventions to identify women and men
SEXIST: Editorials have been submitted by Mrs. Janice Kidd, wife, mother, and environmental
activist, and by Franklin D. Moser, professor of law.
NONSEXIST BUT AWKWARD: Editorials have been submitted by Mrs. Janice Kidd, wife,
mother, and environmental activist, and by Franklin D. Moser,
husband, father, and professor of law. (This sentence contains
too many titles and sounds awkward.)
NONSEXIST: Editorials have been submitted by Janice R. Kidd, environmental activist, and by
Franklin D. Moser, professor of law. (It sounds less awkward when all of the
extraneous information is removed.)
Make a habit of using non-sexist language in your writing, but do not go overboard to
avoid mentioning gender. It remains correct to describe or refer to a specific person
as he or she. The goal of nonsexist language is to portray male and female roles
without reflecting bias or stereotypes.
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Activity A
(15)
As you listen to the selection on your English Language Arts 20 listening tape called “S
As you listen to the selection on your English Language
Arts 20 listening cd called “Spell Me a Story,” rewrite the
sentences below, correcting all errors in spelling,
contractions, possessives, capital letters and
punctuation.
its funny how i can be such a good student and still have all
together awful spelling ive taken several english coarses and
learned to site many spelling rules but they seem to have
little posative effect on my spelling for example i wonder
weather or not ill embarrass myself by misspelling lose when
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I bug mel about her favrite loser baseball team by naybor mr
e charles recommended that i chose a computer with a spell
checker. i don’t know who’s great idea spelling checkers
were so i cant personally thank that genius but i’ll probly
never quite using them to improve my riting
Activity B
(15)
Proofread the following paragraph. Underline all errors in spelling, contractions,
possessives, homonyms, capital letters, and non-sexist language. Write the correct
version of every wrong word, abbreviation, or phrase in the space above it.
Young Mr. Adrian Virtual knew that he had to revize the poem he was writing for
Mels’ birthday, next tuesday. The Day was approaching quickly and his poem was
definitely to mushy to suit her. Cause he had bought flowers for his chick already,
he began to wonder weather or not he should of bothered to start righting a poem,
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Lesson 15
two. Know matter how hard he consentrated, Adrian could’nt think of words that
seamed to soot Mel.
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The Revision Process
When you revise a piece of writing, you make decisions about what should be
changed, deleted, added, or retained. You might use a highlighter, a different color
of ink, a pencil. You may write in the margins of the page.
You may decide to begin again, or to proceed to editing and proofreading. If you
decide to edit, the first thing you should do is to revise for ideas and form. The next
step is to proofread, or revise for sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, and so
on.
Checking paragraph structure, sentence structure, and word choice can easily occur
at either the editing or the proofreading level. Many writers combine the two
processes. However, all good writers reread their work many times during the
revision process.
Listen to “Our Virtual Students Revise Writing” on your English Language
Arts 20 CD. You may follow along on the draft and final copies of Mel’s
paragraph, which follow.
Draft copy of Mel’s paragraph. (Mrs. Peya Tenshun has double-underlined spelling errors
and single-underlined agreement errors to help Mel make revisions more easily.)
Rephrase first
sentence and
move to the
end.
Add a new
introduction.
Add
descriptive
words.
I had no ideer that anything good would come from visiting
Chewy’s Colectables. It was a yuchy second hand book store
in the old downtown area. I wouldent even be hear if I wasent
trying to get out of doing yard work at home. The owner
dressed up in his Spock outfit allot just to scare off more
customers. I was surprised and I reached into the cardbord
box of comics in front of me. I had found an orijinal copy of Xmen Go Home. Most eggcellent! I looked around to see if
anyone in Chewy’s Colectables had sawn me. Then, I takes
the comic out of the dusty box and took it out of its clear plastic
rapper. The colors on the front cover of the comic was still clear
and strong. Carful not to spit too much on my finger, I turned
the pages. I could smell ink, and I new I have to buy the comic,
but dident no if the kid at the counter wood sell it to me? He
had no idea that he sold me the last comic I needed to
compleat my X-men collekshun.
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Remove offtopic
information.
Add specific
verbs.
Vary sentence
structure.
Lesson 15
Read the final copy of Mel’s paragraph, which follows.
A new
introduction
was added.
Spelling and
agreement
errors were
corrected.
Could that be what I thought it was? My eyes nearly bugged
out of my head and I reached unbelievingly into the scuffed
cardboard box of second hand comics on the floor in front of
me. I had found an overlooked treasure! It was an original
copy of X-men Go Home in mint condition. I paused and threw
a furtive glance over my shoulder to see if anyone in Chewy’s
Collectibles had observed my surprise. I slowly took the comic
out of the dusty box and slid it reverently from its clear plastic
wrapper. Vividly colored action figures seemed to jump at me
from the front cover of the comic. Careful not to moisten my
finger too much, I turned the pages gently. The faint scent of
printer’s ink wafted up to my nose, and I knew I had to have it.
Would the desk clerk sell X-men Go Home to me? My heart
thumped. The spectacled boy at the counter didn’t even bat an
eyelid as he sold me the last comic I needed to complete my Xmen collection. I had never imagined that my visit to Chewy’s
Collectibles would be time valuably spent.
More specific,
descriptive
words and
details were
added
The level of
language is
more formal
than it was in
the rough
draft.
This sentence
was moved and
rephrased.
Mel, one of our virtual students, found revision easier when she revised for
one element of writing at a time. Mel reread and changed her writing
several times. She succeeded in making it more interesting and specific.
The final copy of the paragraph above describes clearly how she found the
last comic book she needed to complete her collection.
You may find it easier to revise your writing in several stages than to try to revise all
aspects of your writing at once. The following elements of writing have been divided
into groups. Try editing your writing first for ideas and content, then for each of
organization, tone and style, sentences, and word choice. Continue by proofreading
for mechanics and writing conventions.
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Lesson 15
Editing and Proofreading Checklist
Ideas and Content
 The ideas belong together.
 The ideas are accurate.
 The ideas present a clear message.
 Enough information has been included.
 The thought used is suitable for the form, e.g., editorial, business letter, descriptive paragraph.
Organization
 There is an effective introduction and conclusion.
 The words, phrases, sentences (and paragraphs) used tie ideas together logically (relate to the ones
preceding and following).
 All the ideas are presented in a clear order.
 The method of organization of ideas suits the form of the writing.
Tone and Style
 The writing shows that I am sincere and concerned about my audience.
 The tone and style are suited to the type of writing required.
 The writing is an example of my best effort.
Sentences
 Each sentence is complete.
 The sentences are varied in structure.
 Each sentence states its point clearly and completely.
 Parallelism and balance are used.
Word Choice
 Words are accurate and concise.
 Unnecessary words or phrases are avoided.
 Strong nouns and verbs are included.
 Words suit the level of language required.
Mechanics
 A consistent verb tense is used.
 Subjects and verbs agree.
 Pronouns and antecedents agree.
 Adjectives or adverbs modify the word intended.
 Punctuation is correct.
 Spelling is correct.
 Capitalization is correct.
Writing Conventions
 The writing uses a suitable format, e.g., research essay, business letter.
 Pages are numbered (if necessary).
 All information required is supplied, e.g., bibliography, references.
 Spacing and indentations are appropriate, e.g., quotations, paragraphs.
 An appropriate level of language is used.
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Lesson 15
In English Language Arts 20 you have had the opportunity to revise your writing for
many different purposes. You will find the preceding comprehensive checklist useful
when you revise your writing in the future.
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Lesson 15
Activity C
(4)
1.
List the seven groups of elements of writing listed in the preceding revision
checklist.
(1)
2.
List one group of elements of writing from the list above to which you pay
particular attention when you revise your own writing.
(2)
3.
List two things you might do to improve / revise this element of writing in
your writing.
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Computers and Revision
Computer technology has become a valuable tool for many writers. There are many
ways that you, as a student, can use a computer to help revise your writing.
1.
You may use a software program to help you to center or indent material or,
to create a particular kind of layout or chart.
2.
You can select any of a variety of fonts of type in different sizes to
emphasize ideas. Other ways to add variety to type are to use the boldface,
italic, and underline functions. Avoid over-cluttering any text with two many
different type fonts and sizes. The goal of any communication is clarity and
ease of reading for your audience.
3.
You can add graphics to your texts from your word-processing
program, or from disc or the Internet.
4.
Use the Internet for research or to refer to a variety of excellent dictionaries,
thesauri, grammar resources, or encyclopedias. You may also use e-mail or
a chat room to communicate with a particular person or organization
regarding a specific topic.
5.
Use the cut and paste function to move words, sentences, or paragraphs from
one part of your text to another.
6.
Copy information from one document stored electronically to another
document stored electronically.
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Lesson 15
7.
You may save various drafts of your writing so that you can refer to them at
later dates. You may wish to save an electronic version of your résumé, or
your research essay, for example. Label different versions clearly, so you
can easily locate the one you want later, e.g., Résumé v.1 supervisor is
clearly different than Résumé v.2 technician.
8.
Many word-processing programs have a search function that can help you to
locate particular words you identify. This can help you to substitute other
words for ones you overuse.
9.
A spelling checker can help you to proofread. However, be careful – spelling
checkers often do not identify homonym errors or use standard Canadian
English spelling. You cannot “train” your computer to do everything for you!
10.
Style and grammar checkers help to locate and correct problems with
sentence structure, punctuation, and capitalization. However, do not rely
solely on these checkers because they do not identify all sentence errors, and
may even identify some correct sentences as containing errors.
11.
Double-space your word-processed work so that your instructor has room to
comment and so that you have room to revise. Many word-processing
programs can convert single-spaced text to double-spaced text. A student
can also tap [ENTER] twice at the end of every line to double-space text.
If you are not familiar with computers and you want to learn how to use one, the best
way is to learn one skill at a time. Eventually, you will master the programs you
decide to use.
Now that you have examined the revision process in detail, you will use it to create a
portfolio of your own writing in Assignment Fifteen.
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