write a paragraph on a boring day at home article
And please, please don’t start your first paragraph with, “I’m writing this because…” Please hook me in. You may start at the left side of the item and move right, or go from right to left. Dad and I get so excited, we yell and cheer together. For today’s practice, think of something you’ve wanted recently. Start a sentence with because, and, or but. Type in your keyword and press enter to search Copyblogger.com: Eh? When my son described his story, I noticed three places where nothing seemed to happen. Follow these 6 steps to add life to drab, dull content: Increase the number of drafts you write. I’ll be sharing this… and printing it for my fridge! Why not use an extra full stop (what you in the U.S. call a period) halfway? But do you know your font choice can destroy the effectiveness of your precious words? Your font is too fancy. Can you guess which paragraphs didn’t move his story forward? Personalized writing instruction & feedback from certified teachers, Motivates aspiring writers to fine tune and develop their skills, Helps ESL students develop a better understanding of the English language, Ability to hone in on specific areas of writing for test prep & skill sharpening. I don’t have ADHD or anything, but I find my attention drifts away and I get bored if a news article or blog post is too long. Let your passion shine through, and you’ll gain a raving audience. The unifying idea in this paragraph is that the writer likes Sunday because it gives him/her a chance to be with his/her dad. Thanks – I’ll be using this article to audit my content from now on. Sunday is my favorite day because I spend the day watching football with my dad. 7 Unusual Signs on the Path to a Breakthrough, The Inigo Montoya Guide to 27 Commonly Misused Words, How To Write Emails that Sell (and that People Love to Read), Each post encourages you with one call to action, Show your readers the ways in which you’re like them. The topic sentence restates the prompt but does not unify the paragraph. In my high school writing classes, I call these scenes “slow start-ups” or “inactive transition scenes.” You can cut them and instantly improve your pacing and plot development. It will make your story shorter and tighter, and it will ensure your readers stay engaged and excited from start to finish, with no boring bumps in the way. Your readers like to be lazy, don’t exhaust them. Write with passion. I had faithful readers who swore they loved reading me but….. Do you avoid these subtle signs of tiresome wordiness? “Then I got ready,” “we drove to the game,” and “we drove home.”. This is a great post on how to avoid boring your readers. If you sound boring to yourself, it will definitely bore the readers. And the most important lesson? Thanks for sharing. If those scenes aren’t pushing the story forward with conflict, you might be able to cut them to speed up the pace. My youngest son was writing a narrative for school this week. Thank you for this great post! This example shows how one student approached the writing prompt “What is your favorite day of the week and why?”The original draft has some interesting ideas but overall, the paragraph wanders.It includes both relevant and irrelevant details and lacks the coherent focus required for a successful paragraph. Of course, writing is often a challenge. Show your readers you care about them, and they’ll love you to bits. “Do those paragraphs show us something new about the characters?” I asked. I’d recommend allotting 3 hours to read a 20-page article, and about a day to write 2000 words. I think using as many pictures as possible is also helpful. In the past, reading my personal blog entries was more like watching a television miniseries. We all need these reminders once in a while! Scrap jargon, cut scientific words, and replace long words with short words. me. Some days my dad doesn’t make it home from work until after I’m in bed. Display your enthusiasm. Embrace the power of brevity. Use contractions to strike a conversational tone. Formality is tiring. Maybe it’s a trophy, or a piece of pie, or an extra hour of sleep. And adjectives as verbs: thick my blood. You don’t need to remember everything while writing. A paragraph is a group of sentences organized around a central topic. Often you realise there is a chunk that adds little so dump it. Sunday is my favorite day because I spend the day watching football with my dad.On Sunday, unlike the other days of the week when he works, my dad spends the whole day with me watching football on TV. Use a readable font and don’t let your readers drown in dreary blocks of text. No one wants to read your school essays, so stop trying to please English teachers and start pleasing your readers. For those who are often flummoxed by words like…well, flummox, it’s very helpful to add Dictionary.com to the toolbar. Boring does not mean devoid of explosions and shocking twists. What are the boring parts of the story? If you still have time after trimming your summary, start fleshing out your summary into a full story. Why make it strenuous to read your content? Short words. Good paragraph writing prompts allow students to write about what they know and like, so their focus can be on the writing process and using the four essential elements. Wow, thank you so much. I’m going to give that a shot, along with a few of your other suggestions. A few years ago, I realized I spent an inordinate amount of time getting characters from one place to another. My favorite principle was the first, “You break the rule of one.” It was one of those a-ha moments for me when you said to look over at the sidebar at the popular posts. Take fifteen minutes to write. You can’t see the doodling, the fidgeting, the yawns. It was written by a Professor, that probably explains why. Shakespeare misused words. Thanks for the great tips. Of course you don’t ramble on like that boring old history teacher in high school. Each article should have only one big idea. And use full stops as often as you can. They’re not interested in learning your extensive vocabulary. I have this problem with keeping my sentences short. The same way you write through any problem — stay in the chair and write (or go for a quick walk and then come back and write). The highlight of the day is watching the Dolphins game. Short sentences are easy to read, lively, and entertaining. Thanks for sharing this tips, I know many of us will be nodding in agreement as we go about your list and find out that we have made a few mistakes at one time or another. Not sure where to start? As it was once said “think as wise men do, but speak as the common people do”. It includes both relevant and irrelevant details and lacks the coherent focus required for a successful paragraph. Formality is tiring. Do You Recognize These 10 Mental Blocks to Creative Thinking? I’m extra grateful for the free and extremely valuable information you guys pump out on a daily basis. My son wanted a signed basketball, and a few days after the game, he got one. Short sentences keep your readers hooked. A paragraph is a collection of sentences. I don’t know how to write through the boring parts except to say this: Cut the boring parts, or; Rethink and revise what might be a “boring” part into something more fun and essential, and; The same way you write through any problem — stay in the chair and write (or go for a quick walk and then come back and write). They are painstakingly focused on a single concept. The thing that I like to do best in the world is watch TV with my dad. Go through your copy and circle every prepositional phrase. “Read your copy out loud” Follow these tips to avoid sounding like a dusty, detached headmaster: Remember: Be warm. However, if you’re writing for someone that isn’t as knowledgeable about your niche as you it’s important to share the most important information in a way that is easy to digest. And that requires a human touch. Great one here. When you’re editing, you can use a check list, because it’s not easy to remember everything while editing either. He used nouns as verbs: he godded me. Include the human touch, Readers like to feel the writers essence. Cool find. Short sentences keep your readers hooked. Explore Scholastic's Writing a Paragraph printables and worksheets for all ages that cover subjects like reading, writing, math and science. When you’re done, share your original summary and your boring-parts-cut version in the comments below. Always use compelling images. When she’s not rationalizing her love for parentheses (and dramatic asides), she follows a sailor around the globe with their four children, two dogs, and an impossibly tall stack of books to read. Encourage your child's writing skills with this worksheet focusing on paragraphs. Learn more about Time4Writing’s elementary, middle school paragraph and high school online writing courses. Totally loved this post Henneke. Thank you for the list. In fact, the cardinal rule of paragraph writing is to focus on one idea. Don’t interrupt your flow. What a great post for a Monday morning! If your story begins with an alarm clock buzzing, you’re probably starting it too early. Definitely some wonderful gems here. Use contractions to strike a conversational tone. Just a teeny note to say thanks for all the stuff I’ve learned from Copyblogger in the two months I’ve been reading your blogs. Tiny fonts strain your eyes. And of course, if you prefer to engage, entertain, and entice your readers … just turn these around, and make your content really work. Before & After Comparison: From a wandering paragraph to a wonderful paragraph! Students love Time4Writing’s online writing courses because they help develop strong writing skills and a high level of comfort with the entire writing process. There are other sports on other days to watch on TV. Exciting post with exciting possibilities I can’t wait to try. :o), Agreed, Nikole. “Summarize each paragraph in a sentence,” I said. Just take them one at a time.). If you begin to think that there is something about a post that you are not happy with after it is published, then edit it. There’s some wonderful advice here. No code exists for keeping your readers glued to your content. Then I got ready. Because there is no soul in the article at all. I checked out Forbes, too, and I was surprised at how large the font is. No hard-and-fast rules tell you how to be fascinating. In my son’s story, there were two paragraphs that he summarized as “we drove to the game,” and “we drove home.” I asked him to evaluate the scenes. I’ve collected the 11 most common mistakes bloggers make that bore the hell out of their readers. To keep the paragraph coherent, the most relevant details have been polished, and the others deleted. It seems to be the heartbeat of blogging. With the help of my incredible teacher, I have brought my writing to a new level.". He cut them. We even eat lunch together while watching. . I would pay attention to “Point 3. I usually recommend a maximum of three, unless you really need to get your point across. The tweets, shares, and traveller with an alarm clock buzzing, you ll. On, not some boring news update can you guess which paragraphs didn ’ t make you look more.! Streets, and a concluding sentence common people do ” unnecessary details and lacks the coherent focus for... Teaching is the best way to writing successful paragraphs as misusing words re. Pie, or go from inside to out a way to bore readers... Of big type on their pages that don ’ t move his story forward that shows character. Information out there, how tactfully to break the rules — especially if you have plenty subtle. Tons of ideas in one post is nicer write a paragraph on a boring day at home article, but you have lots ideas! 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