Personal WritingMs. Smith

Personal writing can include entries made in a:1. Private journal2. Notes in a school journal3. Letters4. Postcards5. Can later become a story, poem, or

something to be shared. Personal writing is like talking on paper.

1.1 Writing about what’s important to you.

Different forms fulfill different purposes in writing. 1. Journal entries – give you ideas for creative

writing. Your space for exploring ideas and keeping rack of information.

2. Lists and graphic organizers – help you organize and remember information.

3. Learning logs – used to discover more about something you’ve covered in a class. This is a place to jot down questions you may have.

1.2 Collecting Information

Invitations – from greeting card companies or you can make your own.

Invitations should include: What the celebration is for Date, time, place Who invitation is from Special instructions or dress requirements To spread good news (weddings, graduations).

1.3 Writing to Celebrate

Personal letters – when writing, your relationship with that person helps you decide what to say and how to say it.

1.3 Writing to Celebrate (con’t)

Dear Jennifer, How are you? Are you enjoying your new school? I am having a great time in seventh grade. I made so many new friends. I can’t wait for basketball season. I am practicing my shots during open gym time at the school. I can’t wait for games to start, as I am so ready! We got a new kitten. Her name is Lucy. I will send you a picture. Take care and write soon!

Your friend,

Ashley

Friendly letter example

Writing about your personal experiences. Writers use details and state how they feel

about things. Think about important or interesting events

in your life. Concentrate on things that made you feel a

strong emotion or that made you think about someone or something in a different way.

1.4 Writing about yourself

Please open your textbook to page 20.

1.4 Writing about yourself (con’t)

Using personal writing to respond to a character can help you better understand the character and the story.

Sometimes a fictional character proves to be an important influence in a reader’s life.

Some fictional stories can be based on a real person an author has known.

1.5 Responding to a Character

Your final writing assignment for this chapter will include writing and sharing about a special day in your life.

You can look back in your journal for an idea. Discuss how you felt during a special day. It can be an important day, a happy day, or a

day of change.

Writing Process in Action

Choose a special day to write about. You may look back in your journal for help. Gather ideas and develop topics you may

want to write about. Make a cluster diagram to help you. Think about how you will order your ideas. Usually, you would use chronological order.

Prewriting

The purpose of this writing is to communicate the importance of one special day through personal writing.

Your audience will be other students. The assignment should be one page long. The five stages of the writing process will be

used.

Writing Process in Action

Expand your ideas. Place ideas and notes into sentences and

paragraphs. If you are having difficulty, pretend you are

writing to or speaking with a close friend. Include what happened and how you felt

about it. You may work in pairs to express your ideas

in brief conversations. You can add, delete, or reorder during

revision.

Drafting

Read your draft to make sure to make sure your writing fits your purpose and audience.

Have a writing conference with a partner. Read your draft to a partner. Use their reaction to help you evaluate your

work so far.

Revising

Ask yourself these questions:1. Have I correctly capitalized names and

titles?2. Have I used the correct forms of adjectives?3. Have I used correct forms of pronouns?4. Have I corrected any sentence fragments or

run ons?5. Have I spelled every word correctly?

Revising