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Final Story Editing

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Final Story Editing

Read the story carefully, then complete each editing task. Check spelling, punctuation, grammar and how well the ideas flow. Use New Zealand spelling.

Read the draft

The Shortcut On Saturday, Maia and her cousin Hugo followed a narrow track through the bush. They were heading to a waterfall, but the rain had made the ground slippery. “We should of brought our gumboots,” Hugo said. Maia laughed, then suddenly stopped. A tiny fantail was trapped between two fallen branches. The bird flapped it's wings, but it could not escape. Maia carefully raised a fallen limb, and Hugo shifted a second one. The fantail darted into the trees. By the time they reached the waterfall, there clothes were muddy and there was only a little daylight left. “That was a better adventure than we planned,” Maia said. They hurried home, feeling proud of what they had done.

Edit the story

Use the draft above to answer each question.

1.Rewrite this sentence from the draft with its spelling and punctuation corrected: “The bird flapped it's wings, but it could not escape.”

2.In Hugo’s sentence, “We should of brought our gumboots,” which words should replace “should of”?

should have
should’ve been
should has
should of had

3.Complete this sentence from the draft with the correct word: “By the time they reached the waterfall, clothes were muddy.”

4.Complete this sentence from the draft with the correct word: “ was only a little daylight left.”

5.The sentence “Maia laughed, then suddenly stopped” helps the reader notice a change in the action.

TrueFalse

6.Rewrite the draft’s sentence about Maia and Hugo moving the fallen branches, replacing “a second one” with a pronoun.

7.Which revision combines these choppy sentences most smoothly? “The rain had made the ground slippery. They kept walking.”

The rain had made the ground slippery, but they kept walking.
The rain had made the ground slippery they kept walking.
The rain had made the ground slippery. But. They kept walking.
The rain had made the ground slippery, they kept walking.

8.The sentence “The fantail darted into the trees” shows that the bird escaped quickly. Name one word in the sentence that helps create this effect.

9.The story says Maia and Hugo helped a trapped fantail. Give one detail from the draft that supports the idea that they acted carefully.

10.Replace “there clothes” in the draft with the correct form. Then explain briefly what the corrected word means.

11.Write a stronger final sentence that keeps the story’s meaning but avoids repeating the idea that Maia and Hugo hurried home feeling proud.

12.Before calling a story finished, an editor should check that each sentence makes sense, spelling and punctuation are accurate, and the story is clear for its readers. Write one more check you would make and explain why it matters.