How to edit your work!

Why do we edit our work?

• When we write, it is always important to edit our work.

– If we write messily, it will be hard for our audience to read our message.

– If we do not pay attention to punctuation, the reader gets lost since they don’t know where our thoughts start and end.

– Spelling mistakes can totally change the meaning of our message

– Let’s look at some examples of work that has not been edited.

WHY?

C.O.P.S• An easy way to edit our work is to remember

the acronym C.O.P.S .

Capitals Organization Punctuation

Spelling

Capitals

• C - Capitals. Always use a capital at a start of a sentence, and for proper nouns.– Proper nouns are specific people, places, or

things.– The word “girl” is not capitalized, but “Avery”

would be.– The word “city” is not capitalized but “Calgary” is.– The word “book” is not but “Goosebumps” would

be.

What is incorrect? june 16th, 2011 dear joey,

I had an amazing summer vacation. i had the chance to visit my family in vancouver. i wish that you and your brother tom could have come with us. we went sailing everyday, and swam in the pacific ocean. how was your summer?

write soon,

Charlie

Organization• O – Organization. Be sure to write as neatly as

you can at all times. This ensures that our audience can read and understand clearly our message.– You might have beautiful thoughts, but if they

aren’t clear you will loose the focus of your audience.

Writing Sample One

Writing Sample Two

Punctuation

• P – Punctuation. Use proper punctuation to help communicate your message.– A period comes at the end of

each sentence.– An exclamation point can be

used to express strong feelings or volume.

– A question mark indicates a question.

– Commas are used to separate thoughts and make a list.

Punctuation

I can use question marks when I wonder

about something.

Spelling

• S – Spelling. Using the correct spelling in a sentence is so important. Words that are misspelled can change the meaning of our sentence.– Dictionaries can help us– We can ask a friend– Make a class word wall– Use your phonics tools!• What does this word sound like?

Embarrassing Spelling Mistakes!

To use C.O.P.S in your writing!

On the recipe card provided, please write about your weekend, and what you did. Write a minimum of three sentences, and make sure you use proper C.O.P.S!

- Did you read? - Did you play sports?

- Walk the dog?- Go out for dinner?