Sixth Grade · Writing · week 25

Edit Clinic: Sentences and Mechanics

Edit the narrative draft for varied sentence structure, correct punctuation, and consistent past tense.

Editing is different from revising: revising changes ideas and structure, while editing fixes the sentence-level mechanics -- punctuation, sentence variety, and consistent verb tense. A narrative draft is ready for an edit clinic once the bigger revision choices from the workshop are made.

Two common edit-clinic targets: sentences that all start the same way ("Sen did this. Sen did that.") and verb tense that drifts between past and present in the middle of a scene. A narrative set in the past should stay in past tense throughout, unless a character is deliberately quoted speaking in present tense.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Read a paragraph aloud and listen for a run of sentences that all start with the same word -- your ear will catch the pattern quickly.
  • Circle every main verb in a paragraph and check they are consistently past tense.
  • Tackle editing after revising is done -- fixing mechanics in a paragraph that is about to be cut wastes effort.
  • Small mechanical fixes add up to a much more polished-sounding piece; treat this as satisfying, not tedious, work.
Talk about it:
  • What is the difference between revising and editing?
  • What tense-drift error did you find and fix?
  • Where did you vary a string of repetitive sentence openings?

Mastery looks like: They find and fix tense-drift errors and revise repetitive sentence openings into varied sentence structure.

Common stumbles: Drifting from past into present tense mid-scene; starting several sentences in a row with the same word or structure.

See it visually

Interactive, spoken-aloud tools that show this idea in motion.

Sentence BuilderDrag word tiles into a real sentence, with a capital and end mark.try →Verb TensesSlide along a timeline: walk → walked → will walk.try →Punctuation PowerThe same words as a statement, a question, or a shout — hear it change.try →
Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Writing for this learner.
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