How to Write Compositions, Narratives, Short Stories and Essays Rubric for writers on basic story and narrative outline. How- to guide for writing the narrative, essay, short story and composition. Covers conflict theory, POWER writing, editing, revising, plot structure and qualitative differences in prose genres.
I've been asked how I organize the business of writing. Sometimes, just getting started is the most difficult step. Here's a basic format I follow for all writing: composition, news article, essay, research piece or poem. I teach students to use this rubric, too.
Decide on purpose. What type of composition is this going to be? Make sure you understand the expectations. Typically, your teacher will provide you with an explanation and lecture on what you are to write. Read this over carefully. Ask your instructor if you have questions. You will find several helpful links at the end of this article for online resources also
Choose your topic. Decide what you will write about, by asking yourself: What interests me? What makes me angry? What do I know about? What do I want to know more about. If money interests you, write about money-making schemes that you have. If you're concerned about the war in the Middle East, write an essay about why this upsets you. If you know a great deal about football, write a personal narrative about your football experience. If you want to be a veterinarian research and write about careers in veterinary medicine. Look for unique angles for topics.
Write your introduction: For every composition except poetry, you will need to introduce either your topic and position (for an essay) or characters, plot and setting (for narrative, short story and play). See the article 'How to Write an Introduction.
Develop the 'body' of your work. Jot down 10-12 main points. Organize them into three groups. Choose the most important detail in each group. This will be the paragraph main idea and the other points will be supporting sentences.
Write your conclusion: This simply wraps up what you have said in your composition. It can basically restate what you said in your introduction. If you composition is longer, you can sum up your main points. Try to phrase them a little differently so it will not sound repetitive.
Use P-O-W-E-R You have done the
P-plan
O-organize
W-write
Now you will finish with
E-edit
R-revise
You will do this for every type of writing. Reread your work. Look for spelling, grammar, and content problems. Use your computer spell and grammar check but check it over yourself, as well. You can have someone proof-read it also. Every good piece of writing goes through two or more revisions. Let your thoughts gel. Come back to the composition and you will see improvements you might not have seen when it was still "hot."
