This week, I worked with a student on mastering Language and Conventions—an area that often hides in plain sight. While grammar gets the spotlight, conventions like capitalization, spelling, and punctuation quietly shape how writing is received. Our session focused on making these invisible rules visible.
We began by reviewing a short narrative the student had written. Instead of correcting errors outright, we dissected each sentence together—asking why a comma belonged there, when a capital letter signaled importance, and how spelling influences tone and clarity. The student quickly realized that conventions aren’t just rules—they’re signals of intent and professionalism.
One breakthrough came when we explored dialogue punctuation. The student had written a lively exchange between two characters, but the formatting was inconsistent. After a quick mini-lesson on quotation marks, commas, and line breaks, they revised the passage with precision. Suddenly, the conversation flowed naturally, and the characters felt alive.
We also tackled homophones—those tricky word pairs like “their” vs. “there” and “your” vs. “you’re.” Instead of memorizing definitions, we built context clues and mnemonic devices to help the student self-correct in future writing.
By the end of the session, their writing wasn’t just cleaner—it was more confident. They understood that conventions aren’t constraints; they’re tools for clarity, rhythm, and reader trust.
At DLFA, we believe that strong writing starts with strong foundations. Language and Conventions may seem small, but they’re the scaffolding that holds great ideas together.