Carolyn Kirkpatrick <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >Subject: Still troubled by 'mechanics' > >----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- > In response to the term "mechanics"... > I have begun to use the word "conventions" since I adapted my writing rubric > to coincide with the major elements of the Pennsylvania Writing Assessment > rubric. > There are 5 major focus areas, with conventions covering spelling, > punctuation, capitalization, complete sentences,and no run-ons. I'm perplexed at why spelling, punctuation and capitalization should be grouped with complete sentences and "no run-ons". The former deal with rather superficial matters of the written (as opposed to spoken) form while the latter deal with grammaticality and issues of what makes a utterance/grammatical unit in the language. Mixes apples and oranges, seems to me. rebecca wheeler dept. english weber state university ogden, utah 84408-1201 The other > areas are: FOCUS, CONTENT, ORGANIZATION, STYLE. > I find that young writers (grades 7-9) spend too much time on the > conventions at the revision stage. I prefer to have them skip the > convention section of the rubric until they are ready to write the final > draft. While I do not wish to diminish the importance of the conventions, > young writers seem to find them a distraction or an excuse to avoid the work > needed to develop the necessary skills in the other focus areas. We get to > them, and they do count in the end. > > > ``````````````````````````` > Sharon Schwartz > Salisbury Township School District > 1140 Salisbury Road > Allentown, PA 18103 > (610) 797-2062 (work) > (215) 345-4217 (home) > FAX (610) 791-9983 > [log in to unmask]