773 articles since 2009
The Pennington Publishing Blog
Grade-level 4-adult standards and assessment-based ELA and reading instruction. Free Diagnostic Reading and ELA Assessments
Articles · page 16
How to Eliminate Passive Voice
In the passive voice the subject of the sentence is acted upon by the verb. For example, in “Her mistake was noticed by the students,” the…
Reading Counts! Claims and Counterclaims
The purpose of this article on Reading Counts! is threefold: 1. To briefly summarize the basics of the Reading Counts! (RC) independent reading management program 2.…
ELA Language Anchor Standards | Curriculum Maps
Download these FREE full-year ELA Language Anchor Standards | Curriculum Maps for 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade.
Don’t Use Metaphors in Essays
A metaphor is an implied (suggested) comparison of two unlike things. An extended metaphor continues the comparison through several sentences in a story or through several…
Avoiding Repetitious Writing
Repetitious writing involves repeating the same ideas, words or synonyms of those words, and sentence structure.
Avoiding Parentheses
An appositive is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that identifies or explains another noun or pronoun before or after it. Avoid using appositives, particularly parentheses,…
Avoiding Clichés
A cliché is an overused and worn-out word, phrase, or sentence, which has lost its original meaning or effect. Avoid these expressions in formal writing, such…
Unsupported Generalizations
A generalization is a statement which applies to most all cases and to most all times. When writers combine specific points of an essay into a broader…