WRITERS GUIDE

Conventions
A convention is a rule that people agree to follow. Written language follows special conventions. For instance, sentences always begin with capital letters and end with some kind of punctuation. Sentences about the same topic are grouped together to form paragraphs. Conventions also set the rules for spelling and grammar. Look at the sentences below. How many conventions can you name? Greg Harding was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 3, 1996. He is a student at Griffin Elementary School, and his favorite classes are English and math.

Strategies for Conventions

Learn the rules for spelling. For instance, add -s to form the plural of most nouns. Use a dictionary or spell-checker to help you with the spelling of difficult or new words. Capitalize the first letter of each word that begins a sentence. Capitalize the first letter of each important word in proper nouns. Use punctuation correctly. Make sure the verb you use agrees with its subject. (I like Martin instead of I likes Martin) Check that the verb tenses are correct. Check that pronouns are used correctly in subjects and predicates. Make sure you use apostrophes correctly to show possession and to form contractions.

PROOFREADING MARKS New paragraph Capital letter Lowercase letter Correct the spelling. Add something. Remove something.

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Writing

Conventions

WRITERS GUIDE

Choose the correct word to complete each sentence. Write the word you choose for each sentence. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. (greg, Greg) likes to complete his homework before dinner. Then he likes to call (his, him) friends to chat. Some of his friends (is, are) from the track team. Some of (them, they) are very talented athletes. A few of (Gregs, Gregss) friends (dont, dont) like sports at all.
PROOFREADING Always check your writing to make sure you use conventions properly.

Match the letter with the mistake in each sentence. A B C D E Correct a misspelling. Capitalize proper nouns. Add correct end punctuation. Make the verb agree with its subject. Add an apostrophe.

6. My best friends name is Robert. 7. Robert was born in Africa, but he moved to the united States when he was eight. 8. He is a fantastic soccer player 9. I are constantly amazed at the tricks he performs with a soccer ball. 10. Robert promised to teech me some of his tricks.

Write five sentences about one of the topics below. Make sure you follow the conventions for proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. Your best friend Your favorite sport Your favorite class

Writing

Conventions

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