20864_Editing_explanations_Years_5_and_6
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Your partner in education<br />
YEARS 5–6<br />
EDITING<br />
SKILLS<br />
<strong>Editing</strong> <strong>explanations</strong><br />
Literacy<br />
Australian Primary Publisher<br />
of the Year 2015 <strong>and</strong> 2016
EDITING SKILLS (Ages 11 + )<br />
Published by R.I.C. Publications ® 2005<br />
Copyright © R.I.C. Publications ® 2005<br />
RIC–<strong>20864</strong><br />
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original purchaser for use with their class(es). The<br />
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master for the purposes of reproduction.<br />
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View all pages online<br />
http://www.ricgroup.com.au
Foreword<br />
<strong>Editing</strong> skills consists of a selection of texts written in specific formats to provide punctuation,<br />
spelling <strong>and</strong> grammatical practice. Detailed descriptions of concepts, such as specific<br />
parts of speech <strong>and</strong> punctuation, are also included, as well as vocabulary enrichment <strong>and</strong><br />
aspects of writing.<br />
The aim is to provide students with varied, structured experiences in proofreading <strong>and</strong><br />
editing written texts. A high level of proficiency in these skills is vital for accurate selfmonitoring<br />
of written work.<br />
Other titles in this series are:<br />
• <strong>Editing</strong> skills 6–7<br />
• <strong>Editing</strong> skills 8–9<br />
• <strong>Editing</strong> skills 10–11<br />
Contents<br />
Teachers information<br />
Teacher information................................................................................................................... iv – v<br />
Curriculum links................................................................................................................................ v<br />
Overview of activity content.....................................................................................................vi – vii<br />
Punctuation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary <strong>and</strong> writing information.................................viii – xiii<br />
Writing format information.....................................................................................................xiv – xv<br />
Writing format checklists .................................................................................................... xvi – xxii<br />
Student proofreading <strong>and</strong> editing checklist................................................................................ xxiii<br />
Worksheets<br />
Dear diary.................................................. 2–3<br />
Piggy banks............................................... 4–5<br />
Ancient Greek myth.................................. 6–7<br />
Where is the king?..................................... 8–9<br />
Revulsion................................................10–11<br />
Chocolate...............................................12–13<br />
How the woodpecker was born............14–15<br />
Left-wing.................................................16–17<br />
Violence on the news........................... 18–19<br />
The St Bernard...................................... 20–21<br />
Kelly’s holiday....................................... 22–23<br />
How to be a successful note taker....... 24–25<br />
The question mark................................ 26–27<br />
The hothouse........................................ 28–29<br />
A miraculous escape............................ 30–31<br />
Michael McCoy...................................... 32–33<br />
Mobile madness.................................... 34–35<br />
Making a papier-mâché piggy bank..... 36–37<br />
What is an urban myth?........................ 38–39<br />
Travelling toad....................................... 40–41<br />
Go <strong>and</strong> play!.......................................... 42–43<br />
Constable Hector Plod’s report........... 44–45<br />
The word ‘love’ in tennis...................... 46–47<br />
Surface tension....................................... 48–49<br />
We should earn regular pocket money.. 50–51<br />
The runaways....................................... 52–53<br />
The castle on the hill............................ 54–55<br />
Mighty microbes.................................. 56–57<br />
Princess Caraboo................................. 58–59<br />
Making a tepee..................................... 60–61<br />
Achilles’s heel....................................... 62–63<br />
Impressionism...................................... 64–65<br />
Tsunami!............................................... 66–67<br />
Rowan Atkinson................................... 68–69<br />
Special groups...................................... 70–71<br />
Give me strength.................................. 72–73<br />
The fleet awakens................................ 74–75<br />
Taking better photos............................ 76–77<br />
Cooking fish – the easy way................. 78–79<br />
A night to remember............................ 80–81<br />
Classical composers............................. 82–83<br />
Music forever......................................... 84–85<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills iii
Teacher information<br />
The following is an explanation of how to use the pages in this book.<br />
Teachers pages<br />
A teachers page accompanies each student worksheet. It provides the following information:<br />
The lesson focus indicates the focus for each<br />
student page. This will include aspects from<br />
the areas of punctuation, spelling, grammar,<br />
vocabulary <strong>and</strong> writing. Some of these may involve<br />
simple recognition of a concept, or use an alreadyknown<br />
aspect. More detailed teacher information<br />
about punctuation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary<br />
<strong>and</strong> writing can be found on pages viii–xxiii.<br />
Teacher information gives brief background<br />
information about each text type. More detailed<br />
information can be found on pages xiv– xv.<br />
Answers to all worksheet activities are provided.<br />
The corrected text is given with punctuation errors<br />
in bold. Correct spelling is highlighted in italics, as<br />
well as being provided in the answers section.<br />
Proofreading <strong>and</strong> editing<br />
marks<br />
Editors use a number of consistent<br />
symbols to indicate where changes<br />
are to be made in a text.<br />
Teachers may require students to use<br />
these ‘professional’ proofreading <strong>and</strong><br />
editing marks to indicate errors in the<br />
text on the student pages.<br />
NOTE:<br />
All spelling is taken from the<br />
Macquarie Dictionary, Revised<br />
Third Edition, while all punctuation<br />
is according to the Style manual<br />
for authors, editors <strong>and</strong> printers,<br />
Sixth edition, Revised by Snooks &<br />
Co. These are st<strong>and</strong>ard references<br />
for contemporary professional<br />
publishing.<br />
= insert (something)<br />
The weather hot<br />
The boys hat<br />
He went swiming.<br />
= delete (something)<br />
I went to to the shops.<br />
The dog broke it’s collar.<br />
+ lc = lower case<br />
a<br />
lc<br />
I don’t like Maths.<br />
+ cap. = capital letter<br />
+ correction = spelling<br />
‘<br />
was<br />
m<br />
cap.<br />
‘I’m telling mum.’<br />
He wos playing football.<br />
iv <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Student pages<br />
Teacher information<br />
• A specific text type is identified <strong>and</strong> presented for the students to read. The text has<br />
punctuation, spelling <strong>and</strong> grammatical errors for the student to identify.<br />
There are also opportunities presented for the students to work in the areas of grammar,<br />
vocabulary <strong>and</strong> writing as specified by the worksheet or teacher.<br />
• The texts are presented in two ways. One allows students to become familiar with<br />
formats they may encounter in some st<strong>and</strong>ardised tests; both follow a similar format for<br />
identifying <strong>and</strong> correcting proofreading <strong>and</strong> editing errors.<br />
The student activities follow a common format.<br />
Format 1<br />
The title of the text is given.<br />
The specific text type is<br />
given <strong>and</strong> the text presented.<br />
Format 2<br />
Headings indicate which punctuation,<br />
spelling, grammatical, vocabulary <strong>and</strong><br />
writing mistakes need to be identified <strong>and</strong><br />
corrected by the student. Extra practice is<br />
given in particular areas.<br />
Student instructions are written in a consistent format to encourage students to concentrate<br />
on the activity.<br />
Where an instruction requires students to ‘find capital letters etc.’, teachers should select<br />
their own method for students to use; for example, circle, highlight with a coloured marker,<br />
underline or write over the error. Some proofreading <strong>and</strong> editing marks may be used. (See<br />
teachers notes page iv.)<br />
Curriculum links<br />
Year 5<br />
Re-read <strong>and</strong> edit student’s own <strong>and</strong> others’ work<br />
using agreed criteria for text structures <strong>and</strong> language<br />
features (ACELY1705)<br />
Year 6<br />
Re-read <strong>and</strong> edit students’ own <strong>and</strong> others’ work<br />
using agreed criteria <strong>and</strong> explaining editing choices<br />
(ACELY1715)<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills v
Activity content overview<br />
Activity content Page number<br />
PUNCTUATION 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85<br />
Full stops<br />
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
Capital letters: begin. of sentences<br />
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
proper nouns<br />
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
Question marks<br />
• • • • • • • • • •<br />
Exclamation marks<br />
• • • • • • • • • •<br />
Commas: in a list<br />
• • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
grammatical<br />
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
Apostrophes: contractions • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
possession<br />
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
Quotation marks<br />
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
Colons<br />
• • • • • • • • •<br />
Semicolons<br />
• • • • • • • • •<br />
Hyphens<br />
• • • • • • • • • • •<br />
Dashes<br />
• • • • • •<br />
Parentheses • • • • • • • • • •<br />
SPELLING<br />
Misspelt words<br />
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
Confused words<br />
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
Plurals: adding ‘s’ <strong>and</strong> ‘es’<br />
• •<br />
change ‘y’ to ‘i’ • •<br />
Rec.<br />
Expl.<br />
TEXT TYPE<br />
N<br />
P<br />
D<br />
Rep.<br />
N<br />
Rec.<br />
Expo.<br />
Rep.<br />
N<br />
P<br />
Expl.<br />
Poet.<br />
Rec.<br />
Poet.<br />
Expo.<br />
P<br />
Expl.<br />
Rep.<br />
Rec.<br />
Rep.<br />
Expl.<br />
P<br />
Expo.<br />
N<br />
D<br />
Expl.<br />
Rec.<br />
P<br />
N<br />
Rep.<br />
Expl.<br />
Rec.<br />
Expo.<br />
Rep.<br />
D<br />
Expl.<br />
P<br />
Rec.<br />
Rep.<br />
N<br />
vi <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Activity content Page number<br />
GRAMMAR 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85<br />
Nouns: common nouns<br />
collective nouns<br />
• • • • •<br />
•<br />
Pronouns<br />
• • • • • • • • • • • • •<br />
Adjectives<br />
• • • • • •<br />
Verbs: active/passive • • • • • •<br />
tenses<br />
• • • • • • • • • • •<br />
infinitives<br />
• •<br />
Subject-verb agreement<br />
• • • • • • • •<br />
Adverbs<br />
• • • • • • • •<br />
Prepositions<br />
• • • • • •<br />
Conjunctions<br />
Indefinite article: ‘a’ or ‘an’ • • •<br />
• •<br />
VOCABULARY<br />
Enrichment<br />
• • •<br />
Synonyms<br />
• • • • •<br />
Antonyms<br />
• • • • •<br />
Compound words<br />
• • • • •<br />
Compound words: hyphenated<br />
• •<br />
Shortened forms<br />
• • •<br />
Similes • •<br />
WRITING<br />
Paragraphs<br />
• • • • •<br />
Double negatives<br />
• • • • •<br />
Tautology<br />
• • • • • • • • •<br />
Convoluted language<br />
• •<br />
Analogy<br />
•<br />
Repeated <strong>and</strong> omitted words<br />
• • •<br />
Errors of fact • • • • •<br />
Rec.<br />
Expl.<br />
TEXT TYPE<br />
N<br />
P<br />
D<br />
Rep.<br />
N<br />
Rec.<br />
Expo.<br />
Rep.<br />
N<br />
P<br />
Expl.<br />
Poet.<br />
Rec.<br />
Poet.<br />
Expo.<br />
P<br />
Expl.<br />
Rep.<br />
Rec.<br />
Rep.<br />
Expl.<br />
P<br />
Expo.<br />
N<br />
D<br />
Expl.<br />
Rec.<br />
P<br />
N<br />
Rep.<br />
Expl.<br />
Rec.<br />
Expo.<br />
Rep.<br />
D<br />
Expl.<br />
P<br />
Rec.<br />
Rep.<br />
N<br />
Narrative – N Explanation – Expl. Procedure – P Recount – Rec. Report – Rep. Exposition – Expo. Description – D Poetry – Poet.<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills vii
Punctuation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary <strong>and</strong><br />
writing information<br />
PUNCTUATION<br />
Please note: In some cases, teachers will need to exercise their own judgment with regard to<br />
punctuation, as certain aspects, particularly commas <strong>and</strong> exclamation marks, are to an extent<br />
discretionary <strong>and</strong> depend on the individual writer’s intent.<br />
Capital letters<br />
Capital letters are needed for:<br />
• sentence beginnings; e.g. My dog is very friendly. He welcomes everyone.<br />
• proper nouns – people’s names (Chloe Parker), names of places (Indian Ocean), days of<br />
the week (Saturday), months (December), holidays <strong>and</strong> festivals (Christmas ), countries<br />
(America), nationalities (Russian), languages (Italian) <strong>and</strong> religions (Buddhism).<br />
• titles; e.g. World Health Organisation<br />
NOTE:<br />
R.I.C. Publications employs minimal capitalisation for titles of books <strong>and</strong> other<br />
publications as recommended by The Style manual for authors, editors <strong>and</strong> printers,<br />
sixth edition 2002.<br />
To kill a mockingbird<br />
Snow White <strong>and</strong> the seven dwarfs<br />
Exclamation marks<br />
Exclamation marks are used to end exclamations <strong>and</strong> imperatives (comm<strong>and</strong>s) <strong>and</strong> for<br />
emphasis at the end of a statement.<br />
I love it!<br />
Don’t touch!<br />
She ate every bit of it!<br />
Note: If overused, exclamation marks lose their effect.<br />
Commas<br />
Teacher information<br />
Commas are used to separate items in a list or series.<br />
I enjoy reading, playing squash, skiing <strong>and</strong> swimming.<br />
Grammatical commas are used to:<br />
• make the meaning of a sentence clear.<br />
Jane said her mother is very busy.<br />
Jane, said her mother, is very busy.<br />
• indicate where a pause is needed in a sentence.<br />
Many years ago, dinosaurs roamed the Earth.<br />
Apostrophes for possession<br />
(Jane’s mother is very busy.)<br />
(Jane is very busy.)<br />
Apostrophes are used to show that something belongs to someone or something.<br />
The placement of the apostrophe can be challenging but the simple rule is that it is placed<br />
after the owner or owners. (The ‘tail’ of the apostrophe ‘points’ to the owner(s).)<br />
the boy’s shoes (one boy) ............... the boys’ shoes (more than one boy)<br />
the lady’s hats (one lady)............... the ladies’ hats (more than one lady)<br />
the son’s pets (one son)................... the sons’ pets (more than one son)<br />
viii <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Grammatical contractions<br />
Grammatical contractions are words that have been made by joining <strong>and</strong> shortening two<br />
words. An apostrophe is used in place of the missing letters.<br />
Quotation marks<br />
would not..............wouldn’t<br />
I would............................I’d<br />
Quotation marks are used:<br />
• to enclose quoted speech<br />
will not......................won’t<br />
they are.................. they’re<br />
Single or double quotation marks are accepted but must be used consistently.<br />
‘You’re late again’, my mother complained.<br />
“I’m sorry”, I replied.<br />
• To enclose quotes within quotes, one set is used outside <strong>and</strong> the other inside.<br />
He reported, ‘My mother complained, “Late again, John”’<br />
• To cite a title.<br />
Colons<br />
I read the book ‘Black Beauty’.<br />
A colon is a marker of relationship <strong>and</strong> sequence.<br />
Colons are used:<br />
• before offset lists<br />
You need to take:<br />
warm socks,<br />
sturdy walking shoes,<br />
a raincoat.<br />
• between a statement <strong>and</strong> an explanation.<br />
I remember you: we went to the same school.<br />
• with quotations.<br />
Semicolons<br />
Malcolm Fraser said: ‘Life wasn’t meant to be easy’.<br />
A semicolon, despite its name, is not a half colon; it is much stronger than a comma, closer<br />
to a full stop. It is generally used where a full stop is possible, but using one would separate<br />
the sentences too strongly.<br />
It can be used:<br />
• when two sentences are closely connected.<br />
The footballers are leaving the field; some are looking very dejected.<br />
• before words <strong>and</strong> expressions such as, ‘therefore’, ‘for example’ <strong>and</strong> ‘however’.<br />
Hyphens<br />
There are many animals native to this area; for example, wallabies, kangaroos <strong>and</strong><br />
wombats.<br />
Hyphens are short strokes (without a space on either side) used to join words or parts of<br />
words.<br />
ice-cream<br />
Teacher information<br />
pre-existing<br />
Note: Students should be encouraged to refer to a modern dictionary to check for current<br />
hyphenation, which changes over time in response to common use.<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills ix
Punctuation (continued)<br />
Dashes<br />
A dash is used to indicate a text break but should not be overused.<br />
It can be used:<br />
• to separate a word or group of words within a sentence.<br />
Climbing mountains is fun—if you are young <strong>and</strong> fit.<br />
• before a specific list.<br />
Do you know the Wilsons—Peter <strong>and</strong> Jane?<br />
• between numbers or words to mean ‘to’ or ‘until’.<br />
Read chapters 1–4.<br />
• in place of parentheses (round brackets)<br />
The tsunami—2004—caused horrendous damage.<br />
Parentheses (round brackets)<br />
The main use of parentheses is to enclose <strong>explanations</strong> <strong>and</strong> asides.<br />
Parentheses are used:<br />
• to add explanatory words<br />
Ian Thorpe (Australia) won his race.<br />
• to express the same thing in a different way<br />
He ran 6 km (kilometres).<br />
• To set-off an aside<br />
GRAMMAR<br />
Nouns<br />
He won the race in record (yet to be confirmed) time.<br />
Nouns are naming words of people, places <strong>and</strong> things:<br />
teacher, school, desk.<br />
Proper nouns name individual people (Bill), places (Kings Park) <strong>and</strong> others (Christmas,<br />
December, Sunday). Proper nouns are written with capital letters.<br />
Common nouns are any other nouns.<br />
Collective nouns are a subset of common nouns:<br />
Pronouns<br />
a team of players.<br />
A pronoun is a word substituted for a noun:<br />
They asked him to help them.<br />
Personal pronouns refer to you, me <strong>and</strong> other people:<br />
Adjectives<br />
Teacher information<br />
I, me, you, she, us, them.<br />
Adjectives modify (enhance or change) the meaning of nouns <strong>and</strong>, less commonly,<br />
pronouns:<br />
parched l<strong>and</strong>; green, fertile l<strong>and</strong>; poor old me; lucky you<br />
x <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Verbs<br />
Verbs are ‘doing’ words:<br />
swim, like, look.<br />
Auxiliary verbs join other verbs to form verb groups:<br />
have eaten, will be asleep.<br />
Active <strong>and</strong> passive verbs<br />
In English, verbs are classified as either active or passive.<br />
Active verbs indicate that the subject ‘does’ or ‘is’ something. They are straightforward <strong>and</strong><br />
cause little difficulty.<br />
We went to the shopping centre.<br />
(subject) (verb)<br />
The passive voice is often used when it is not necessary to tell who is responsible for the<br />
action.<br />
Cats should be fed regularly.<br />
Students should be encouraged to use active verbs in preference to passive ones because<br />
they make sentences more direct <strong>and</strong> positive.<br />
Verb tense There are three basic tenses. Because there are so many irregular verbs in<br />
English, tense can be complex.<br />
Infinitives<br />
regular<br />
irregular<br />
the past..................... the present.......................the future<br />
played...............................play................................will play<br />
has played.......................plays......................... should play<br />
went.................................. go................................... will go<br />
has gone.......................... goes............................should go<br />
NOTE: The future <strong>and</strong> the past tenses often use auxiliary verbs.<br />
The infinitive is the basic form of a verb <strong>and</strong> is usually introduced by ‘to’:<br />
to work, to be, to eat<br />
Subject-verb agreement<br />
Verbs have to agree with their subjects:<br />
The children cheer loudly.<br />
(subject-plural) verb<br />
The child cheers loudly<br />
(subject-singular) verb<br />
Many English verbs are irregular, which can cause problems, particularly for students from<br />
non-English speaking backgrounds:<br />
He is at school.<br />
He was busy.<br />
They are at school.<br />
They were busy.<br />
In some sentences the subject of a verb is separated from the verb <strong>and</strong> not easy to locate.<br />
Students should be encouraged to ask themselves ‘who’ or ‘what’ before the verb.<br />
Adverbs<br />
‘The boy, although really late for school <strong>and</strong> likely to get into trouble, dawdled.’<br />
‘dawdled’ is the verb.<br />
‘The boy’ is the subject. (who dawdled?)<br />
Adverbs are words that modify (enhance or change) the meaning of verbs:<br />
He ran quickly.<br />
There are adverbs of:<br />
Teacher information<br />
I’ve seen this before.<br />
time........................e.g. yesterday<br />
place......................e.g. downstairs<br />
manner...................e.g. carefully<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills xi
Prepositions<br />
Prepositions show the relationship between nouns <strong>and</strong>/or pronouns in the same sentence.<br />
Common prepositions include: across, about, between, by, during, for, from, in, of, since,<br />
through, until, without, up.<br />
Conjunctions<br />
He disappeared during the night.<br />
I’m afraid of spiders.<br />
I enjoy reading books about travel.<br />
Conjunctions are joining words. They can join different language units:<br />
• One word with another .........................e.g. black or white<br />
• One phrase with another........................e.g. on the beach <strong>and</strong> in the s<strong>and</strong><br />
• One clause with another........................e.g. He asked me if I could cook.<br />
• One sentence with another....................e.g. I was hot so I went for a swim.<br />
SPELLING<br />
Singular <strong>and</strong> plural nouns<br />
Adding ‘s’ <strong>and</strong> ‘es’<br />
The most commonly used plural is made by adding ‘s’; e.g. books, games.<br />
It is usually necessary to add ‘es’ to nouns ending in ‘ch’, ‘sh’, ‘s’, ‘x’ <strong>and</strong> ‘z’ to make the<br />
plural easier to pronounce; e.g. washes, dishes, classes, foxes <strong>and</strong> waltzes.<br />
Words ending in ‘o’ are also often made into a plural by adding ‘es’:<br />
potatoes, tomatoes<br />
There are many exceptions, including radios, merinos, silos, zeros, photos <strong>and</strong> sopranos.<br />
Students should be encouraged to consult a dictionary if uncertain about the spelling of a<br />
specific word.<br />
Changing ‘y’ to ‘i’ <strong>and</strong> adding ‘es’<br />
Many nouns <strong>and</strong> verbs ending with ‘y’, change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ before adding ‘es’:<br />
lady (singular noun)<br />
curry (singular noun)<br />
I cry<br />
VOCABULARY<br />
Shortened forms<br />
There are three categories of shortened forms:<br />
• Shortened words:<br />
ladies (plural noun)<br />
curries (plural noun)<br />
he cries (verbs)<br />
– abbreviations (first letter, some other letters, but not the last letter):<br />
Mon., Cont., Co.<br />
(full stop needed)<br />
– contractions (first letter <strong>and</strong> last letter <strong>and</strong> sometimes other letters):<br />
Mr, dept, Qld<br />
• Shortened phrases:<br />
(no full stop)<br />
– acronyms (strings of initial letters pronounced as a word):<br />
• Symbols:<br />
radar, Qantas, sonar<br />
(no full stops)<br />
Internationally recognised representations of units of measurement, words <strong>and</strong> concepts:<br />
km, %, @<br />
Teacher information<br />
(no full stops)<br />
xii <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Similes<br />
A simile is a figure of speech in which one thing is likened to another in one particular<br />
respect:<br />
as fast as greased lightning<br />
to run like the wind<br />
Similes can enhance descriptions by helping to convey the writer’s intended meaning.<br />
Writing<br />
Tautology<br />
Tautology is combining two or more words, which in effect say the same thing:<br />
I followed after him.<br />
He has never at any time smoked.<br />
Examples of tautology include:<br />
blend together, close proximity, combine together, cost the sum of, divide up, during<br />
the course of, few in number, for a period of, grateful thanks, just recently, may<br />
possibly, mutual cooperation, small in size, return back, repeat again.<br />
Convoluted language<br />
Convoluted language is unnecessarily complicated, complex language, often using passive<br />
verbs, lengthy sentences <strong>and</strong> unnecessary words. Students should be encouraged to use<br />
clear, concise language to express ideas:<br />
Analogy<br />
Teacher information<br />
In the fullness of time, taking into account the exigencies of the existing situation,<br />
<strong>and</strong> in complete recognition of the delicacy of this matter, your proposal will be<br />
duly brought to the light of day, unpacked <strong>and</strong> addressed in a cooperative group<br />
context.<br />
(We will look at your proposal later.)<br />
An analogy is usually used to explain something complex by using something familiar:<br />
An atom is like our solar system. (The nucleus is the sun <strong>and</strong> the electrons are the<br />
planets in orbit around it.)<br />
Stones were to some ancient people as dollar notes are to modern people.<br />
Analogies are helpful in pointing out relationships that may not at first be obvious, but they<br />
have their limitations. It is said that an analogy ‘breaks down’; this means that it is only<br />
suggestive <strong>and</strong> doesn’t hold true in every detail.<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills xiii
Teacher information<br />
Writing format information<br />
Exposition<br />
– is a framework which argues for<br />
a particular position <strong>and</strong> attempts<br />
to persuade the audience to share<br />
this view.<br />
– includes:<br />
• Introduction:<br />
statement of the problem <strong>and</strong><br />
the writer’s position<br />
• Arguments:<br />
presented in a logical manner<br />
with supporting detail, usually<br />
from the strongest to the<br />
weakest<br />
• Conclusion:<br />
– uses:<br />
an evaluation restating the<br />
writer’s position.<br />
• persuasive language<br />
• paragraphs to state <strong>and</strong><br />
elaborate on each point.<br />
An exposition may be written in<br />
the form of an essay, a letter, a<br />
policy statement, a critical review,<br />
an advertisement, an editorial or a<br />
speech.<br />
Explanation<br />
– is a framework which outlines how or why something<br />
occurs, works or is made.<br />
– includes:<br />
• Statement:<br />
precisely what is to be explained<br />
• Explanation:<br />
a clear account in logical sequence of how <strong>and</strong><br />
why the phenomenon occurs<br />
• Conclusion:<br />
OR<br />
an evaluation <strong>and</strong> comment about what has been<br />
explained.<br />
• a definition<br />
• a description of the components or parts<br />
• the operation—how it works or is made<br />
• the application—where <strong>and</strong> when it works or is<br />
applied<br />
• special features—interesting comments<br />
• evaluation or comment.<br />
– uses:<br />
• subject–specific terms <strong>and</strong> technical vocabulary<br />
where appropriate<br />
• simple present tense<br />
• linking words to show cause <strong>and</strong> effect.<br />
An explanation may be written in the form of an essay, or<br />
a h<strong>and</strong>book—for example, how a kite works—a science<br />
text, a health text or a social studies text.<br />
Description<br />
– is a framework which describes the characteristics, components or function of specific living<br />
or non-living things.<br />
Physical characteristics of living things are described or the components of non-living things<br />
<strong>and</strong> their functions. Special features are also discussed. This type of writing can be used to<br />
describe, for example, a specific breed of animal, object or picture.<br />
– includes:<br />
• Introduction: what it is<br />
• Description: its appearance: colour, shape, size etc.<br />
• Interesting details/special features<br />
• Concluding statement.<br />
– uses:<br />
• adjectives extensively<br />
• conjunctions.<br />
A description may be written in poetic form <strong>and</strong> may describe a person, place, animal, thing<br />
or emotion.<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills xv
Student explanation checklist<br />
Title:<br />
Definition:<br />
A precise statement or definition is provided.<br />
Description:<br />
There is a clear account of how <strong>and</strong> why the<br />
phenomenon occurs.<br />
Information is relevant <strong>and</strong> correct.<br />
Information is provided in a logical order.<br />
Explanations are clearly <strong>and</strong> simply stated.<br />
Concluding statement:<br />
The conclusion includes an evaluation or comment.<br />
Writing skills:<br />
• Linking words are used to show cause <strong>and</strong> effect.<br />
• The simple present tense is used.<br />
• Technical vocabulary <strong>and</strong> subject-specific<br />
terms are used.<br />
• Spelling <strong>and</strong> punctuation have been checked.<br />
Name: Date:<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills<br />
Writing format checklists<br />
Student explanation checklist<br />
Title:<br />
Definition:<br />
A precise statement or definition is provided.<br />
Description:<br />
There is a clear account of how <strong>and</strong> why the<br />
phenomenon occurs.<br />
Information is relevant <strong>and</strong> correct.<br />
Information is provided in a logical order.<br />
Explanations are clearly <strong>and</strong> simply stated.<br />
Concluding statement:<br />
The conclusion includes an evaluation or comment.<br />
Writing skills:<br />
• Linking words are used to show cause <strong>and</strong> effect.<br />
• The simple present tense is used.<br />
• Technical vocabulary <strong>and</strong> subject-specific<br />
terms are used.<br />
• Spelling <strong>and</strong> punctuation have been checked.<br />
Name: Date:<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills xix
Student proofreading <strong>and</strong> editing checklist<br />
Use this page to check your work. You will not need to tick all of the boxes.<br />
Name:<br />
Date:<br />
Title:<br />
Punctuation:<br />
I have included:<br />
• full stops<br />
• capital letters for:<br />
• question marks<br />
• exclamation marks<br />
• commas:<br />
beginning sentences<br />
proper nouns<br />
in lists<br />
for pauses<br />
to make meaning clear<br />
• apostrophes: in contractions<br />
• quotation marks<br />
• colons<br />
• semicolons<br />
• hyphens<br />
• dashes<br />
• brackets<br />
Spelling:<br />
I have:<br />
to show ownership<br />
• checked the spelling of any unknown words<br />
Grammar:<br />
I have included:<br />
• a variety of different verbs<br />
• correct verb tenses<br />
• correct verb-subject agreement<br />
• appropriate adverbs to describe verbs<br />
• interesting adjectives to describe nouns <strong>and</strong> pronouns<br />
• suitable conjunctions<br />
• a variety of prepositions<br />
Writing:<br />
I have read through my writing to check that:<br />
• it makes sense<br />
• it is easy to underst<strong>and</strong><br />
• there are no repeated or omitted words<br />
• paragraphing is appropriate<br />
• there are no double negatives or tautologies<br />
• there are no errors of fact<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills xxiii
Piggy banks<br />
Lesson focus<br />
Teachers notes<br />
Punctuation<br />
• Commas in lists<br />
• Grammatical commas<br />
• Apostrophes to show possession<br />
• Quotation marks<br />
• Hyphens<br />
Grammar<br />
• Verb tenses<br />
Teacher information<br />
Spelling<br />
• Confused words: their/there, be/bee,<br />
too/to/two, been/bean<br />
• Misspelt words<br />
• Plurals (‘s’ <strong>and</strong> ‘es’)<br />
Writing<br />
• Errors of fact<br />
An explanation outlines how something works, is made or how or why things happen.<br />
Answers<br />
Ever wonder why some people keep their savings in a<br />
moneybox shaped like a pig? It is all due to the incorrect<br />
meaning of a word!<br />
The origin of the piggy bank can be found in the Middle<br />
Ages, when most pots, dishes, jars <strong>and</strong> other containers<br />
used in people’s homes were made of a cheap clay<br />
known as ‘pygg’. Metal was rarely used as it was too<br />
expensive. A pot made from pygg was kept by many<br />
households for storing the family’s savings. This money pot<br />
became known as the ‘pyggy bank’.<br />
But when potters in 19th century Engl<strong>and</strong> were asked by<br />
customers to make pyggy banks, they misunderstood<br />
<strong>and</strong> produced pig-shaped containers. Instead of<br />
correcting the mistake, people took to the idea <strong>and</strong>,<br />
ever since, the piggy bank has been a well-loved<br />
type of moneybox.<br />
their<br />
due<br />
of<br />
be<br />
dishes<br />
were (verb)<br />
too<br />
was (verb)<br />
households<br />
known<br />
were (verb)<br />
customers<br />
produced<br />
to<br />
been<br />
type<br />
1. (a) Missing punctuation is in bold type.<br />
(b) (i) Hyphenated words are underlined.<br />
well-loved, pig-shaped<br />
(ii) Teacher check<br />
2. (a) Correct verbs are underlined in bold.<br />
are – were (line 6), is – was (line 8), will be – were (line 11)<br />
3. Spelling errors are in italic type.<br />
(a) dishes, households, customers<br />
(b) their, due, of, be, too, known, produced, to, been, type<br />
4. In the 19th century in Engl<strong>and</strong>, potters made pig-shaped moneyboxes <strong>and</strong> people took to the idea.<br />
4 <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Piggy banks<br />
Read the explanation.<br />
<strong>Editing</strong> skills<br />
Ever wonder why some people keep there savings in a<br />
moneybox shaped like a pig? It is all dew to the incorrect<br />
meaning off a word!<br />
The origin of the piggy bank can bee found in the Middle<br />
Ages, when most pots dishs jars <strong>and</strong> other containers<br />
used in peoples homes are made of a cheap clay<br />
known as ‘pygg’. Metal was rarely used as it was to<br />
expensive. A pot made from pygg is kept by many<br />
householdes for storing the familys savings. This money pot<br />
became nown as the ‘pyggy bank’.<br />
But when potters in 19th century Engl<strong>and</strong> will be asked by<br />
customeres to make pyggy banks they misunderstood<br />
<strong>and</strong> prodused pig-shaped containers. Instead of<br />
correcting the mistake people took two the idea <strong>and</strong><br />
ever since, the piggy bank has bean a well-loved<br />
tipe of moneybox.<br />
1 Punctuation<br />
(a) Write the 5 missing commas <strong>and</strong> 2<br />
apostrophes Circle the quotation marks.<br />
A hyphen (-) is used in some words to connect<br />
smaller words together; for example,<br />
‘happy-go-lucky’, ‘self-pity’, ‘able-bodied’.<br />
(b) (i) Circle the 2 words in this text that<br />
contain hyphens.<br />
(ii) Choose one of the words. Use a<br />
dictionary to find three hyphenated words<br />
that contain one of the smaller words.<br />
3 Spelling<br />
(a) In this text, the wrong verb tense has<br />
been used 3 times. Find each of these<br />
<strong>and</strong> write the correct verb tense in the<br />
space at the end of the line.<br />
(a) Three plural words from the text are<br />
misspelt. Write the correct spelling on the<br />
line at the end of the row.<br />
(b) Write the correct spelling of 10 misspelt<br />
words in the space at the end of the line.<br />
4 Writing<br />
(a) Correct the errors of fact in this sentence.<br />
In the 19th century in Engl<strong>and</strong>, metal workers<br />
made pig-shaped moneyboxes, but people<br />
did not take to the idea.<br />
2 Grammar<br />
We can change the ‘tense’ of a verb to tell what<br />
happened in the past, what is happening in the<br />
present or what will happen in the future; for<br />
example, ‘He said it’ (past tense); ‘He says it<br />
(present tense); ‘He will say it’ (future tense).<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills 5
The question mark<br />
Lesson focus<br />
Teachers notes<br />
Punctuation<br />
• Grammatical commas<br />
• Question marks<br />
• Quotation marks<br />
• Apostrophes in grammatical contractions<br />
Grammar<br />
Spelling<br />
• Confused words: be/bee, peace/piece, see/<br />
sea<br />
• Misspelt words<br />
Writing<br />
• Prepositions<br />
• Double negatives<br />
• Tautology<br />
Teacher information<br />
An explanation outlines how things work, or how or why things happen.<br />
Answers<br />
The question mark is an important part of punctuation.<br />
It would be difficult to recognise questions in a piece of<br />
writing without them. But how did the symbol ‘?’come<br />
to be used?<br />
Long ago, people who wrote in Latin, the language of<br />
ancient Rome, had to write the word ‘questio’ (question)<br />
at the end of each question in a piece of text. But this was<br />
clumsy <strong>and</strong> took up a lot of room on the page. So<br />
‘questio’ began to be shortened<br />
to ‘QO’. However, this created a new problem—‘QO’<br />
could be confused for part of a word.<br />
The next development was for writers to write the ‘Q’<br />
on top of the ‘O’. Over time, the ‘Q’ turned into a<br />
curly scribble that doesn’t have any meaning <strong>and</strong> the ‘O’<br />
became a dot. And that’s how the humble question<br />
mark was born. Will you think about this the<br />
next time you see one?<br />
important<br />
recognise<br />
symbol<br />
be<br />
language<br />
ancient<br />
piece<br />
clumsy<br />
shortened/abbreviated<br />
created<br />
confused/mistaken<br />
development<br />
turned<br />
scribble<br />
humble<br />
born<br />
see<br />
Answers<br />
1. Missing punctuation is in bold type.<br />
2. (a) (i) on (ii) in (iii) of<br />
(iv) about<br />
(v) into<br />
3. (a) Spelling errors are in italic type.<br />
important, recognise, symbol, be, language, ancient, piece, clumsy, created, development,<br />
turned, scribble, humble, see<br />
4. (a) One way of correcting the double negative has been underlined.<br />
(b)<br />
‘…that don’t have no meaning…’ should read ‘… that doesn’t have any meaning… ‘ or ‘… has<br />
no meaning …’<br />
Examples of tautology are underlined in bold type.<br />
The three phrases are ‘shortened <strong>and</strong> abbreviated’ (could be replace by ‘shortened’ or<br />
‘abbreviated’), ‘confused or mistaken’ (could be replaced by ‘confused’ or ‘mistaken’) <strong>and</strong> ‘born<br />
<strong>and</strong> came to be’ (could be replaced by ‘born’).<br />
26 <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
The question mark<br />
Read the explanation.<br />
<strong>Editing</strong> skills<br />
The question mark is an importtant part of punctuation.<br />
It would be difficult to recognisze questions in a piece of<br />
writing without them. But how did the cymbel ‘?’ come<br />
to bee used<br />
Long ago people who wrote in Latin, the languge of<br />
anchient Rome had to write the word questio’ (question)<br />
at the end of each question in a peace of text. But this was<br />
clummsey <strong>and</strong> took up a lot of room on the page. So<br />
‘questio began to be shortened <strong>and</strong> abbreviated<br />
to ‘QO’. However this creatted a new problem—‘QO<br />
could be confused or mistaken for part of a word.<br />
The next developement was for writers to write the ‘Q’<br />
on top of the ‘O’. Over time the ‘Q’ turend into a<br />
curly scribbel that don’t have no meaning <strong>and</strong> the O<br />
became a dot. And thats how the hummble question<br />
mark was born <strong>and</strong> came to be. Will you think about this<br />
the next time you sea one<br />
1 Punctuation<br />
(a) Find the 4 missing commas, 2 question<br />
marks, 5 quotation marks <strong>and</strong> 1 apostrophe<br />
for a contraction.<br />
2 Grammar<br />
Prepositions are positional words placed before<br />
nouns <strong>and</strong> pronouns to indicate their relation to other<br />
words: for example, He swam between the flags.<br />
(a) Write the missing prepositions from the text.<br />
4 Writing<br />
A double negative statement<br />
incorrectly uses two negative<br />
words; for example, ‘I haven’t<br />
got no more,’ should be ‘I<br />
haven’t any more’ or ‘I have<br />
no more’.<br />
(a) Circle the line in the text containing a double<br />
negative. Write it correctly.<br />
(i) room the page<br />
(ii) questions<br />
a piece of writing<br />
(iii) the language<br />
(iv) think<br />
(v) turned<br />
3 Spelling<br />
this<br />
ancient Rome<br />
a curly scribble<br />
(a) Write the 14 misspelt words in the space at<br />
the end of the line.<br />
A tautology is the unnecessary repetition of<br />
an idea in a phrase or sentence; for example,<br />
‘descend down’, ‘repeat again’.<br />
(b) Underline 3 examples of tautology in the<br />
text. Choose one word to replace each of the<br />
phrases. It may be one of the words used in<br />
the phrase. Write it in the space at the end of<br />
the line.<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills 27
What is an ‘urban myth’?<br />
Teachers notes<br />
Lesson focus<br />
Punctuation<br />
• Commas grammatical<br />
• Apostrophes in contractions<br />
• Apostrophes to show possession<br />
• Question marks<br />
• Exclamation marks<br />
• Dashes<br />
Spelling<br />
• Confused words: been/bean, desert/<br />
dessert, right/write<br />
• Misspelt words<br />
Grammar<br />
• Subject-verb agreement<br />
• Pronouns<br />
• Adjectives<br />
• Nouns<br />
Teacher information<br />
An explanation analyses how things came to be the way they are, how things work or why things<br />
happen.<br />
Answers<br />
An urban myth is one of those stories we all hear about, that<br />
Comma<br />
seems fantastic but true. You know the sort, usually told by<br />
Comma<br />
someone whose ‘brother’s best friend’s girlfriend’s mother’ told Apostrophe for possession (3)<br />
them about it, so ‘it must be true’. Or perhaps it’s one of the Apostrophe in contractions<br />
many email urban myths that circulate around the electronic<br />
many<br />
world. However, closer investigation nearly always shows the story<br />
Comma<br />
to be just that—a story made up by someone with a fabulous<br />
Dash<br />
imagination.<br />
One urban myth which has been around for nearly 40 years now<br />
been<br />
concerns the man who strapped a solid fuel rocket engine to his<br />
concerns<br />
car—just to see what it would do. He accelerated down a<br />
Dash<br />
highway in the desert <strong>and</strong> then fired off the rocket. The car<br />
desert<br />
blasted up to almost 480 km/h! But when he tried to stop, the<br />
Exclamation mark<br />
car’s brakes melted <strong>and</strong> the tyres blew out. Unable to take a Apostrophe for possession<br />
bend in the road, the car became airborne, flying for more than Commas (2)<br />
a kilometre, before slamming into the side of a mountain. Great<br />
kilometre<br />
story, huh? What a shame it never happened.<br />
Question mark<br />
There are entire websites devoted to exposing urban myths. A<br />
are (verb)<br />
search engine will point you in the right direction.<br />
right<br />
Answers<br />
1. (a) Missing punctuation is in bold type.<br />
2. (a) The correct verb has been underlined.<br />
There are<br />
(b) Answers will include we, you, them, he.<br />
(c) (i) solid fuel (ii) Great/fantastic (iii) closer<br />
(iv) electronic (v) fabulous (vi) right<br />
3. (a) Spelling errors are in italic type.<br />
many, been, concerns, desert, kilometre, right<br />
38 <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
What is an ‘urban myth’?<br />
Read the explanation.<br />
<strong>Editing</strong> skills<br />
An urban myth is one of those stories we all hear about that<br />
seems fantastic but true. You know the sort usually told by<br />
someone whose ‘brothers best friends girlfriends mother’ told<br />
them about it, so ‘it must be true’. Or perhaps its one of the<br />
meny email urban myths that circulate around the electronic<br />
world. However closer investigation nearly always shows the story<br />
to be just that a story made up by someone with a fabulous<br />
imagination.<br />
One urban myth which has bean around for nearly 40 years now<br />
concirns the man who strapped a solid fuel rocket engine to his<br />
car just to see what it would do. He accelerated down a<br />
highway in the dessert <strong>and</strong> then fired off the rocket. The car<br />
blasted up to almost 480 km/h But when he tried to stop, the<br />
cars brakes melted <strong>and</strong> the tyres blew out. Unable to take a<br />
bend in the road the car became airborne flying for more than<br />
a kilometer, before slamming into the side of a mountain. Great<br />
story, huh What a shame it never happened.<br />
There is entire websites devoted to exposing urban myths. A<br />
search engine will point you in the write direction.<br />
1 Punctuation<br />
(a) Write in 5 missing commas, 4 missing<br />
apostrophes for possession <strong>and</strong> 1 for a<br />
contraction, 1 missing question mark, 1<br />
exclamation mark <strong>and</strong> 2 dashes. In the space<br />
at the end of each line where punctuation<br />
is missing, write the name of the type of<br />
punctuation which you had to include.<br />
2 Grammar<br />
(a) Find the sentence which has a verb which<br />
does not agree with its subject.<br />
Circle the verb <strong>and</strong> write the correct verb in<br />
the space at the end of the line.<br />
(b) Write 3 personal pronouns from the text.<br />
(c) Write adjectives from the text for the nouns<br />
given.<br />
(i)<br />
(ii)<br />
(iii)<br />
(iv)<br />
(v)<br />
(vi)<br />
3 Spelling<br />
rocket<br />
story<br />
investigation<br />
world<br />
imagination<br />
direction<br />
(a) Circle 6 misspelt words <strong>and</strong> write the correct<br />
spelling in the space at the end of the line.<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills 39
The word ‘love’ in tennis<br />
Lesson focus<br />
Teachers notes<br />
Punctuation<br />
• Capital letters for sentence beginnings<br />
• Capital letters for proper nouns<br />
• Quotation marks<br />
• Colons in titles<br />
Grammar<br />
• Pronouns<br />
Spelling<br />
• Confused words: no/know, where/were,<br />
an/a, of/off<br />
• Misspelt words<br />
Writing<br />
• Double negatives<br />
• Errors of fact<br />
Teacher information<br />
An explanation outlines how something works, is made or how or why things happen.<br />
Answers<br />
Tennis: love at first sight<br />
If you have ever watched a game of tennis, you will<br />
know that the word ‘love’ is used to mean ‘no score’.<br />
This has been the case since at least the mid-1700s. How<br />
did this come about? Why would someone ‘love’ to play<br />
if he or she has scored no points?<br />
‘Love’, as it is used in tennis, is actually derived from a<br />
French word. Tennis originated in France where<br />
people involved in the game decided that the numeral ‘0’<br />
looked like an egg. So, instead of calling ‘zero’ when<br />
a player had not scored any points, they used the French<br />
word for egg instead – ‘l’ouef’ (pronounced ‘lerf’).<br />
When the game of tennis become popular in<br />
Engl<strong>and</strong>, the English soon turned ‘l’ouef’ into a<br />
recognisable word to them – ‘love’. The word has been<br />
used during tennis games ever since.<br />
watched<br />
know<br />
case<br />
about<br />
actually<br />
where<br />
numeral<br />
an<br />
they (pronoun)<br />
pronounced<br />
of<br />
turned<br />
them (pronoun)<br />
during<br />
1. Missing punctuation is in bold type.<br />
2. (a) The corrected pronouns are underlined.<br />
them – they (line 10), him – them (line 14)<br />
3. Spelling errors are in italic type.<br />
(a)<br />
(b)<br />
know, where, an, of<br />
watched, case, about, actually, numeral, pronounced, turned, during<br />
4. (a) One way of correcting the double negative statement is underlined in bold.<br />
(b)<br />
‘if he or she has not scored no points’ should read ‘if he or she has scored no points’ or ‘if he or<br />
she has not scored any points’.<br />
The word ‘l’ouef’ means ‘egg’ in French. When tennis arrived in Engl<strong>and</strong>, ‘l’ouef’ became ‘love’<br />
instead. The word has been used in tennis since at least the mid-1700s.<br />
46 <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
The word ‘love’ in tennis<br />
Read the explanation.<br />
<strong>Editing</strong> skills<br />
Tennis love at first sight<br />
If you have ever wached a game of tennis, you will<br />
(no, know) that the word ‘love’ is used to mean ‘no score’.<br />
This has been the cayse since at least the mid-1700s. How<br />
did this come abbout? why would someone love’ to play<br />
if he or she has not scored no points?<br />
‘Love’, as it is used in tennis, is actualy derived from a<br />
french word. Tennis originated in france (where, were)<br />
people involved in the game decided that the numral ‘0<br />
looked like (an, a) egg. so, instead of calling ‘zero when<br />
a player had not scored any points, them used the French<br />
word for egg instead – ‘l’ouef’ (pronounsed ‘lerf’).<br />
When the game (of, off) tennis become popular in<br />
engl<strong>and</strong>, the english soon terned ‘l’ouef into a<br />
recognisable word to him – ‘love’. the word has been<br />
used duering tennis games ever since.<br />
1 Punctuation<br />
(a) Find the missing<br />
quotation marks, 7<br />
capital letters <strong>and</strong> the<br />
colon in the title.<br />
4 Writing<br />
(a) Circle the line in the text containing a double<br />
negative. Write it correctly.<br />
2 Grammar<br />
Pronouns are words that<br />
replace nouns; e.g. ‘I’, ‘he’,<br />
‘she’, ‘him’, ‘it’.<br />
(a) Circle the 2 incorrect pronouns used in the<br />
text. Write the correct pronoun in the space<br />
at the end of the line.<br />
3 Spelling<br />
(a) Choose the correct spelling from each pair of<br />
words in brackets <strong>and</strong> write it in the space at<br />
the end of the line.<br />
(b) Write the correct spelling of the misspelt<br />
words in the space at the end of the line.<br />
(b) Correct the errors of fact in these sentences.<br />
Draw a line through the error <strong>and</strong> write the<br />
correction above it.<br />
The word ‘l’ouef’ means ‘tennis’ in<br />
German. When tennis arrived in France,<br />
‘l’ouef’ became ‘love’ instead. The word<br />
has been used in tennis since at least the<br />
early 1600s.<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills 47
Mighty microbes<br />
Teachers notes<br />
Lesson focus<br />
Punctuation<br />
• Capital letters for sentence beginnings<br />
• Full stops<br />
• Apostrophes to show contractions<br />
• Grammatical commas<br />
• Commas in a list<br />
• Parentheses (round brackets)<br />
• Semicolons<br />
Grammar<br />
• Verb tense<br />
Spelling<br />
• Misspelt words<br />
Writing<br />
• Tautology<br />
Teacher information<br />
Explanations analyse how or why things happen or how they work.<br />
Answers<br />
It would be ideal to eat all of our food fresh, but this is not possible for many reasons: some foods<br />
are seasonal but we still like to eat them all year round; some foods are imported (brought in) from<br />
other countries because we do not grow them here; <strong>and</strong> other foods just don’t last very long at all.<br />
These foods change because micro-organisms digest them, making them rot or ‘go off’.<br />
Micro-organisms (or microbes) are microscopic <strong>and</strong> found everywhere, all over the place. They are<br />
in the air, on tables <strong>and</strong> even on our skin. When food is left unprotected or touched by fingers,<br />
these micro-organisms grow <strong>and</strong> multiply rapidly, at a fast rate. They like warm, damp conditions<br />
which allow them to break down <strong>and</strong> rot food <strong>and</strong> other materials like leaves <strong>and</strong> paper. Food will<br />
keep longer if we deprive the micro-organisms of the conditions they like. We preserve foods so that<br />
they last longer. Preserving generally means keeping food away from water <strong>and</strong> air.<br />
Although microbes can be harmful, they can also be useful. They<br />
produce the bacteria that makes cheese <strong>and</strong> yoghurt. They help rot<br />
dead organisms <strong>and</strong> put nutrients back into the soil. Yeast is also a<br />
micro-organism. Without yeast we could not have bread, cakes or beer!<br />
1. Missing punctuation is in bold type.<br />
2. Correct tense is underlined.<br />
(a) grew – grow (line 3), liked – like (line 7), had – have (line 14)<br />
3. (a) Spelling errors are in italic type.<br />
reasons, digest, conditions, bacteria, yoghurt<br />
4. (a) Examples of tautology are underlined in bold.<br />
‘found everywhere, all over the place’ <strong>and</strong> ‘multiply rapidly, at a fast rate’<br />
56 <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Mighty microbes<br />
Read the explanation.<br />
<strong>Editing</strong> skills<br />
It would be ideal to eat all of our food fresh, but this is not possible for many reesons: some foods<br />
are seasonal but we still like to eat them all year round, some foods are imported (brought in) from<br />
other countries because we do not grew them here, <strong>and</strong> other foods just dont last very long at all.<br />
these foods change because micro-organisms dijest them making them rot or ‘go off’<br />
Micro-organisms (or microbes) are microscopic <strong>and</strong> found everywhere, all over the place. They are<br />
in the air on tables <strong>and</strong> even on our skin. When food is left unprotected or touched by fingers,<br />
these micro-organisms grow <strong>and</strong> multiply rapidly, at a fast rate. They liked warm damp condishuns<br />
which allow them to break down <strong>and</strong> rot food <strong>and</strong> other materials like leaves <strong>and</strong> paper. Food will<br />
keep longer if we deprive the micro-organisms of the conditions they like. we preserve foods so that<br />
they last longer. Preserving generally means keeping food away from water <strong>and</strong> air.<br />
Although microbes can be harmful they can also be useful They<br />
produce the bacterea that makes cheese <strong>and</strong> yoghert. They help rot<br />
dead organisms <strong>and</strong> put nutrients back into the soil. Yeast is also a<br />
micro-organism. Without yeast we could not had bread cakes or beer!<br />
1 Punctuation<br />
(a) Write in the missing commas (3 in a list <strong>and</strong><br />
2 grammatical), 2 full stops, 2 capital letters<br />
<strong>and</strong> 1 apostrophe in a contraction.<br />
Brackets are used where additional<br />
information is given.<br />
(b) Underline the brackets used in the text for<br />
this purpose.<br />
3 Spelling<br />
(a) Write the correct spelling for the 5 misspelt<br />
words below.<br />
A semicolon is used to separate clauses or<br />
phrases in a sentence. It indicates a pause—not as<br />
strong a pause as a full stop or colon, but stronger<br />
than a comma; for example, ‘He wouldn’t stop<br />
talking; he was being annoying’, ‘You may go;<br />
however, pack up first’.<br />
(c) Change two commas in the first paragraph into<br />
the semicolons they should be.<br />
2 Grammar<br />
(a) In this text, incorrect tense has been used<br />
3 times. Find each of these <strong>and</strong> write the<br />
correct tense above the words.<br />
4 Writing<br />
Tautology is the unnecessary repetition of an idea<br />
in a phrase or sentence; for example, ‘descend<br />
down’, ‘repeat again’.<br />
(a) Circle two examples of tautology.<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills 57
Tsunami!<br />
Lesson focus<br />
Teachers notes<br />
Punctuation<br />
• Capital letters for proper nouns<br />
• Parentheses (round brackets)<br />
• Grammatical commas<br />
• Apostrophes to show possession<br />
Grammar<br />
• Prepositions<br />
Spelling<br />
• Confused words: sea/see, two/too<br />
• Misspelt words<br />
Vocabulary<br />
• Compound words<br />
Writing<br />
• Errors of fact<br />
Teacher information<br />
Explanations analyse how things work or why things happen.<br />
Answers<br />
Tsunami is a Japanese word for a long, low sea wave. Tsunamis<br />
are often called tidal waves, but in fact they have nothing to do with<br />
the tides. They are caused by volcanic eruptions, undersea l<strong>and</strong>slides<br />
or coastal earthquakes. The plates which make up the Earth’s<br />
surface (tectonic plates) suddenly move against each other, causing<br />
an earthquake.<br />
Tsunamis occur all the time, usually in the Pacific Ocean, but most of<br />
these are too small to notice. Every few years, however, large tsunamis<br />
kill hundreds or thous<strong>and</strong>s of people.<br />
Before a tsunami strikes, the coastal waters can retreat hundreds of<br />
metres, exposing the beach <strong>and</strong> seabed. Tsunamis can reach speeds<br />
of 800 to 960 kilometres per hour. Out deep, the waves are small, but<br />
as they move away from the epicentre, approaching the coastline,<br />
they can increase to a height of 100 metres or more.<br />
The biggest earthquake for 40 years occurred between the Australasian<br />
<strong>and</strong> Eurasian plates, in the Indian Ocean, on Boxing Day 2004. The quake<br />
caused a tsunami that travelled as far as one kilometre inl<strong>and</strong>, causing<br />
widespread destruction <strong>and</strong> devastation across many Asian countries.<br />
sea<br />
Comma<br />
volcanic<br />
Apostrophe<br />
Brackets<br />
earthquake<br />
Proper nouns<br />
too<br />
thous<strong>and</strong>s<br />
Comma<br />
reach<br />
Comma<br />
epicentre<br />
height<br />
Proper noun<br />
Proper nouns<br />
Comma<br />
Proper noun<br />
1. Missing punctuation is in bold type.<br />
2. (a) (i) with (ii) of (iii) across<br />
3. (a) Spelling errors are in italic type.<br />
sea, volcanic, earthquake, too, thous<strong>and</strong>s, reach, epicentre, height<br />
4. Compound words are underlined.<br />
nothing, undersea, l<strong>and</strong>slides, earthquakes, earthquake, however, seabed, coastline, inl<strong>and</strong>,<br />
widespread<br />
5. After an earthquake, the waves travel away from the epicentre, increasing in height as they<br />
approach the coast.<br />
66 <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Tsunami!<br />
Read the explanation.<br />
<strong>Editing</strong> skills<br />
Tsunami is a Japanese word for a long, low see wave. Tsunamis<br />
are often called tidal waves but in fact they have nothing to do with<br />
the tides. They are caused by volcanik eruptions, undersea l<strong>and</strong>slides<br />
or coastal earthquakes. The plates which make up the Earths<br />
surface tectonic plates suddenly move against each other, causing<br />
an earthquacke.<br />
Tsunamis occur all the time, usually in the pacific ocean, but most of<br />
these are two small to notice. Every few years, however, large tsunamis<br />
kill hundreds or thousends of people.<br />
Before a tsunami strikes the coastal waters can retreat hundreds of<br />
metres, exposing the beach <strong>and</strong> seabed. Tsunamis can reech speeds<br />
of 800 to 960 kilometres per hour. Out deep the waves are small but<br />
as they move away from the episentre, approaching the coastline,<br />
they can increase to a heigt of 100 metres or more.<br />
The biggest earthquake for 40 years occurred between the australasian<br />
<strong>and</strong> eurasian plates, in the indian ocean, on boxing day 2004. The quake<br />
caused a tsunami that travelled as far as one kilometre inl<strong>and</strong> causing<br />
widespread destruction <strong>and</strong> devastation across many asian countries.<br />
1 Punctuation<br />
(a) Find 9 capital letters for proper nouns, 5<br />
grammatical commas, 1 missing apostrophe<br />
for possession <strong>and</strong> 1 set of brackets to show<br />
additional information has been added.<br />
On the line at the end, state the punctuation<br />
you corrected.<br />
2 Grammar<br />
Prepositions are positional words that show<br />
relationships; for example, ‘the eye of the storm’.<br />
(a) Choose a preposition from the text to<br />
complete these.<br />
(i) nothing to do<br />
(ii) thous<strong>and</strong>s<br />
the tides<br />
people<br />
4 Vocabulary<br />
(a) Underline the 10 compound words in the text.<br />
5 Writing<br />
(a) Correct the errors of fact in this sentence.<br />
Write it below.<br />
After an earthquake, the waves move<br />
towards the epicentre, decreasing in<br />
height as they approach the coast.<br />
(iii) causing devastation<br />
many countries<br />
3 Spelling<br />
(a) Write the correct spelling of the misspelt<br />
words in the space at the end of the line.<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills 67
Taking better photos<br />
Teachers notes<br />
Lesson focus<br />
Punctuation<br />
• Capital letters for sentence beginnings<br />
• Full stops<br />
• Apostrophes in grammatical contractions<br />
• Apostrophes to show possession<br />
Grammar<br />
• Pronouns<br />
• Adjectives<br />
Spelling<br />
• Misspelt words<br />
• Confused words: lose/loose, be/bee,<br />
to/too, sun/son<br />
Vocabulary<br />
• Compound words<br />
Teacher information<br />
An explanation outlines how something works, is made or how or why things happen.<br />
Answers<br />
• Fill the viewfinder with the main subject. Use a telephoto lens or get closer. Tiny subjects lose<br />
their sense of importance. You may even be able to take just part of the main subject to illustrate<br />
the whole. For example, for a ship, you might only want to take the bow <strong>and</strong> front half.<br />
• Don’t cut important bits off. Make sure the subject’s important parts fit inside the crop marks in the<br />
viewfinder. Be especially careful about cutting people’s heads off!<br />
• Balance your photograph. In your mind, divide your planned photograph into thirds horizontally<br />
<strong>and</strong> vertically. Where those thirds intersect is where you should place the parts of the subject you want to<br />
emphasise, because a human eye is naturally drawn to those intersections.<br />
• Don’t shoot into the sun. Unless you’re doing it for a special effect, keep the sun behind you or off to<br />
one side if possible. Shooting into the sun will cause silhouettes <strong>and</strong> lens ‘flares’.<br />
• Keep the camera still. A simple rule, but one that’s too often forgotten. Movement<br />
equals blurred photos.<br />
• Watch the background, especially when taking portraits. People look funny when<br />
they appear to have tree branches or chimneys growing out of their heads!<br />
• Shoot upwards from a low position to make the subject appear more important.<br />
Shoot downwards from a high position to make the subject appear less<br />
important.<br />
1. (a) Missing punctuation is in bold type.<br />
2. (a) Pronouns are underlined.<br />
Answers will include: their, you, your, it, they<br />
(b) Adjectives are underlined bold.<br />
main, telephoto, important, crop, people’s, planned, human<br />
3. (a) Spelling errors are in italic type.<br />
lose, be, illustrate, vertically, naturally, special, sun, too, portraits, chimneys<br />
4. (a) viewfinder, background, Teacher check<br />
76 <strong>Editing</strong> skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Taking better photos<br />
Read the explanation which gives a few hints for taking better photographs.<br />
<strong>Editing</strong> skills<br />
• Fill the viewfinder with the main subject. Use a telephoto lens or get closer. Tiny subjects loose<br />
their sense of importance. You may even bee able to take just part of the main subject to illistrate<br />
the whole for example, for a ship, you might only want to take the bow <strong>and</strong> front half.<br />
• Dont cut important bits off. Make sure the subjects important parts fit inside the crop marks in the<br />
viewfinder be especially careful about cutting peoples heads off!<br />
• Balance your photograph. In your mind, divide your planned photograph into thirds horizontally <strong>and</strong><br />
verticaly where those thirds intersect is where you should place the parts of the subject you want to<br />
emphasise, because a human eye is naturaly drawn to those intersections.<br />
• Dont shoot into the sun. Unless youre doing it for a spesial effect, keep the son behind you or off to<br />
one side if possible shooting into the sun will cause silhouettes <strong>and</strong> lens ‘flares’.<br />
• Keep the camera still. A simple rule, but one thats to often forgotten movement<br />
equals blurred photos.<br />
• Watch the background, especially when taking portrates. People look funny when<br />
they appear to have tree branches or chimnies growing out of their heads!<br />
• Shoot upwards from a low position to make the subject appear more important.<br />
Shoot downwards from a high position to make the subject appear less<br />
important.<br />
1 Punctuation<br />
(a) Write in 4 apostrophes in contractions <strong>and</strong> 2<br />
which show possession.<br />
(b) Write in the 5 missing capital letters <strong>and</strong> 5<br />
full stops.<br />
(v)<br />
(vi)<br />
(vii)<br />
heads<br />
photograph<br />
eye<br />
2 Grammar<br />
(a) Underline 4 different pronouns in the text.<br />
(b) Write the adjectives from the text which<br />
modify these nouns:<br />
(i)<br />
(ii)<br />
subject<br />
lens<br />
3 Spelling<br />
(a) Write the correct spelling of the 10 misspelt<br />
words above each incorrect word.<br />
4 Vocabulary<br />
(a) Write 2 compound words from the text <strong>and</strong><br />
two more of your own.<br />
(iii)<br />
(iv)<br />
bits<br />
marks<br />
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au <strong>Editing</strong> skills 77