GRADE 3 Grammar and Writing Handbook ISBN: 0–328–07539–6 Copyright © 2004, Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V000 09 08 07 06 05 04 scottforesman.com Editorial Offices: Glenview, Illinois • Parsippany, New Jersey • New York, New York Sales Offices: Parsippany, New Jersey • Duluth, Georgia • Glenview, Illinois Coppell, Texas • Ontario, California • Mesa, Arizona Writer’s Guide 5 WRITER’S GUIDE Ideas and Content Before you write, you need to have a main idea and a reason, or purpose, for writing. The main idea is the most important point you want to make. Your purpose may be to persuade, to inform, to describe, or just to entertain your readers. A note to a friend has a main idea and a purpose. Main Idea Convince a friend to see your new kitten Purpose To persuade someone Details Lively and interesting words, such as fluffy, purr, and leap, make word pictures for your reader. Details give important information. Jorge, Come to my house tomorrow to see my new, fluffy kitten. She loves to purr and leap. The birds are eating. (no details) The gray pigeons peck at the dry bread. (details to show what is happening) Av i FOCUS Stay on your topic and use only details that are about your main idea. Strategies for Choosing a Main Idea and Purpose Choose something you know well or would like to learn about. Your topic could be your favorite aunt or the planets. Think about your purpose for writing. An adventure story would entertain. A how-to report would inform readers. 6 Writing Ideas

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