English Language Arts and Reading.8.10.D.vii

The student is expected to

edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:

 

correct spelling, including commonly confused terms such as its/it's, affect/effect, there/their/they're, and to/two/too; and

writing process TEKS talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Composition: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts--writing process. The student uses the writing process recursively to compose multiple texts that are legible and uses appropriate conventions.

Demonstrate appropriate spelling, focusing on commonly confused words such as its/it's, affect/effect, there/their/they're, and to/two/too. Task students to work with a partner and edit their writing to ensure appropriate spelling of these commonly confused terms. Have students revise their writing to correct errors in these common spelling concerns and rewrite sentences correctly as needed.
 

Further Explanation

Students should know how to spell commonly confused words such as its/it's, affect/effect, there/their/they're, and to/two/too. They should also be able to find misspellings in their writing and correct those misspellings. Ample opportunities should be provided for students review their drafts, evaluating for spelling and making necessary changes to improve the quality of their writing.

Correct spelling is important in effective communication. When a writer spells words correctly, the message of a piece of writing is clearer. Because language requires a common understanding of words to build ideas, misspellings can interrupt the reader’s flow as they pause to determine what the writer meant to say. In some cases, the misspelling is confusing because it spells a real word. For instance, students who misspell its as it’s change the word from one indicating possession to a one indicating a state of being.
During the editing stage of the writing process, students further improve their drafts and often prepare them for publishing by correcting conventions errors. Applying standard rules of the English language correctly helps the audience to easily understand the information by not having to interrupt their thinking to decide what the writer intended to say.
standard rules of the English language, including written mechanics such as punctuation, capitalization, spelling, paragraphing, etc. and written/oral grammar such as parts of speech, word order, subject-verb agreement, and sentence structure

Research

Composition Writing Studio. Argumentative essay/commentary. University of Purdue’s Online Writing Lab. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/05/ 

Summary: This online resource offers a complete overview of the writing processes, genres, mechanics, and components involved in each. The overview includes definition of terms, examples, graphs and charts as appropriate, and additional resources.