Editing for Present Tense

Writing verbs in the present tense will make your review more lively. The present tense shows that something is happening now or happens regularly. Even though you read the book in the past, you can describe things that happened in the book in the present tense.

1. Something bad (happenshappens, happened) to the main character.
2. Shiloh (cowered, cowerscowers) around people.
3. Marty and his family (livelive, lived) in West Virginia.
4. When Shiloh (ran, runsruns) away, Marty (built, buildsbuilds) him a cage.

Revising to Cite Evidence

Citing specific details from the book can help you explain the characters, conflict, and theme. You can make a general idea (purple) stronger or more convincing by adding different types of specific evidence (green).

• Dialogue is something a character says.

Marty feels bad about lying to his family. He says, “Funny how one lie leads to another, and before you know it your whole life can be a lie.”

• Reasons answer the question why?

Marty feels sad. He catches Judd kicking Shiloh.

• Actions are something a character does.

Lucy wants her own space. She builds a wall to split her shared bedroom.

• Examples provide a specific instance of something.

Lucy doesn't feel connected to some Chinese customs. She doesn’t like traditional Chinese food such as octopus and frog.

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

The purpose of your beginning paragraph is to grab your reader's attention, introduce the title and author of your book, and tell something interesting about it. The paragraph should start with a lead sentence, which gets the reader interested in the book. You can introduce the title and author in the lead or in a new sentence. Then, to close out the paragraph, introduce the big challenge the main character must face in the book. But don't spoil the ending!

1. Ask a question related to the work.

Have you ever felt like a stranger in your school or community?

2. Talk directly to your readers.

You never know when you will meet someone who will change your life.

3. Provide a suspenseful detail from the story.

Just when Lucy thought she was getting her very own room, a stranger showed up and changed everything.

4. Share a feeling you have about the work.

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang changed the way I think about my heritage.

Prewriting for Topic and Character Details

Your first prewriting step is to choose a work of fiction for your review. Make sure the work is something you like and remember well. You can also read something new—a mystery, an adventure book, a novel, or even a play.

Reading Fiction Reviews

Before you write your own review, you should see how other students reviewed fiction. As you read these samples, pay close attention to the types of details included. Consider how you might share similar details in your own review.

Reading a Paragraph Review

A paragraph response to a book has three main parts: The topic sentence introduces the title, author, and main idea. The body sentences introduce the main character, the obstacles faced, and the lessons learned. The ending sentence gives your final opinion of the book.

Sample Paragraph

1. Name the title, author, and main character of the book.
2. What main obstacle faces the main character?

Warm-Up for Writing Fiction Reviews

(c) Thoughtful Learning 2018

One fun way to think about a book is to write a review. In a book review, you tell others what a book is about and help your readers decide if they want to read it next! The activities in this unit will guide you in reviewing a fiction book by focusing on characters, conflict, and theme.

What Is a Fiction Review?

Fiction books are gateways to new worlds. When you open a book and begin reading, you are transported to a new place with interesting characters, conflicts, and adventures. When you finish a good book, you probably know the story well enough to tell others about it.

In a fiction review, you let others know about a book by explaining its important parts and characters without saying too much. After all, you don’t want to spoil the ending!

Thinking About Character Traits

The main character may be the most important part of a fiction book. This person or animal is sometimes called the protagonist. To truly understand what happens in a book, you need to think carefully about the main character.

Creating a Character Profile Page

To get to know a character better, create a profile page that shares important information about the character. Study how one student created a sample profile page to learn about the main character in the book Shiloh.

Name:

Marty

Age:

11

Hometown/place:

West Virginia

Likes:

All animals (especially Shiloh), the outdoors, the woods, exploring, his brothers and sisters

Dislikes:

Hurting animals, lying, and dishonest people

Greatest wants/desires:

To make Shiloh his dog, to protect him and keep away from Judd, and to change laws to protect dogs

Greatest fears/obstacles:

Not being able to protect Shiloh, lying to his parents, and knowing that Judd owns and hurts Shiloh; also laws that let people own animals even if they mistreat them

Editing Dialogue for Quotation Marks

Dialogue uses quotation marks. These special marks go before and after the exact words of the speaker.

Periods and commas that follow the speaker’s words always go inside the quotation marks.

Question marks and exclamation marks go inside the quotation marks when they punctuation the dialogue.

Revising to Add Sensory Details

To help your story come alive, you can add details about what you saw, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched. These are called sensory details.

Sensory details help you show readers what is happening, rather than just telling them. You can collect these details in a sensory chart.

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

The first sentence in your narrative should grab the reader’s attention. It is called a lead. The following strategies will help you write an effective lead.

1. Start in the middle of the action:

   I thought I was ready when I arrived at our school’s auditorium.

2. Start with dialogue:

   “Just wait a little longer,” said my grandpa.

3. Start with an interesting fact or statement:

   When Manny came to my school, I didn’t expect to become best friends.

Lead:

Introductory Details:

Prewriting to Focus Your Ideas