Writing with STYLE
“Dude, Where’s My Car?”
On your own, read “Dude, Where’s My Car?”
As you read, make a mental note of how the topic is
organized and what the overarching message/theme is.
What is STYLE?
The way we use words to present our ideas
Word Choice
Sentence Variety
Voice
Our writing style
changes depending
on the occasion—just
like our clothes.
WORD CHOICE
Uses words that are:
Descriptive
Interesting to the audience
Exciting
Fit the audience, purpose, and topic
Example - *stay away from: is, as, was, were
Weak Word Choice: “I got it,” he said.
Strong Word Choice: “I found Woody’s hat!” Bobby
screamed from his bedroom scattered with toys.
Word Choice Strategies
Include specific nouns (Beaver Lake Middle School vs. school)
Include specific verbs (She sprinted to class vs. She went to class)
Avoid using: is, as, was, and were
Include adverbs that show where, when, or how
Do not repeat words
Your Turn: Read “Dude, Where’s My Car” and highlight
specific nouns, verbs, and adverbs.
SENTENCE VARIETY
Uses sentences that are:
o
Different lengths
o
Different structures
Weak Sentence Variety: Disneyland is fun. It is sunny there.
Magic Mountain is the best. I want to go back.
Strong Sentence Variety: While at Disneyland, the sundrenched theme park in Anaheim, CA, I enjoyed riding my
favorite roller coaster Magic Mountain four times. I nearly
puked, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. No joke,
Disneyland is off the chain!
Sentence Variety Strategies
Writers can vary sentence length and structure in the following ways:
Combine two independent clauses/sentences with: and, but, or, so
The wet dog played in the puddle.
The wet dog was soaking wet.
Combine the two sentences with a conjunction:
The wet dog played in the puddle and was soaking wet.
Varied sentence structure:
Because the dog played in the puddle, he was soaking wet.
Appositives:
The dog, who played in the puddle, was soaking wet.
Your Turn: Reread the front page of the personal narrative. Write
down which sentence variety strategies are used.
VOICE
Uses word choices and sentence variety to
show:
o
Care
o
Passion
o
Personality
Weak Voice: Yesterday, I found the missing piece under that chair. I
lost it a long time ago and I’ve been looking for it for days.”
Strong Voice: My grandma bought me this sweet, 850 piece, Justin
Bieber jigsaw puzzle for my birthday. I spent forever working on it,
only to find that I was missing the last piece. Without that piece,
Justin didn’t have a right eye! I searched for Justin’s precious eye
for days. Then yesterday while sipping a coke, I nearly spit it all
over the carpet when I saw it right there under my grandpa’s wellloved recliner!
Strategies to Create Voice
The words and phrases you include in your writing create a sense of
who your are.
Connotation – Words that allude or refer to another meaning.
I bought a lemon of a car. Vs. I bought a slightly used car.
She is a real firecracker. Vs. She is very motivated to get what
she wants.
PERSONALITY: Sense of the person behind the text comes
through. Your writing should sound like you!
PASSIONATE: Shows that the author cares about the subject
CONFIDENT: Sounds like the author knows what she or he is
talking about; it’s ok to fake confidence
APPROPRIATE: The voice fits the occasion and the audience
Your Turn: Reread the text, circle examples of strong voice.
Apply Learning
As your write your personal narrative you are responsible for
applying what you’ve learned.
Narrative focus establishes a setting, point of view, and
characters
Narrative is organized (plot)
Narrative uses effective elaboration strategies
Narrative clearly and effectively expresses experiences/events
through the use of word choice, sentence variety, and voice
Your rough draft must be finished for revisions by next
Tuesday, 11/10. We will be in the Black Lab 11/12 - 11/13
to type and self-evaluate Final Drafts. *The Personal
Narrative is a summative assessment and is worth 80% of
your grade.