Jan 21
| What to check | If not … |
|---|---|
| Is it the best word? (A thesaurus might help but best doesn’t mean biggest) |
Change the word |
| Are there any old-fashioned words? (Tis, til, oft) |
Get rid of them – you’re a 21st century poet! |
| Are there any cliches? (tired, over-used expressions) |
Get rid of them – you’re unique – so is your poem |
| Are the words in the best order? | Rearrange the order |
| Do I need this word? (No need for sentences) |
Cross it out! |
| Does it sound good? (Read it aloud; get someone else to read it aloud – listen to the rhythm) |
Change the bits that sound wrong |
| Is this a good place to break the line? | Start a new line Join the next line on |
| Should there be a pause here? | poetry pauses are:- commas, full stops, question/exclamation marks, spaces in mid- line, speech marks, ends of lines, ends of verses. |
| Is it spelt right? | Correct it |
| Is it set out on the page how I want it? Does it look right? It matters! |
Poems could use:– indented alternate lines; capital letters at beginning of lines or none at all; picture shapes; fancy lettering/fonts; italics/bold/brackets illustrations. |
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