Activity
1. Students must
bring their final project essays with them to class
(preferably the rough or second draft).
2. Begin
class by asking the students to take five minutes to
read
their rough drafts silently.
3. Once
finished, ask the class to note one or two things they
like about
their essays, and one or two things they could
improve on (this should be written down).
4. Ask
the class (by
a show of hands) if any students found any grammatical
or spelling errors in the reading of their essays.
What effect does this have on the overall persuasiveness
of the essay? (Students will probably mention
that it detracts from the overall quality and smoothness
of the paper).
5.
Pass out the “Proofreading Checklist” to
each student, and instruct the class to read over
their rough drafts
again, but this time while following the hints on the checklist.
6. Allow
15-20 minutes for a detailed revision. 7.
Students should write comments on their rough drafts,
marking any needed corrections with a colored pen.
8.
Encourage students use thesauri, dictionaries, or grammars
in order to resolve their questions. Try to avoid answering
students' questions for them.
9.
After completing the proofreading, ask the students to
read through their rough draft with the corrections
in place.
On
the same piece of paper which they used for the starter
question, have each student reevaluate their work. What
difference
does correct grammar and spelling make? Encourage the class
to reflect
a bit.
Closure
None.
Homework
Students should
be working on their final project essays. If an additional
assignment is needed, the instructor may require the class
to bring in their rough drafts the following day with further
evidence of proofreading corrections. |
