Name ___________________________ Folder # ___________

All stories need the following format:

Full Heading
Every paragraph has standard indent
12pt Times New Roman
Default 1 margins
Double spaced by changing format
No extra space between paragraphs

Today, youre going to be reading another students short story and commenting on certain
aspects of it. Remember to keep your feedback constructive. In other words, you should frame
your comments in a positive way (e.g. Do: Here would be a great place to add some physical
description of your character to really make her come alive. Dont: Your characterization stinks
and you should feel bad.)

1. Check out the anchor chart in the room that talks about character description. Look for
two instances of the author doing that well in the story and make a positive comment
about their use of characterization technique.
2. Find one or two places in the story where adding some more detail about what a character
is doing, thinking, or feeling would enhance the quality and make that suggestion to the
author.
3. Find two places where the author used some detailed description that really helped you as
a reader to visualize an object, an action, or a place.
4. Find two places in the story where adding some detailed description about an action, an
object, or a setting would enhance the quality of the story.
5. Identify one important part of the story that might be enhanced by having the writer slow
down time in order for the audience to really appreciate this moment.
6. Comment on one or two instances of word choice that show the writer flexing his or her
word choice muscle (e.g. vivid verbs, scintillating adjectives, poetic or figurative
language)
7. Find an instance or two where the author used flat or uninteresting word choices and offer
a suggestion for how they could improve.

Emergency Checklist:

If any of the following statements are true about a students paper, please comment on the paper
about it and then tell the author to come see me immediately:
There is no dialogue
The story is incomplete
The story does not have a resolution
The story ends through some mystical intervention or it was a dream
The story doesnt really make sense
The story is close to not readable because there are so many spelling, grammar,
and punctuation errors