20867_Editing_descriptions_Years_5_and_6

Your partner in education
YEARS 5–6
EDITING
SKILLS
Editing descriptions
Literacy
Australian Primary Publisher
of the Year 2015 and 2016

EDITING SKILLS (Ages 11 + )
Published by R.I.C. Publications ® 2005
Copyright © R.I.C. Publications ® 2005
RIC–20867
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Foreword
Editing skills consists of a selection of texts written in specific formats to provide punctuation,
spelling and grammatical practice. Detailed descriptions of concepts, such as specific
parts of speech and punctuation, are also included, as well as vocabulary enrichment and
aspects of writing.
The aim is to provide students with varied, structured experiences in proofreading and
editing written texts. A high level of proficiency in these skills is vital for accurate selfmonitoring
of written work.
Other titles in this series are:
• Editing skills 6–7
• Editing skills 8–9
• Editing skills 10–11
Contents
Teachers information
Teacher information................................................................................................................... iv – v
Curriculum links................................................................................................................................ v
Overview of activity content.....................................................................................................vi – vii
Punctuation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary and writing information.................................viii – xiii
Writing format information.....................................................................................................xiv – xv
Writing format checklists .................................................................................................... xvi – xxii
Student proofreading and editing checklist................................................................................ xxiii
Worksheets
Dear diary.................................................. 2–3
Piggy banks............................................... 4–5
Ancient Greek myth.................................. 6–7
Where is the king?..................................... 8–9
Revulsion................................................10–11
Chocolate...............................................12–13
How the woodpecker was born............14–15
Left-wing.................................................16–17
Violence on the news........................... 18–19
The St Bernard...................................... 20–21
Kelly’s holiday....................................... 22–23
How to be a successful note taker....... 24–25
The question mark................................ 26–27
The hothouse........................................ 28–29
A miraculous escape............................ 30–31
Michael McCoy...................................... 32–33
Mobile madness.................................... 34–35
Making a papier-mâché piggy bank..... 36–37
What is an urban myth?........................ 38–39
Travelling toad....................................... 40–41
Go and play!.......................................... 42–43
Constable Hector Plod’s report........... 44–45
The word ‘love’ in tennis...................... 46–47
Surface tension....................................... 48–49
We should earn regular pocket money.. 50–51
The runaways....................................... 52–53
The castle on the hill............................ 54–55
Mighty microbes.................................. 56–57
Princess Caraboo................................. 58–59
Making a tepee..................................... 60–61
Achilles’s heel....................................... 62–63
Impressionism...................................... 64–65
Tsunami!............................................... 66–67
Rowan Atkinson................................... 68–69
Special groups...................................... 70–71
Give me strength.................................. 72–73
The fleet awakens................................ 74–75
Taking better photos............................ 76–77
Cooking fish – the easy way................. 78–79
A night to remember............................ 80–81
Classical composers............................. 82–83
Music forever......................................... 84–85
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills iii

Teacher information
The following is an explanation of how to use the pages in this book.
Teachers pages
A teachers page accompanies each student worksheet. It provides the following information:
The lesson focus indicates the focus for each
student page. This will include aspects from
the areas of punctuation, spelling, grammar,
vocabulary and writing. Some of these may involve
simple recognition of a concept, or use an alreadyknown
aspect. More detailed teacher information
about punctuation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary
and writing can be found on pages viii–xxiii.
Teacher information gives brief background
information about each text type. More detailed
information can be found on pages xiv– xv.
Answers to all worksheet activities are provided.
The corrected text is given with punctuation errors
in bold. Correct spelling is highlighted in italics, as
well as being provided in the answers section.
Proofreading and editing
marks
Editors use a number of consistent
symbols to indicate where changes
are to be made in a text.
Teachers may require students to use
these ‘professional’ proofreading and
editing marks to indicate errors in the
text on the student pages.
NOTE:
All spelling is taken from the
Macquarie Dictionary, Revised
Third Edition, while all punctuation
is according to the Style manual
for authors, editors and printers,
Sixth edition, Revised by Snooks &
Co. These are standard references
for contemporary professional
publishing.
= insert (something)
The weather hot
The boys hat
He went swiming.
= delete (something)
I went to to the shops.
The dog broke it’s collar.
+ lc = lower case
a
lc
I don’t like Maths.
+ cap. = capital letter
+ correction = spelling
‘
was
m
cap.
‘I’m telling mum.’
He wos playing football.
iv Editing skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au

Student pages
Teacher information
• A specific text type is identified and presented for the students to read. The text has
punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors for the student to identify.
There are also opportunities presented for the students to work in the areas of grammar,
vocabulary and writing as specified by the worksheet or teacher.
• The texts are presented in two ways. One allows students to become familiar with
formats they may encounter in some standardised tests; both follow a similar format for
identifying and correcting proofreading and editing errors.
The student activities follow a common format.
Format 1
The title of the text is given.
The specific text type is
given and the text presented.
Format 2
Headings indicate which punctuation,
spelling, grammatical, vocabulary and
writing mistakes need to be identified and
corrected by the student. Extra practice is
given in particular areas.
Student instructions are written in a consistent format to encourage students to concentrate
on the activity.
Where an instruction requires students to ‘find capital letters etc.’, teachers should select
their own method for students to use; for example, circle, highlight with a coloured marker,
underline or write over the error. Some proofreading and editing marks may be used. (See
teachers notes page iv.)
Curriculum links
Year 5
Re-read and edit student’s own and others’ work
using agreed criteria for text structures and language
features (ACELY1705)
Year 6
Re-read and edit students’ own and others’ work
using agreed criteria and explaining editing choices
(ACELY1715)
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills v

Activity content overview
Activity content Page number
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
Full stops
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Capital letters: begin. of sentences
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
proper nouns
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Question marks
• • • • • • • • • •
Exclamation marks
• • • • • • • • • •
Commas: in a list
• • • • • • • • • • • •
grammatical
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Apostrophes: contractions • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
possession
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Quotation marks
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Colons
• • • • • • • • •
Semicolons
• • • • • • • • •
Hyphens
• • • • • • • • • • •
Dashes
• • • • • •
Parentheses • • • • • • • • • •
SPELLING
Misspelt words
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Confused words
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Plurals: adding ‘s’ and ‘es’
• •
change ‘y’ to ‘i’ • •
Rec.
Expl.
TEXT TYPE
N
P
D
Rep.
N
Rec.
Expo.
Rep.
N
P
Expl.
Poet.
Rec.
Poet.
Expo.
P
Expl.
Rep.
Rec.
Rep.
Expl.
P
Expo.
N
D
Expl.
Rec.
P
N
Rep.
Expl.
Rec.
Expo.
Rep.
D
Expl.
P
Rec.
Rep.
N
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Activity content Page number
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
Nouns: common nouns
collective nouns
• • • • •
•
Pronouns
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
Adjectives
• • • • • •
Verbs: active/passive • • • • • •
tenses
• • • • • • • • • • •
infinitives
• •
Subject-verb agreement
• • • • • • • •
Adverbs
• • • • • • • •
Prepositions
• • • • • •
Conjunctions
Indefinite article: ‘a’ or ‘an’ • • •
• •
VOCABULARY
Enrichment
• • •
Synonyms
• • • • •
Antonyms
• • • • •
Compound words
• • • • •
Compound words: hyphenated
• •
Shortened forms
• • •
Similes • •
WRITING
Paragraphs
• • • • •
Double negatives
• • • • •
Tautology
• • • • • • • • •
Convoluted language
• •
Analogy
•
Repeated and omitted words
• • •
Errors of fact • • • • •
Rec.
Expl.
TEXT TYPE
N
P
D
Rep.
N
Rec.
Expo.
Rep.
N
P
Expl.
Poet.
Rec.
Poet.
Expo.
P
Expl.
Rep.
Rec.
Rep.
Expl.
P
Expo.
N
D
Expl.
Rec.
P
N
Rep.
Expl.
Rec.
Expo.
Rep.
D
Expl.
P
Rec.
Rep.
N
Narrative – N Explanation – Expl. Procedure – P Recount – Rec. Report – Rep. Exposition – Expo. Description – D Poetry – Poet.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills vii

Punctuation, spelling, grammar, vocabulary and
writing information
PUNCTUATION
Please note: In some cases, teachers will need to exercise their own judgment with regard to
punctuation, as certain aspects, particularly commas and exclamation marks, are to an extent
discretionary and depend on the individual writer’s intent.
Capital letters
Capital letters are needed for:
• sentence beginnings; e.g. My dog is very friendly. He welcomes everyone.
• proper nouns – people’s names (Chloe Parker), names of places (Indian Ocean), days of
the week (Saturday), months (December), holidays and festivals (Christmas ), countries
(America), nationalities (Russian), languages (Italian) and religions (Buddhism).
• titles; e.g. World Health Organisation
NOTE:
R.I.C. Publications employs minimal capitalisation for titles of books and other
publications as recommended by The Style manual for authors, editors and printers,
sixth edition 2002.
To kill a mockingbird
Snow White and the seven dwarfs
Exclamation marks
Exclamation marks are used to end exclamations and imperatives (commands) and for
emphasis at the end of a statement.
I love it!
Don’t touch!
She ate every bit of it!
Note: If overused, exclamation marks lose their effect.
Commas
Teacher information
Commas are used to separate items in a list or series.
I enjoy reading, playing squash, skiing and swimming.
Grammatical commas are used to:
• make the meaning of a sentence clear.
Jane said her mother is very busy.
Jane, said her mother, is very busy.
• indicate where a pause is needed in a sentence.
Many years ago, dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
Apostrophes for possession
(Jane’s mother is very busy.)
(Jane is very busy.)
Apostrophes are used to show that something belongs to someone or something.
The placement of the apostrophe can be challenging but the simple rule is that it is placed
after the owner or owners. (The ‘tail’ of the apostrophe ‘points’ to the owner(s).)
the boy’s shoes (one boy) ............... the boys’ shoes (more than one boy)
the lady’s hats (one lady)............... the ladies’ hats (more than one lady)
the son’s pets (one son)................... the sons’ pets (more than one son)
viii Editing skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au

Grammatical contractions
Grammatical contractions are words that have been made by joining and shortening two
words. An apostrophe is used in place of the missing letters.
Quotation marks
would not..............wouldn’t
I would............................I’d
Quotation marks are used:
• to enclose quoted speech
will not......................won’t
they are.................. they’re
Single or double quotation marks are accepted but must be used consistently.
‘You’re late again’, my mother complained.
“I’m sorry”, I replied.
• To enclose quotes within quotes, one set is used outside and the other inside.
He reported, ‘My mother complained, “Late again, John”’
• To cite a title.
Colons
I read the book ‘Black Beauty’.
A colon is a marker of relationship and sequence.
Colons are used:
• before offset lists
You need to take:
warm socks,
sturdy walking shoes,
a raincoat.
• between a statement and an explanation.
I remember you: we went to the same school.
• with quotations.
Semicolons
Malcolm Fraser said: ‘Life wasn’t meant to be easy’.
A semicolon, despite its name, is not a half colon; it is much stronger than a comma, closer
to a full stop. It is generally used where a full stop is possible, but using one would separate
the sentences too strongly.
It can be used:
• when two sentences are closely connected.
The footballers are leaving the field; some are looking very dejected.
• before words and expressions such as, ‘therefore’, ‘for example’ and ‘however’.
Hyphens
There are many animals native to this area; for example, wallabies, kangaroos and
wombats.
Hyphens are short strokes (without a space on either side) used to join words or parts of
words.
ice-cream
Teacher information
pre-existing
Note: Students should be encouraged to refer to a modern dictionary to check for current
hyphenation, which changes over time in response to common use.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills ix

Punctuation (continued)
Dashes
A dash is used to indicate a text break but should not be overused.
It can be used:
• to separate a word or group of words within a sentence.
Climbing mountains is fun—if you are young and fit.
• before a specific list.
Do you know the Wilsons—Peter and Jane?
• between numbers or words to mean ‘to’ or ‘until’.
Read chapters 1–4.
• in place of parentheses (round brackets)
The tsunami—2004—caused horrendous damage.
Parentheses (round brackets)
The main use of parentheses is to enclose explanations and asides.
Parentheses are used:
• to add explanatory words
Ian Thorpe (Australia) won his race.
• to express the same thing in a different way
He ran 6 km (kilometres).
• To set-off an aside
GRAMMAR
Nouns
He won the race in record (yet to be confirmed) time.
Nouns are naming words of people, places and things:
teacher, school, desk.
Proper nouns name individual people (Bill), places (Kings Park) and others (Christmas,
December, Sunday). Proper nouns are written with capital letters.
Common nouns are any other nouns.
Collective nouns are a subset of common nouns:
Pronouns
a team of players.
A pronoun is a word substituted for a noun:
They asked him to help them.
Personal pronouns refer to you, me and other people:
Adjectives
Teacher information
I, me, you, she, us, them.
Adjectives modify (enhance or change) the meaning of nouns and, less commonly,
pronouns:
parched land; green, fertile land; poor old me; lucky you
x Editing skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au

Verbs
Verbs are ‘doing’ words:
swim, like, look.
Auxiliary verbs join other verbs to form verb groups:
have eaten, will be asleep.
Active and passive verbs
In English, verbs are classified as either active or passive.
Active verbs indicate that the subject ‘does’ or ‘is’ something. They are straightforward and
cause little difficulty.
We went to the shopping centre.
(subject) (verb)
The passive voice is often used when it is not necessary to tell who is responsible for the
action.
Cats should be fed regularly.
Students should be encouraged to use active verbs in preference to passive ones because
they make sentences more direct and positive.
Verb tense There are three basic tenses. Because there are so many irregular verbs in
English, tense can be complex.
Infinitives
regular
irregular
the past..................... the present.......................the future
played...............................play................................will play
has played.......................plays......................... should play
went.................................. go................................... will go
has gone.......................... goes............................should go
NOTE: The future and the past tenses often use auxiliary verbs.
The infinitive is the basic form of a verb and is usually introduced by ‘to’:
to work, to be, to eat
Subject-verb agreement
Verbs have to agree with their subjects:
The children cheer loudly.
(subject-plural) verb
The child cheers loudly
(subject-singular) verb
Many English verbs are irregular, which can cause problems, particularly for students from
non-English speaking backgrounds:
He is at school.
He was busy.
They are at school.
They were busy.
In some sentences the subject of a verb is separated from the verb and not easy to locate.
Students should be encouraged to ask themselves ‘who’ or ‘what’ before the verb.
Adverbs
‘The boy, although really late for school and likely to get into trouble, dawdled.’
‘dawdled’ is the verb.
‘The boy’ is the subject. (who dawdled?)
Adverbs are words that modify (enhance or change) the meaning of verbs:
He ran quickly.
There are adverbs of:
Teacher information
I’ve seen this before.
time........................e.g. yesterday
place......................e.g. downstairs
manner...................e.g. carefully
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills xi

Prepositions
Prepositions show the relationship between nouns and/or pronouns in the same sentence.
Common prepositions include: across, about, between, by, during, for, from, in, of, since,
through, until, without, up.
Conjunctions
He disappeared during the night.
I’m afraid of spiders.
I enjoy reading books about travel.
Conjunctions are joining words. They can join different language units:
• One word with another .........................e.g. black or white
• One phrase with another........................e.g. on the beach and in the sand
• One clause with another........................e.g. He asked me if I could cook.
• One sentence with another....................e.g. I was hot so I went for a swim.
SPELLING
Singular and plural nouns
Adding ‘s’ and ‘es’
The most commonly used plural is made by adding ‘s’; e.g. books, games.
It is usually necessary to add ‘es’ to nouns ending in ‘ch’, ‘sh’, ‘s’, ‘x’ and ‘z’ to make the
plural easier to pronounce; e.g. washes, dishes, classes, foxes and waltzes.
Words ending in ‘o’ are also often made into a plural by adding ‘es’:
potatoes, tomatoes
There are many exceptions, including radios, merinos, silos, zeros, photos and sopranos.
Students should be encouraged to consult a dictionary if uncertain about the spelling of a
specific word.
Changing ‘y’ to ‘i’ and adding ‘es’
Many nouns and verbs ending with ‘y’, change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ before adding ‘es’:
lady (singular noun)
curry (singular noun)
I cry
VOCABULARY
Shortened forms
There are three categories of shortened forms:
• Shortened words:
ladies (plural noun)
curries (plural noun)
he cries (verbs)
– abbreviations (first letter, some other letters, but not the last letter):
Mon., Cont., Co.
(full stop needed)
– contractions (first letter and last letter and sometimes other letters):
Mr, dept, Qld
• Shortened phrases:
(no full stop)
– acronyms (strings of initial letters pronounced as a word):
• Symbols:
radar, Qantas, sonar
(no full stops)
Internationally recognised representations of units of measurement, words and concepts:
km, %, @
Teacher information
(no full stops)
xii Editing skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au

Similes
A simile is a figure of speech in which one thing is likened to another in one particular
respect:
as fast as greased lightning
to run like the wind
Similes can enhance descriptions by helping to convey the writer’s intended meaning.
Writing
Tautology
Tautology is combining two or more words, which in effect say the same thing:
I followed after him.
He has never at any time smoked.
Examples of tautology include:
blend together, close proximity, combine together, cost the sum of, divide up, during
the course of, few in number, for a period of, grateful thanks, just recently, may
possibly, mutual cooperation, small in size, return back, repeat again.
Convoluted language
Convoluted language is unnecessarily complicated, complex language, often using passive
verbs, lengthy sentences and unnecessary words. Students should be encouraged to use
clear, concise language to express ideas:
Analogy
Teacher information
In the fullness of time, taking into account the exigencies of the existing situation,
and in complete recognition of the delicacy of this matter, your proposal will be
duly brought to the light of day, unpacked and addressed in a cooperative group
context.
(We will look at your proposal later.)
An analogy is usually used to explain something complex by using something familiar:
An atom is like our solar system. (The nucleus is the sun and the electrons are the
planets in orbit around it.)
Stones were to some ancient people as dollar notes are to modern people.
Analogies are helpful in pointing out relationships that may not at first be obvious, but they
have their limitations. It is said that an analogy ‘breaks down’; this means that it is only
suggestive and doesn’t hold true in every detail.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills xiii

Teacher information
Writing format information
Exposition
– is a framework which argues for
a particular position and attempts
to persuade the audience to share
this view.
– includes:
• Introduction:
statement of the problem and
the writer’s position
• Arguments:
presented in a logical manner
with supporting detail, usually
from the strongest to the
weakest
• Conclusion:
– uses:
an evaluation restating the
writer’s position.
• persuasive language
• paragraphs to state and
elaborate on each point.
An exposition may be written in
the form of an essay, a letter, a
policy statement, a critical review,
an advertisement, an editorial or a
speech.
Explanation
– is a framework which outlines how or why something
occurs, works or is made.
– includes:
• Statement:
precisely what is to be explained
• Explanation:
a clear account in logical sequence of how and
why the phenomenon occurs
• Conclusion:
OR
an evaluation and comment about what has been
explained.
• a definition
• a description of the components or parts
• the operation—how it works or is made
• the application—where and when it works or is
applied
• special features—interesting comments
• evaluation or comment.
– uses:
• subject–specific terms and technical vocabulary
where appropriate
• simple present tense
• linking words to show cause and effect.
An explanation may be written in the form of an essay, or
a handbook—for example, how a kite works—a science
text, a health text or a social studies text.
Description
– is a framework which describes the characteristics, components or function of specific living
or non-living things.
Physical characteristics of living things are described or the components of non-living things
and their functions. Special features are also discussed. This type of writing can be used to
describe, for example, a specific breed of animal, object or picture.
– includes:
• Introduction: what it is
• Description: its appearance: colour, shape, size etc.
• Interesting details/special features
• Concluding statement.
– uses:
• adjectives extensively
• conjunctions.
A description may be written in poetic form and may describe a person, place, animal, thing
or emotion.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills xv

Writing format checklists
Student description checklist
Title:
Introduction:
The introduction states what is to be described.
Description:
Details concerning appearance are provided.
Interesting details are included.
Special features are described.
Writing skills:
• Information is interesting.
• Relevant details are provided.
• Adjectives are used extensively.
• Conjunctions link ideas.
• Appropriate paragraphing is used.
• Punctuation and spelling have been checked.
Name: Date:
Editing skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au
Student description checklist
Title:
Introduction:
The introduction states what is to be described.
Description:
Details concerning appearance are provided.
Interesting details are included.
Special features are described.
Writing skills:
• Information is interesting.
• Relevant details are provided.
• Adjectives are used extensively.
• Conjunctions link ideas.
• Appropriate paragraphing is used.
• Punctuation and spelling have been checked.
Name: Date:
xxii Editing skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au

Student proofreading and editing checklist
Use this page to check your work. You will not need to tick all of the boxes.
Name:
Date:
Title:
Punctuation:
I have included:
• full stops
• capital letters for:
• question marks
• exclamation marks
• commas:
beginning sentences
proper nouns
in lists
for pauses
to make meaning clear
• apostrophes: in contractions
• quotation marks
• colons
• semicolons
• hyphens
• dashes
• brackets
Spelling:
I have:
to show ownership
• checked the spelling of any unknown words
Grammar:
I have included:
• a variety of different verbs
• correct verb tenses
• correct verb-subject agreement
• appropriate adverbs to describe verbs
• interesting adjectives to describe nouns and pronouns
• suitable conjunctions
• a variety of prepositions
Writing:
I have read through my writing to check that:
• it makes sense
• it is easy to understand
• there are no repeated or omitted words
• paragraphing is appropriate
• there are no double negatives or tautologies
• there are no errors of fact
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills xxiii

Revulsion
Lesson focus
Teachers notes
Punctuation
• Capital letters for sentence beginnings
• Full stops
• Commas in a list
• Grammatical commas
• Apostrophes to show possession
• Quotation marks
• Hyphens
Grammar
• Verb tenses
Spelling
• Confused words: deer/dear
• Misspelt words
Writing
• Double negatives
Teacher information
This is a description of a repulsive character and the feelings of revulsion experienced by a girl during an
encounter.
Answers
The man rubbed his puffy hands together and grinned.
His teeth were a sickening yellow. They looked like they
hadn’t been brushed in years. Slowly, he reached into
the pocket of his old-fashioned jacket and pulled out the
parchment. With the other hand, he slicked back his
greasy hair. Finally, he placed the parchment on the
table and stared at Mara. Then he laughed. It was a laugh
that made Mara’s spine tingle. Ear-piercing and hollow, it
echoed around the room for what seemed like minutes.
Then the man stopped and leant even closer to Mara.
She shrank back. His breath was unbearable. He looked at
her without blinking, reminding her of a snake lazing on a
rock. This was a man who never did anything in a rush.
He didn’t have to. After several seconds, he eased
himself into his chair and settled his huge, lumbering body.
‘Well, my dear, we need to talk.’
Mara shuddered. The man was softly-spoken but
there was an edge to his words.
together
sickening
reached (verb)
jacket
slicked (verb)
greasy
stared
hollow
echoed
stopped (verb)
shrank
reminding
rush
eased (verb)
lumbering
dear
shuddered
edge
Answers
1. (a) Missing punctuation is in bold type.
(b) old-fashioned, ear-piercing, softly-spoken
2. (a) Verbs are underlined.
reaches – reached (line 3), will slick – slicked (line 5), stops – stopped (line 10), will ease – eased
(line 14)
3. (a) Spelling errors are in italic type.
together, sickening, jacket, greasy, stared, hollow, echoed, shrank, reminding, rush, lumbering,
dear, shuddered, edge
4. (a) One way of correcting the double negative has been underlined in bold.
‘This was a man who never did nothing in a rush’ should read ‘This was a man who never did
anything in a rush’ or ‘This was a man who did nothing in a rush’.
10 Editing skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au

Revulsion
Read the description.
Editing skills
The man rubbed his puffy hands toogether and grinned.
His teeth were a sickning yellow they looked like they
hadn’t been brushed in years. Slowly he reaches into
the pocket of his oldfashioned jakkit and pulled out the
parchment with the other hand, he will slick back his
greazy hair. Finally he placed the parchment on the
table and starred at Mara. Then he laughed it was a laugh
that made Maras spine tingle. Earpiercing and hollo it
echod around the room for what seemed like minutes.
Then the man stops and leant even closer to Mara.
She shranck back. His breath was unbearable he looked at
her without blinking, remynding her of a snake lazing on a
rock. This was a man who never did nothing in a rushe.
He didn’t have to. After several seconds he will ease
himself into his chair and settled his huge lumbrring body.
Well, my deer, we need to talk.
Mara shuderred. The man was softlyspoken but
there was an ege to his words.
1 Punctuation
(a) Write the 4 missing capital letters, 4 full
stops, 5 commas, 1 apostrophe to show
possession and 1 set of quotation marks.
A hyphen (-) is used in some words to connect
smaller words together; for example,
‘happy-go-lucky’, ‘self-pity’, ‘blue-black’.
(b) There are 3 words in this text that need a
hyphen between them, as they have been
incorrectly written as one word. Write in the
hyphen.
2 Grammar
We can change the ‘tense’ of a verb to tell what
happened in the past, what is happening in the
present or what will happen in the future; for
example, ‘He said it’ (past tense); ‘He says it
(present tense); ‘He will say it’ (future tense).
(a) In this text, the wrong verb tense has
been used 4 times. Find each of these
and write the correct verb tense in the
space at the end of the line.
3 Spelling
(a) Write the correct spelling for the misspelt
words in the space at the end of the line.
4 Writing
A double negative statement incorrectly uses two
negative words; for example, ‘I haven’t got no
more,’ should be ‘I haven’t any more’ or
‘I have no more’.
(a) Circle the line in the text containing a double
negative. Write it correctly.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills 11

The castle on the hill
Lesson focus
Teachers notes
Punctuation
• Capital letters for sentence beginnings
• Full stops
• Grammatical commas
• Commas in lists
• Apostrophes to show possession
Grammar
• Conjunctions
Spelling
• Misspelt words
Vocabulary
• Hyphenated compound words
Writing
• Tautology
Teacher information
A description describes a specific living or non-living thing.
Answers
The castle could be seen from almost anywhere in
almost
the village. Perched on top of the hill, it
top (tautology)
cast a menacing eye over its people. It was now over
menacing
500 years old and its grey stones were crumbling. crumbling
Visitors to the castle walked straight into the main hall,
Visitors
with its amazingly high ceilings and grand staircase. Faded
ceilings
wall-hangings and deer antlers lined the walls. Tours left
antlers
from here to explore the castle’s many twisting
explore
passageways and towers. The most popular tour was of
popular
the torture chamber. This small, stuffy room in the
stuffy
south-east corner of the castle contained a display of
display
horrifying instruments of torture. Most people did not
instruments
linger in here—the chamber’s
linger (tautology)
atmosphere was dismal. More cheerful were the state
atmosphere
rooms upstairs, filled with opulent carpets and furniture
carpets
from the 18th century. The view of the village from the
century
narrow windows of these rooms was awe-inspiring.
windows
Answers
1. Missing punctuation is in bold type.
2. (a) (i) Before (ii) but (iii) Because
3. Spelling errors are in italic type.
(a) almost, menacing, crumbling, Visitors, ceilings, antlers, explore, popular, stuffy, display,
instruments, atmosphere, carpets, century, windows
4. (a) Hyphened words are underlined.
wall-hangings, south-east, awe-inspiring
(b) Teacher check
5. One way of correcting the tautology is underlined in bold.
(a) top, linger
54 Editing skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au

The castle on the hill
Read the description.
Editing skills
The castle could be seen from allmost anywhere in
the village. Perched on top of the summit of the hill it
cast a menassing eye over its people. It was now over
500 years old and its grey stones were crumbelling.
Visitters to the castle walked straight into the main hall,
with its amazingly high seelings and grand staircase faded
wall-hangings and deer antleres lined the walls. Tours left
from here to explor the castles many twisting
passageways and towers. The most populer tour was of
the torture chamber this small stufy room in the
south-east corner of the castle contained a dissplay of
horrifying instrumments of torture most people did not
linger or stay too long in here—the chambers
atmosfere was dismal. More cheerful were the state
rooms upstairs filled with opulent carpetes and furniture
from the 18th centiary the view of the village from the
narrow windowes of these rooms was awe-inspiring.
1 Punctuation
(a) Find 4 missing capital letters, 4 full stops, 3
commas and 2 apostrophes for possession.
2 Grammar
Conjunctions are words that join single words or
groups of words to make a sentence longer.
(a) Underline the conjunction in each sentence.
(i) Before it was dark, I made my way up
the hill.
(ii) People visited the castle but didn’t stay
long.
(iii) Because the castle was over 500 years
old, its grey stones were crumbling.
3 Spelling
(a) Write the correct
spelling for the
misspelt words in the
space at the end of
each line.
4 Vocabulary
A hyphen (-) is used in some words to connect
smaller words together to form a compound
word; for example self-pity, able-bodied.
(a) Circle the 3 words in this text that contain
hyphens.
(b) Choose 1 of the words. Find 3 hyphenated
words using one of the smaller words from
your chosen word. Use a dictionary.
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
5 Writing
Tautology is the unnecessary repetition of an idea
in a phrase or sentence; for example, ‘descend
down’, ‘repeat again’.
(a) Find 2 examples of tautology in the text.
Choose one word to replace the phrase. It
may be one of the words used in the phrase.
Write it in the space at the end of the line.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills 55

The fleet awakens
Teachers notes
Lesson focus
Punctuation
• Capital letters for sentence beginnings
• Full stops
• Grammatical commas
• Commas in a list
• Apostrophes to show possession
• Semicolons
• Dashes
Grammar
• Adverbs
• Adjectives
Teacher information
Spelling
• Misspelt words
Vocabulary
• Similes
• Antonyms
• Enrichment
A description describes a specific living or non-living thing.
Answers
Darkness was in no hurry to leave; it lingered like
an unwelcome guest at a party. The first light
was pale, cold and unwarming, as it streaked
the eastern sky. A breeze had sprung up too,
driving off the land, carrying with it the cool
dryness of the desert at night. As the stars faded,
disappearing one by one, the boats became
visible in the bay, nodding gently at their
moorings. Their bows faced the coast as they
swung on their lines at the wind’s urging. The
water was black, impenetrable, almost sullen.
Tiny whitecaps slapped against the boats’ sides
—the eternal murmur of the sea. Huddled in their
jackets, men coughed and spoke quietly, still
shaking off the sleep they had just risen from.
One by one, marine diesel engines ground over and
then rumbled into life, burbling throatily
from exhausts that rose and dipped, above
and below the water, with the ceaseless swell.
Mooring lines were released and water foamed
at the boats’ sterns as they pirouetted, like ballet
dancers, and moved out to sea, towards the still
invisible horizon.
1. (a) Missing punctuation is in bold type.
2. (a) (i) black, impenetrable, sullen
(ii) pale, cold, unwarming
(iii) tiny
(iv) cool dryness
(b) (i) gently (ii) quietly (iii) throatily
3. (a) Spelling errors are in italic type.
impenetrable, throatily, pirouetted
4. (a) like an unwelcome guest at a party;
like ballet dancers
(b) Possible answers may include:
(i) light
(iii) happy
(v) loudly
(ii) warm
(iv) invisible
(vi) fell
(c) Possible answers may include:
rumbled, murmur, burbling, coughed,
slapped, spoke, ground over
74 Editing skills R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au

The fleet awakens
Read the description.
Darkness was in no hurry to leave it lingered like
an unwelcome guest at a party. The first light
1 Punctuation
Editing skills
(a) Find 1 missing semicolon, 4 grammatical
commas, 2 commas in a list, 3 missing
apostrophes for possession, 1 dash, 1 full
stop and 1 capital letter.
was pale cold and unwarming, as it streaked
the eastern sky. A breeze had sprung up too,
driving off the land, carrying with it the cool
dryness of the desert at night. As the stars faded
disappearing one by one the boats became
visible in the bay, nodding gently at their
moorings. Their bows faced the coast as they
swung on their lines at the winds urging. The
2 Grammar
(a) Find adjectives from the text to match these
nouns.
(i) the water
(ii) the first light
(iii) whitecaps
(iv) night desert
(b) Find adverbs from the text to match these
verbs.
water was black impenitrable, almost sullen.
(i)
nodding
Tiny whitecaps slapped against the boats sides
the eternal murmur of the sea. Huddled in their
jackets, men coughed and spoke quietly, still
shaking off the sleep they had just risen from.
One by one marine diesel engines ground over
(ii) spoke
(iii) burbling
3 Spelling
(a) Write the correct spelling of 3 misspelt
words.
and then rumbled into life, burbling throatilly
from exhausts that rose and dipped, above
and below the water, with the ceaseless swell
mooring lines were released and water foamed
at the boats sterns as they piroetted like ballet
dancers, and moved out to sea, towards the still
invisible horizon.
4 Vocabulary
A simile uses ‘like’ or ‘as’ to compare one thing
to another.
(a) Underline 2 groups of words in the text
which are similes.
(b) Write antonyms for:
(i)
darkness
(ii) cool
(iii) sullen
(iv) visible
(v) quietly
(vi) rose
(c) Write 5 ‘noise’ words from the text.
R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au Editing skills 75