Focus

 Read over your paper. Try to state the focus in one complete sentence--aim for a focus that is more than just a statement of the topic.  You could begin with “This paper is trying to show—“  Exchange papers.  See if your partner comes up with the same or a similar focus statement.

What is this Story About?

 Write a family story in a paragraph or two.  It could be about the time your uncle or your brother did something.  It could be about how some one was born.  Try to tell the story briefly as if you were telling a friend about the story (10 minutes).
 After you have written it, try to come up with three things the story could be about--it could be about your uncle’s stinginess for example, or the way your aunt tolerates him or how he gets away with things.  It could also be about male and female roles, etc. On your own, try to come up with three themes that this story could explore.
 Read your story to a partner or to a group.  See how many more possibilities they can come up with.  Don’t worry if the themes are not true to the story. The point of the exercise is to generate lots of possibilities.

Discuss how you would write the story differently to highlight the different meanings.  What details would you emphasize, what would you ignore or play down.  What would you include?  What would you leave out? Discuss how you would write the story another way. 

Try the opening paragraphs of two very different ways of approaching the story. (15 minutes).

Share examples of these with a partner or with the whole class. Discuss the differences and how they were achieved.

This is what focus does to a story and how it affects your writing.  To find the focus, ask yourself what the story is about and what you want it to be about. You may not always know the focus when you start, but as part of the revision process, you should look for the focus and think about ways to bring it out.