Portuguese Year 4: Planning, writing and revising
Portuguese, Year 4 (Portugal): Write in three moments: plan the ideas, write the text and revise it to solve problems, alone or in a group.
Three moments
Writing well has three moments. Planning: you decide what and for whom you write, and note the ideas in order. Writing (textualização): you turn the plan into sentences and paragraphs. Revising: you read what you wrote and improve it. You can do it alone or in a group: some write, others read aloud and say where it is not clear.
The first version is never perfect
The first version is never perfect, and that is normal. With a plan you do not forget anything and do not get lost halfway. With revision you catch what you do not see while writing: repeated words, ideas out of order, confusing sentences, mistakes. Revising is not a punishment: it is what makes a good text, even for writers.
From a first version to a better one
First version: «O Rui foi ao parque. O Rui viu um cão. O Rui deu-lhe água.» (Rui went to the park. Rui saw a dog. Rui gave it water.) Step 1: the plan was who (Rui), where (park), what happens (he helps a dog) and the end. Step 2: I read it aloud and hear the problem: «O Rui» repeats three times. Step 3: I correct it: «O Rui foi ao parque. Lá, viu um cão e deu-lhe água.» (Rui went to the park. There, he saw a dog and gave it water.) Step 4: I re-read and check spelling and punctuation. Step 5: I write the clean copy.
Revising is not only fixing letters
The mistake is to think that revising is only fixing spelling. Revising also looks at ideas (is one missing? is there one too many?), at the order and at repetitions. Another mistake is to revise right after writing: it is harder to see mistakes in a text that is still fresh. Reading aloud, waiting a while or asking a classmate to read helps a lot. And handing in the first version as final is the biggest mistake.
Cards, reports and group work
You use this process when you write a letter or a birthday card, a text for the school newspaper, an account of your holidays or a group project. Later it will be the same for an important e-mail or a History project: plan, write, revise. Even authors of books write several versions before showing one.
Test what you learned
What is the right order to write a good text?
- a) Revise, plan, write
- b) Write, plan, revise
- c) Plan, write, revise
Correct answer: c) Plan, write, revise — Yes: first the ideas in order, then the text, then reading it again to improve it.
Ana wrote: «Depois fui à loja. Depois comprei pão. Depois voltei.» (Then I went to the shop. Then I bought bread. Then I came back.) What helps most when revising?
- a) Read it aloud, notice that «depois» repeats, and use other links
- b) Write more «depois» to make it longer
- c) Delete the whole text and forget it
Correct answer: a) Read it aloud, notice that «depois» repeats, and use other links — Yes: reading aloud shows the repetition, and other links («a seguir», «por fim») fix it.
Rui only corrected the spelling and handed in the text. What was missing?
- a) Nothing: revising is only about spelling
- b) Revising the ideas, the order and the repetitions too
- c) Writing everything again without reading it
Correct answer: b) Revising the ideas, the order and the repetitions too — Yes: a good revision checks the content and the order, and then the spelling.
Keep exploring
Other languages
Loading MyLeoNes™…