WRITING MANUAL
California Electronic Writer
Taking the Puzzle out of Writing Well
Writing is a Process greatly helped by online tools.
Beginning the Writing "Odyssey"
Think of writing well as a clock ticking away ...
Reading Your REPORT
How to Read Your CEW Report
The SCOLAR Puzzle Pieces
SCOLAR stands for Sentences, Content, Organization, Length (& Logic), Accuracy, and Readability (or Vocabulary). These are the major elements of your writing.
The SMAART Puzzle Pieces
SMAART stands for Subordination, Modals, Adjectives, Adverbs, Relatives, and Transitions. These are the minor, but important elements which should be present in all of your writing.
Some Puzzle Pieces Do Not Fit
The art of writing involves knowing which pieces fit, and which pieces do not fit.
The Perfect Essay
The art of writing involves knowing how to put all of the SCOLAR and SMAART puzzle pieces together.
S is for SENTENCES
Students usually ask how many sentences are required and how many words a teacher expects each sentence to have.
C is for CONTENT
Students are expected to address the topic of the prompt
O is for ORGANIZATION
A good movie or a good book has a beginning, middle, and an end. And your writing should be the same.
L is for LENGTH (& LOGIC)
Frequently, students first question includes: how long does the assignment have to be?
A is for ACCURACY
Accuracy refers to spelling and grammar. It also refers to Usage, or using the right word at the right place.
R is for READABILITY(Vocabulary)
Vocabulary is the main downfall of most students. One pitfall is not having the precise word for a concept which leads to circuitous writing in an attempt to explain it.
SMAART Matrix
For each level or grade, there are expected to be a combination or Matrix of words.
S is for SUBORDINATION
The use of subordination demonstrates the ability to use sentence variety other than the typical Subject-Verb-Object order.
M is for MODALS
Modals demonstrate shades of meaning in your writing.
A is for ADJECTIVES
Adjectives, such as NEW at descriptive power to your writing.
A is for ADVERBS
Adverbs give your essay life, usually by giving the verbs energy.
R is for RELATIVES
Relatives, such as: THAT and WHICH, help to expand your sentences and make the composition more sophisticated.
T is for TRANSITIONS
Transitions help to easily flow from one sentence idea to the next.
PROMPTS
Writing Prompts for Level 1 to 6
STRATEGIES
The way to win a game of chess is by using Strategy. And good writing is the result of strategy as well.
KEYWORDS FOR ESSAY TYPES
Each writing prompt or assignment will be one of nine types of writing task.
TOPIC
KEYWORDS
Here are some suggested key words, which may assist your writing task.
Steven Donahue is faculty at Miami Dade College, Florida.
