Secret rooms in movies and books promise excitement. How does one find the room? How does one enter? What could be hidden in this mysterious vault?
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is introduced to readers as being the result of an amazing find, a secret cache tucked away in the dusty, forgotten second floor of the custom house where Hawthorne worked for a while.
Here’s how he creates excitement for his narrator’s find and, therefore, the story:
Read More
“We don’t need to eat anyone who would run, swim, or fly away if he could.”
The topic of the food we eat can be very controversial, and actor James Cromwell’s quote puts us right in the middle of it.
Read More
Do your students waste endless time erasing whole sentences? Do they become discouraged when they look at their rough drafts filled with arrows, illegible notes in the margins, and ugly lines of scratched-out writing?
I’ve watched students in my writing classes scratch out whole sentences and rewrite them. They draw lines through words. They burn up their papers and crumble their erasers just to change something.
This is totally unnecessary.
There’s an easier—and quicker—way to proofread that doesn’t require a lot of rewriting, which should be good news to our students.
Let’s save them the pain by teaching them these handy, easy-to-use proofreading marks.
Read More
This week’s grammar tutorial puts to rest some confusing words like “it’s” and “its.”
You can use the infographic below to teach your students about some confusing word usage. After that, there’s an exercise to reinforce the material with your students, and you’ll find the answers below the exercise.
Now, on to the tutorial . . .
Read More
Do you have to write an essay?
Are you stuck for ideas?
Have no fear. Here’s a strange way to get ideas for essays: Use your initials.
Read More
It is hard to believe, but the word “everyone” is singular.
It sounds as though it should include a lot of people; in fact, it should include everyone—and that sounds plural.
But “everyone” is in the list of singular indefinite pronouns, which are listed here: each, every, either, neither, no, one, no one, everyone, someone, anyone, nobody, everybody, somebody, anybody, nothing, everything, something, anything.
I grouped them by their endings: -one, -body, and -thing. You also could list most of them by their beginnings: no-, every-, some-, and any-.
This week’s blog, which is another in a series of grammar tutorials, includes the following:
“Saying you are a patriot does not make you one; wearing a flag pin does not in itself mean anything at all.” -Viggo Mortensen
“Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.” -Calvin Coolidge
“True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.” -Clarence Darrow
Why all the quotes about patriots and patriotism?
Read More
Welcome to yet another of biting, incisive grammar question like this one: “Mom, is this sentence supposed to have one question mark or two at the end?”
If you’re dying to know what the other grammar tutorials are about, click here for one on punctuation in dialog. (Tarzan and Jane help out on that one.)
I’m fully aware that the heading “End Punctuation” could be the heart’s cry of your struggling students.
However, this week, your students will wrestle with the thorny problem of what to do if a sentence is a question (interrogative) but there’s already a question mark to the left of the end quotation mark.
Take a look at the infographic, which is the lesson.
Read More
Libby Nicholas kept a list of seventy-seven qualities she wanted in her future husband: has a strong handshake, is musically talented, volunteers at a homeless shelter, and, oh yeah, doesn’t eat at McDonald’s.
When she realized her list was full of
Read More
Welcome to the third in a series of grammar tutorials! You can find the first one on commas in compound sentences here.
The second one teaches the position of commas, periods, colons, and semicolons when used with quotation marks. What could be more exciting?!
Do you have students who love to hide in their bedrooms and write story after story?
Most likely, they are hoping to be published one day, their stories read and loved by millions, their names on the covers of sought-after books.
One thing editors look for in a new writer is proficiency in grammar and punctuation. Granted, it’s not a huge thing; it’s more important to know how to write a great story. But grammar is an indicator of how well the writer knows the language and its conventions, and it is something that editors take into account when determining whom to publish.
Let’s make sure our students have access to the skills they need to get published.
A tiff between Tarzan and Jane in this fun tutorial will guide your students through the punctuation-in-dialog jungle.
Read More
![](https://writingwithsharonwatson.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/discern-fall-logo.png"){kind=logo}
