ENGL 100
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P P TDESCRIPTIVE ARAGRAPH REWRITING EMPLATE
Step 1: Descriptive Paragraph Prewriting & Plan
Directions: Complete all of the elements of the prewriting; otherwise, the content of your piece
will not be accurate.
Topic: Portland Oregon
Overall Impression/Point: The view of trees and waterfalls off the freeway
Audience: Anyone who would like to travel to Oregon
Purpose: To inform, to persuade
Topic Sentence: As I drove down the freeway all I could see was the lush greenery, and
playfull waterfall in the distance.
Your Vantage Point: I am in a car driving on the freeway
Spatial Order: Far to near, and left to right.
Brainstorm Sensory Details:
Sights: Lush green, splashing of water, russling of trees
Sounds: Branches crackling, water splashing, wind howling
Tastes: n/a
Textures: wind on my face,
Smells: crisp clean air
Plan: Topic Sentence: As I am driving down the freeway in Portland Oregon my eyes
fixed upon the beautiful scenary infront of me.
Support 1: The trees in the distance seemed to grow larger with every second.
Details: - Tall as giants
-Dancing in the wind
Support 2: The smell of the air pounding against my face
Deatails: - Ice cold bricks thrown on my face
-Sweet smell of tree bark sap filled my nose
Support 3: The waterfall splashing every tree insight
Details: - traveling 100 miles per hour
ENGL 100
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ENGL 100
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Step 2: Descriptive Paragraph Rough Draft
Directions: Write a rough draft that follows your paragraph plan, beginning with your topic
sentence. Do not worry about spelling or grammar; just let your thoughts flow. End with a good
concluding sentence that restates your controlling idea or expresses a thought that restates your
dominant impression. It must be at least 200 words, no less and not too much more.
From 2002 to 2003 I had the chance to live in Portland Oregon; it was my first time ever living
somewhere else. I loved living there the whole state was beautiful you could see and experience
every season Portland had to offer. My favorite season is fall and the view of the trees and
waterfalls from the freeway were the most memorable things I experienced. As I drove down the
freeway all I saw were the lush green trees as tall as giants hovering over the sky. They were
standing as tall as giants! The branches cracked against the each other as the wind would blow
through them. The color of the leaves were a mixture of candy apple green reaching from peanut
butter colored branches what a beautiful sight it was. The wind felt like ice bricks against my
face as I drove down the high way, but I did not care it just made my senses more alert to the
nature that surrounded me. As I drove further I could hear splashes of water bouncing off the
trees below. The waterfall seemed to being traveling 100mph bursting through the air below the
surface. The site was beautiful never in my life had I seen such wonder.
ENGL 100
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Step 3: Descriptive Paragraph Revised Draft
Directions: Copy your Descriptive Paragraph Rough Draft (from above) and paste it below,
click on “Tools” or “Review” if you are using Microsoft Word, and hit “Track Changes.” This is so
your instructor can see all the changes you make. Begin reading through your rough draft
and make changes to the content as you see fit. Add more descriptive words if needed or delete
irrelevant ones that do not help create your dominant impression. Add transitional words or
phrases to help the paragraph flow in a logical order. Then, save the draft with the changes.
From 2002 to 2003 I had the chance to live in Portland Oregon. ; itIt was my first time away
from home and ever living somewhere else. I loved living there, the whole state was beautiful
and you could see and experience every season Portland had to offer. . My favorite season is
fall and the view of the trees and waterfalls from the freeway were the most memorable
things I experienced. As I drove down the freeway all I saw were the lush green trees as tall
as giants hovering over the sky. They were standing as tall as giants! The leaves swayed up
and down against the imaginary wall of air. The branches cracked against the each other as
the wind would blowblew through them. The color of the leaves were a mixture of candy apple
green, and lemon lime popsicles reaching from peanut butter colored branches what a
beautiful sight it was! s. The wind felt like ice bricks against my face as I drove down the high
way, but I did not care it just made my senses more alert to the nature that surrounded me. As
I drove further I could hear splashes of water bouncing off the trees below. The waterfall
seemed to being traveling 100mph bursting through the air below the surface. The site was
beautiful never in my life had I seen such wonder.
ENGL 100
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Honor Statement
Read and sign this honor statement prior to submitting your assignment:
By typing my name in the space provided, I certify that all words and ideas in my writing
assignment are mine alone, and if I used another person’s words or ideas (by
summarizing, paraphrasing, or directly quoting), I gave credit to that author, and I also put
quotation marks around any direct quotations.
By signing my name, I also understand that if I have copied someone else’s ideas or
words, I have plagiarized, and I understand that the penalty for plagiarism is course
failure.
Student Name: _Rachel Beard________________________________________
Step 4: Descriptive Paragraph Edited Draft
Directions: Turn off the “Track Changes” feature. Copy your Descriptive Paragraph Revised
Draft, paste it below, click on “Tools” or “Review” if you are using Microsoft Word, and make
sure you turn on the “Track Changes” feature. Edit for any spelling, punctuation, or
grammatical errors. Focus especially on the concepts you have recently studied. Save these
changes.
NOTE: Use of contractions (can’t, won’t, doesn’t, etc.) and second person (any form of the
pronoun “you”) is strictly prohibited and will result in loss of points on writing assignments.
From 2002 to 2003 I had the chance to live in Portland Oregon. ; itIt was my first time away
from home and ever living somewhere else. I loved living there, the whole state was beautiful
and you could see and experience every season Portland had to offer. . My favorite season is fall
and the view of the trees and waterfalls from the freeway were the most memorable things I have
ever experienced in my life. As I drove down the freeway all I saw were the lush green trees as
tall as giants hoveringstanding as tall as giants hovering over the sky. They were standing as tall
as giants!The leaves swayed up and down against the imaginary wall of air. The branches
cracked against the each other as the wind would blowblew through them. The color of the
leaves were a mixture of candy apple green, and lemon lime popsicles reaching from peanut
butter colored branches! Wwhat a beautiful sight it was! s. The wind felt like ice bricks against
being thrown against my face as I drove down the high way, but I did not care it just made my
senses more alert to the nature that surrounded me. As I drove further I could hear splashes of
water bouncing off the trees below. The waterfall seemed to being traveling 100mph bursting
through the air below the surface. The site was beautiful never in my life had I seen such wonder.
G RPREWRITING RADING UBRIC
ENGL 100
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Good/Excellent
10 – 9 points
Fair/Competent
8 – 7 points
Deficient 6
– 0 points
Step 1:
Prewriting
Score:
Step 2:
Rough Draft
Score:
Step 3:
Revised Draft
Score:
100% of the prewriting
elements are complete.
It is evident that the author
invested time and careful
thought into this part of the
writing process.
The author uses the “Track
Changes” feature (or notes
the changes made by using
the highlighting or
strikethrough tool) and
makes changes to the
content.
The author adds more
supporting details if needed
or deletes irrelevant ones
that
do not relate to the
controlling idea.
The author adds transitional
words or phrases to help
the paragraph flow in a
logical
The rough draft follows the
prewriting plan, beginning
with the topic sentence and
ends with a good concluding
sentence that restates the
controlling idea or expresses
a thought that provides a
final application.
For a paragraph assignment,
one paragraph is used; for an
essay, five paragraphs are
used.
The author meets the
minimum word count
expectation for the
assignment.
2/3 of the prewriting
elements are complete.
The author invested
some time and thought
into this part of the
writing process.
The rough draft
attempts to follow the
prewriting plan.
In a paragraph
assignment, the author
includes a topic
sentence and
concluding sentence.
For an essay
assignment, the author
may only use three-
four paragraphs.
The author does not
meet the minimum
word count
expectation for the
assignment, but does
not stray far from the
expectation.
The author makes
changes to the content
but does not indicate
those changes through
the use of “Track
Changes” or a
highlighting/strikethro
ugh tool.
The author may add a
supporting detail if
needed or delete an
irrelevant one that
does not relate to the
controlling idea.
The author adds/uses
The author makes no
changes to the content,
or any changes made do
not benefit the piece.
No transitional words or
phrases are used.
1/3 or less of the
prewriting elements are
complete.
It may seem as though
the author rushed
through this portion of
the writing process or
spent little to no time
addressing this portion
of the writing process.
The rough draft loosely
follows the prewriting
plan or disregards it
completely. In a
paragraph assignment,
the author may not
include a topic sentence
or concluding sentence.
In an essay assignment,
the author may only use
one-two paragraphs.
The author does not
meet the minimum
word count expectation
at all.
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
ENGL 100
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Step 4:
Edited Draft
Score:
order. Then, saves the draft
with the changes.
The author edits the
“Revised Draft” for any
spelling, punctuation, or
grammatical errors while
using the “Track Changes”
feature (or notes the changes
made by using the
highlighting or strikethrough
tool).
The author focuses
especially on the grammar
principles recently studied.
The author edits the
piece but does not
indicate those changes
through the use of
“Track Changes” or a
highlighting/
strikethrough tool.
The author focuses on
grammar principles.
few transitional words
or phrases.
The author does not
make any changes to the
piece or any changes
made do not benefit the
grammatical concerns
of the piece.
o
o
o
o
o
Final Score: /40
