Composition Interventions

For struggling writers, the ability to use conventions properly is critical to clear written communication. Editing refers to proofreading and correcting incorrect capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and usage. Once a student has learned and can articulate the rules for conventions, you can support his ability to self-monitor application of these rules. This page includes intervention strategies that you can use to support your student's ability to edit his work. As you read, consider which of these interventions best aligns with your student's strengths and needs in the whole-learner domains.

Explicit Instruction

If you are intervening to support your students' ability to edit his work, you should start by explicitly teaching the skill. This sounds like:

• Explain the Skill/Concept. Define edits, and explain the activity. ("Edits are all the changes we need to make before a paper is published. We do this so that the reader can read our paper the way that we intend it to be read. When we edit, we will make sure that the capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and usage that we've used in our paper is correct." "Today, we will be learning how to edit our work to make sure we are properly applying the convention rules we have learned." )
• Model Skill with Examples. Read aloud a piece of work that flows smoothly.  ("When I use edit my work, I read the piece aloud to check that it has a natural flow. Listen as I read this sentence as written: The cat stalked the mouse quietly, ready to pounce. I knew that I should pause after the comma, and stop after the period. This makes the sentence flow naturally. When conventions are used properly, we don't even know they are there.")
• Model Skill with Non-Examples. Read aloud a piece of work that needs editing. ("Listen as I read this sentence aloud: The cat. stalked the mouse, quietly! ready to, pounce. Notice that the sentence sounded choppy, and doesn't make a lot of sense. I'll need to edit this sentence so that it sounds natural when I read it aloud.")
• Practice the Skill. Engage in one or more of the activities below to practice the skill with your student, providing feedback as necessary. ("Now you try. I'm going to show you...")

Activity A: Conventions Checklist
If your student needs support with checking his work, have him use a conventions checklist. One of the keys to effective implementation is providing plenty of time practicing and supporting use of the checklist. Be sure that your student understands each component, and that the student can use the checklist in a systematic way (for example, read for capitalization first, and then move on to punctuation).

Helping Students Who Rush Through Their Work. (2018, February 7). The Owl Teacher. https://theowlteacher.com/helping-students-rush-work/

Activity B: Conventions Game
If your student struggles with using conventions properly because he doesn’t think that they are important, use this strategy, sourced from Culham (2003), to get him to consider the function of conventions.

Go over the basic conventions that you know students can handle on their own. Now, tell them you want them to follow some new directions, such as writing backwards, putting periods in the middle of sentences… capitalizing only the words that shouldn’t be. The goofier, the better. After giving lots of these directions, ask students to apply them to their own writing. Then, give students an opportunity to list sound reasons for having standard rules. Here are some I’ve heard:

“We use conventions so everyone can read our stories.”
“Conventions are the rules, and if you don’t follow the rules, it’s confusing.”
“I couldn’t read my writing when I put periods in all over the place. I kept wanting to stop when I didn’t need to.”

Post students’ ideas as reminders of how important editing is —especially editing for conventions.

Activity C: Take It Out or Put It In
If a student needs practice applying the rules of basic conventions, this strategy can help him read with conventions in mind.

Take It Out or Put It In in Action
Rewrite a short story by omitting all punctuation and capitalization, or by inserting unnecessary punctuation and capitalization. If you’ve omitted conventions (the easier task), ask the student to put them back in. If you’ve added incorrect conventions (the more complex task), ask the student to take them out. Compare the edited version with the original, and note differences. “Here is a story with the conventions taken out (or the wrong ones put in). As you read this story, add (or take out) the capitals or punctuation needed to read this story.”

Culham, R. (2003). 6 + 1 Traits of writing. New York, NY: Scholastic.