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Four Strategies for Effective Writing Instruction
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(This is the first post in a two-part series.)
The new question-of-the-week is:
What is the single most effective instructional strategy you have used to teach writing?
Teaching and learning good writing can be a challenge to educators and students alike.
The topic is no stranger to this column—you can see many previous related posts at Writing Instruction .
But I don’t think any of us can get too much good instructional advice in this area.
Today, Jenny Vo, Michele Morgan, and Joy Hamm share wisdom gained from their teaching experience.
Before I turn over the column to them, though, I’d like to share my favorite tool(s).
Graphic organizers, including writing frames (which are basically more expansive sentence starters) and writing structures (which function more as guides and less as “fill-in-the-blanks”) are critical elements of my writing instruction.
You can see an example of how I incorporate them in my seven-week story-writing unit and in the adaptations I made in it for concurrent teaching.
You might also be interested in The Best Scaffolded Writing Frames For Students .
Now, to today’s guests:
‘Shared Writing’
Jenny Vo earned her B.A. in English from Rice University and her M.Ed. in educational leadership from Lamar University. She has worked with English-learners during all of her 24 years in education and is currently an ESL ISST in Katy ISD in Katy, Texas. Jenny is the president-elect of TexTESOL IV and works to advocate for all ELs:
The single most effective instructional strategy that I have used to teach writing is shared writing. Shared writing is when the teacher and students write collaboratively. In shared writing, the teacher is the primary holder of the pen, even though the process is a collaborative one. The teacher serves as the scribe, while also questioning and prompting the students.
The students engage in discussions with the teacher and their peers on what should be included in the text. Shared writing can be done with the whole class or as a small-group activity.
There are two reasons why I love using shared writing. One, it is a great opportunity for the teacher to model the structures and functions of different types of writing while also weaving in lessons on spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
It is a perfect activity to do at the beginning of the unit for a new genre. Use shared writing to introduce the students to the purpose of the genre. Model the writing process from beginning to end, taking the students from idea generation to planning to drafting to revising to publishing. As you are writing, make sure you refrain from making errors, as you want your finished product to serve as a high-quality model for the students to refer back to as they write independently.
Another reason why I love using shared writing is that it connects the writing process with oral language. As the students co-construct the writing piece with the teacher, they are orally expressing their ideas and listening to the ideas of their classmates. It gives them the opportunity to practice rehearsing what they are going to say before it is written down on paper. Shared writing gives the teacher many opportunities to encourage their quieter or more reluctant students to engage in the discussion with the types of questions the teacher asks.
Writing well is a skill that is developed over time with much practice. Shared writing allows students to engage in the writing process while observing the construction of a high-quality sample. It is a very effective instructional strategy used to teach writing.
‘Four Square’
Michele Morgan has been writing IEPs and behavior plans to help students be more successful for 17 years. She is a national-board-certified teacher, Utah Teacher Fellow with Hope Street Group, and a special education elementary new-teacher specialist with the Granite school district. Follow her @MicheleTMorgan1:
For many students, writing is the most dreaded part of the school day. Writing involves many complex processes that students have to engage in before they produce a product—they must determine what they will write about, they must organize their thoughts into a logical sequence, and they must do the actual writing, whether on a computer or by hand. Still they are not done—they must edit their writing and revise mistakes. With all of that, it’s no wonder that students struggle with writing assignments.
In my years working with elementary special education students, I have found that writing is the most difficult subject to teach. Not only do my students struggle with the writing process, but they often have the added difficulties of not knowing how to spell words and not understanding how to use punctuation correctly. That is why the single most effective strategy I use when teaching writing is the Four Square graphic organizer.
The Four Square instructional strategy was developed in 1999 by Judith S. Gould and Evan Jay Gould. When I first started teaching, a colleague allowed me to borrow the Goulds’ book about using the Four Square method, and I have used it ever since. The Four Square is a graphic organizer that students can make themselves when given a blank sheet of paper. They fold it into four squares and draw a box in the middle of the page. The genius of this instructional strategy is that it can be used by any student, in any grade level, for any writing assignment. These are some of the ways I have used this strategy successfully with my students:
* Writing sentences: Students can write the topic for the sentence in the middle box, and in each square, they can draw pictures of details they want to add to their writing.
* Writing paragraphs: Students write the topic sentence in the middle box. They write a sentence containing a supporting detail in three of the squares and they write a concluding sentence in the last square.
* Writing short essays: Students write what information goes in the topic paragraph in the middle box, then list details to include in supporting paragraphs in the squares.
When I gave students writing assignments, the first thing I had them do was create a Four Square. We did this so often that it became automatic. After filling in the Four Square, they wrote rough drafts by copying their work off of the graphic organizer and into the correct format, either on lined paper or in a Word document. This worked for all of my special education students!
I was able to modify tasks using the Four Square so that all of my students could participate, regardless of their disabilities. Even if they did not know what to write about, they knew how to start the assignment (which is often the hardest part of getting it done!) and they grew to be more confident in their writing abilities.
In addition, when it was time to take the high-stakes state writing tests at the end of the year, this was a strategy my students could use to help them do well on the tests. I was able to give them a sheet of blank paper, and they knew what to do with it. I have used many different curriculum materials and programs to teach writing in the last 16 years, but the Four Square is the one strategy that I have used with every writing assignment, no matter the grade level, because it is so effective.
‘Swift Structures’
Joy Hamm has taught 11 years in a variety of English-language settings, ranging from kindergarten to adult learners. The last few years working with middle and high school Newcomers and completing her M.Ed in TESOL have fostered stronger advocacy in her district and beyond:
A majority of secondary content assessments include open-ended essay questions. Many students falter (not just ELs) because they are unaware of how to quickly organize their thoughts into a cohesive argument. In fact, the WIDA CAN DO Descriptors list level 5 writing proficiency as “organizing details logically and cohesively.” Thus, the most effective cross-curricular secondary writing strategy I use with my intermediate LTELs (long-term English-learners) is what I call “Swift Structures.” This term simply means reading a prompt across any content area and quickly jotting down an outline to organize a strong response.
To implement Swift Structures, begin by displaying a prompt and modeling how to swiftly create a bubble map or outline beginning with a thesis/opinion, then connecting the three main topics, which are each supported by at least three details. Emphasize this is NOT the time for complete sentences, just bulleted words or phrases.
Once the outline is completed, show your ELs how easy it is to plug in transitions, expand the bullets into detailed sentences, and add a brief introduction and conclusion. After modeling and guided practice, set a 5-10 minute timer and have students practice independently. Swift Structures is one of my weekly bell ringers, so students build confidence and skill over time. It is best to start with easy prompts where students have preformed opinions and knowledge in order to focus their attention on the thesis-topics-supporting-details outline, not struggling with the rigor of a content prompt.
Here is one easy prompt example: “Should students be allowed to use their cellphones in class?”
Swift Structure outline:
Thesis - Students should be allowed to use cellphones because (1) higher engagement (2) learning tools/apps (3) gain 21st-century skills
Topic 1. Cellphones create higher engagement in students...
Details A. interactive (Flipgrid, Kahoot)
B. less tempted by distractions
C. teaches responsibility
Topic 2. Furthermore,...access to learning tools...
A. Google Translate description
B. language practice (Duolingo)
C. content tutorials (Kahn Academy)
Topic 3. In addition,...practice 21st-century skills…
Details A. prep for workforce
B. access to information
C. time-management support
This bare-bones outline is like the frame of a house. Get the structure right, and it’s easier to fill in the interior decorating (style, grammar), roof (introduction) and driveway (conclusion). Without the frame, the roof and walls will fall apart, and the reader is left confused by circuitous rubble.
Once LTELs have mastered creating simple Swift Structures in less than 10 minutes, it is time to introduce complex questions similar to prompts found on content assessments or essays. Students need to gain assurance that they can quickly and logically explain and justify their opinions on multiple content essays without freezing under pressure.
Thanks to Jenny, Michele, and Joy for their contributions!
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Their college life is impossible to imagine without paper work, and that is why it is very important for them to know how to write an essay, an assignment, a dissertation, a composition, etc. So, your task as a teacher is . How to do that? What aspects to pay attention to in order your students could become the best essay writers?
Here you are welcome to find some tips concerning the most important essay aspects to tell your students about. Step by step, you will make it much easier for them to understand the principles of essay writing and their importance for their future practice.
Remember, that an essay is not only about writing skills, but it demonstrates the ability of your students to research as well. So, you task is to teach them to research. That is why try to reject the chosen topics if they are too easy for a student, and you see that it will not take much time to write such a essay.
An essay is not an essay without any research. Explain your students, that it is always better for them to choose a topic they understand well and have an opportunity to make a research on. is important for every student to get, that is why do not forget practicing different research tactics with them: tell in details about the methods they can use to find all the information needed, how to use this info wisely, and what are the best ways to distinguish the important facts.
An essay can not be just a piece of writing about general things everybody knows and understands perfectly. So, teach your students that they should not be in a hurry to write their essays at once they've chosen the topic. Make them
When a student perfectly understands what he writes an essay for, it will be much easier for him to draw the outline and start writing.
For your students to understand what a good piece of writing actually is, just give them some examples of excellent essays. It may be an essay of your former student for example. When they see a sample, your students will have an idea what a good essay should look like.
Use samples to tell students about each element their essays should include. They will perfectly understand what the good introduction is, what an informative body of an essay should look like, and how to make an appropriate conclusion. Moreover, your students will also have an opportunity to see how sentences are built, and what grammar constructions are used in an essay.
Choose some topic and make a list of points your students would need to mention if they wrote an essay on it. Such a technique will give them a better understanding of what and essay is, and .
Make sure that all students perfectly understand the fact they should follow an essay outline, because it will be much easier for them to write this piece of paper. Make it clear to them that every point of the outline should start from a new paragraph. Moreover, the smaller these paragraphs are – the more attractive an essay will look for its readers. It is not very comfortable to read very long paragraphs, as it will be more difficult to get the point in such a way. Eventually, it will be easier for students themselves to compose shorter paragraphs of an essay.
And here comes its most important part that is called an introduction. As a rule, students find it very difficult to write this part of their essay, as they do not know how to start a piece of writing in order to attract readers' attention and tell them shortly about what this essay is about.
It is clear, that an essay will not be good without a proper and attractive beginning, so, your task is to explain this moment to your students. Tell them, that no one will continue reading their essays if they do not make it eye-catchy and clear for a potential reader. Moreover, an essay introduction should be intriguing a bit.
Depending on the topic of an essay, students can start it with a story from their personal experience. This is a good way to grab an attention. Discuss this option with your students, listen to their suggestions. Discussions will help them learn the material better.
Now it is high time for a conclusion, which is not less important than an introduction by the way. It is a real art to finish your in a way your reader would feel good and satisfied with everything he has read.
Tell your students how to conclude their essays appropriately. Explain, that it is not good to abrupt a piece of writing. And do not forget to mention, that a conclusion of their essay should contain a summary if all points they discussed in the body!
To summarize everything mentioned above, we can say that the importance of essay writing skills should not be underestimated. Such skills will help students express their thoughts clearly and write really good and even professional essays and other kinds of paper work during their further study at colleges or universities. Be sure, they will thank you for teaching such a necessary information to them.
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How to Teach Essay Writing
Don't just throw your homeschooled-student intoformal essay crafting. Focus on sentence structure and basic paragraph composition before movingto more complicated formal essay composition.
Are you a competent essay writer? Even if you know how to write an essay , chances are you are dreading the coming years of teaching homeschool writing just as much as your novice writer could be dreading learning how to write . Writing comes naturally for very few, but most view writing as an insurmountable abstract mountain. The Write Foundation writing curriculum is a divide and conquer method of teaching writing. Focusing on small portions of writing paragraphs and later five-paragraph college level essays, eventually you and your students will be able to use all the necessary writing skills to easily compose wonderfully crafted formal essays .
Start with a good foundation
That is, of course, what The Write Foundation teaches. Don’t just throw your homeschooled-child into the middle of essay crafting. Focus on sentence structure and basic paragraph composition before moving to more complicated formal essay composition . Learn to write essays one bite at a time. This helps students develop writing skills by using writing tools which helps them gain confidence and enables parents who are insecure about their own writing skills learn with their students.
Hold their hand as much as they need you hold their hand.
An abstract assignment with limited instructions can appear quite daunting to a reluctant, struggling, or new writer; tiny decisions can become writing blocks in a new writer’s mind.
Share the experience with your homeschooler. Discuss writing blocks and ways to overcome them. Discuss the planning process and experience how it helps flesh out an essay. Walk them through each lesson making sure they complete each step successfully before attempting to move on in the writing process. Working side by side with your student also helps you become a better instructor by solidifying the lesson for yourself. As students gain confidence with their new skills they will need your help less and less so they will shoo you away as they learn writing is much easier using the complete writing process.
Use concrete assignments
Creative writing is very subjective, and it is also very abstract for a new writer. You need a writing curriculum which focuses on concrete assignments and provides a variety of writing topics that fit the type of writing being taught in that assignment. Give your students a structure to work into a paragraph using their creative information. Leaving several factors to the unknown, such as type of writing, structure, and so on, leaves more decisions that the novice writer is not ready to determine. An abstract assignment with limited instructions can appear quite daunting to a reluctant, struggling, or just new writer; tiny decisions can become writing blocks in a new writer’s mind. Even experienced writers face writer’s block. Students need to be given tools and taught skills that overcome “But, what do I write about?”
Know your audience
Let your child select from a list of possible writing topics that may be interesting to them. Your child may enjoy the experience more if he is writing about his favorite pastime instead of writing about your favorite pastime. Choosing topics about things that directly influence your child, such as different views about their favorite sport, the influence of network TV or political topics that hit close to home may open the doors for lively discussion and insight into your child’s mind.
Writing is a necessary life skill. When teaching writing remember you are not alone. If you are worried about teaching formal writing to your homeschooler, use the support system of The Write Foundation for any questions you may have through the process, and know that you are not alone. Look into a homeschool writing co-op in your area to lighten the burden and give new perspective on your child’s essay writing development. Use The Write Foundation and use a proven writing system.
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Mastering the art of teaching essay writing – strategies, tips, and techniques for educators.
Instructors constantly strive to deliver exemplary teaching that not only provides students with the necessary knowledge but also equips them with skills essential for success in their academic and professional lives. One crucial skill that students need to develop is essay writing, as it is directly linked to effective communication and critical thinking.
Engaging Students in the Process: To encourage students’ active participation, instructors can adopt various strategies such as incorporating real-life examples or current events into essay prompts. By giving students a chance to express their opinions on topics that matter to them, instructors create a sense of relevance and foster deeper engagement.
Promoting Structure and Organization: One key aspect of effective essay writing is the ability to structure thoughts and ideas in a coherent manner. Instructors can guide students in outlining their essays, emphasizing the importance of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Establishing this foundation helps students convey their arguments systematically and persuasively.
Define the Purpose and Audience
In order to write an effective essay, it is important to first define the purpose and audience. The purpose of an essay is the main goal or objective that the writer wants to achieve with their writing, while the audience refers to the specific group of people for whom the essay is intended. Both the purpose and audience play a crucial role in shaping the content, tone, and style of the essay.
When defining the purpose of an essay, writers need to consider what they want to accomplish with their writing. Do they want to inform, persuade, entertain, or argue? The purpose will depend on the topic, the writer’s own intentions, and the desired outcome. For instance, a writer may want to inform their audience about a specific topic, or they may want to persuade readers to adopt a certain viewpoint. By clearly defining the purpose, writers can focus their efforts on achieving their desired outcome.
Equally important is identifying the target audience for the essay. The audience may vary depending on the type of essay and its intended purpose. Is the essay meant for a general audience, or is it targeted toward a specific group of people with a particular interest or knowledge? Understanding the audience allows the writer to tailor their language, examples, and arguments to better connect with and engage the intended readers. It also helps to determine the appropriate level of complexity and detail that should be included in the essay.
Once the purpose and audience have been defined, writers can then proceed with planning and crafting their essay. By having a clear understanding of the intended goal and the specific readers, writers can create content that is relevant, compelling, and impactful. So, before diving into the writing process, take the time to define the purpose and audience to lay a strong foundation for an effective essay.
Teach Proper Essay Structure
In order to effectively guide students in their essay writing, it is important to teach them the proper structure that essays should follow. By providing a clear and organized framework, students will be able to craft well-structured and coherent essays.
One key element of teaching proper essay structure is introducing students to the concept of an introduction. The introduction serves as the opening paragraph of an essay and should grab the reader’s attention while providing a brief overview of the topic. Encouraging students to begin their essay with a strong hook or an interesting fact can help captivate the reader from the start.
Another crucial aspect of essay structure is the body paragraphs. The body paragraphs should present the main ideas and arguments of the essay in a logical and coherent manner. Each paragraph should focus on a single idea or argument and be supported by evidence or examples. Teaching students how to effectively transition between paragraphs and connect their ideas can enhance the overall flow and cohesiveness of their essays.
Finally, it is important to teach students how to craft a strong conclusion for their essays. The conclusion should summarize the main points of the essay and provide a sense of closure. Encouraging students to end their essays with a thought-provoking statement or a call to action can leave a lasting impression on the reader.
By teaching proper essay structure, educators can equip students with the necessary tools to effectively communicate their ideas and arguments in a clear and organized manner. This not only improves their writing skills, but also enhances their ability to think critically and develop well-supported arguments.
Encourage Brainstorming and Outlining
One effective approach to improving essay writing is to encourage students to engage in brainstorming and outlining activities before they begin their first draft. By providing students with a structured framework for organizing their thoughts, they can better develop their ideas and create a coherent and well-structured essay.
When students brainstorm, they generate a variety of ideas related to the essay prompt or topic. This process allows them to explore different perspectives, consider different arguments or examples, and think critically about the subject matter. Brainstorming helps students to expand their thinking and gather a wide range of potential content to include in their essay.
Once students have generated their ideas through brainstorming, it is important to guide them through the outlining process. Outlining provides students with a roadmap for their essay, helping them to organize their thoughts and create a logical flow of ideas. By outlining, students can see the connections between their main points and how they support their thesis statement. This process helps to ensure that their essay is well-structured and cohesive.
Teachers can encourage students to brainstorm and outline by providing them with specific prompts or questions to consider. This can help to focus their thinking and guide them towards developing strong arguments and supporting evidence. Additionally, teachers can provide examples of effective outlines to model the process for students. By demonstrating the benefits of brainstorming and outlining, students are more likely to engage in these activities and ultimately produce higher quality essays.
Incorporating brainstorming and outlining as regular components of the essay writing process can significantly improve students’ writing skills. These activities encourage critical thinking, strengthen organizational skills, and promote thoroughness and clarity in writing. By teaching students to brainstorm and outline effectively, educators can empower them to communicate their ideas more clearly and convincingly in their essays.
Teach Effective Research Techniques
In order to enhance students’ ability to write high-quality essays, it is vital to teach them effective research techniques. By providing students with the skills and knowledge required to conduct thorough research, they will be better equipped to gather relevant and reliable information for their essays.
One key aspect of teaching effective research techniques is teaching students how to differentiate between credible and non-credible sources. It is important to emphasize the importance of using reputable sources such as scholarly articles, academic journals, and books. Students should be encouraged to critically evaluate the information they find and consider the author’s credentials, the publication’s credibility, and any potential biases.
Another crucial component of effective research is teaching students how to effectively use search engines and databases. Students should learn how to use search operators and filters to refine their search results, as well as how to use advanced search techniques to locate specific information within a source. By teaching students these skills, they will be able to efficiently navigate through the vast amount of information available online and find the most relevant sources for their essays.
Furthermore, students should be taught how to properly cite their sources and avoid plagiarism. It is important for students to understand the different citation styles, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago, and how to correctly format their references and in-text citations. By teaching students the importance of giving credit to the original authors and avoiding plagiarism, they will develop a strong sense of academic integrity and ethical writing practices.
Lastly, it is important to teach students how to effectively organize and manage their research materials. Students should learn how to create annotated bibliographies, take effective notes, and develop a systematic approach to organizing their research. By teaching students these skills, they will be able to easily access and reference their sources when writing their essays, resulting in more coherent and well-structured papers.
In conclusion, teaching effective research techniques is a vital component of essay writing instruction. By providing students with the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct thorough research, differentiate between credible and non-credible sources, effectively use search engines and databases, properly cite sources, and organize their research materials, students will be better equipped to write high-quality essays that are well-supported and well-evidenced.
Provide Feedback and Revision Strategies
Enhancing the quality of students’ essays involves an ongoing process of feedback and revision. This section explores effective strategies for providing feedback and guiding students through the revision process to improve their essay writing skills.
Constructive Feedback: Rather than focusing solely on mistakes or shortcomings, it is important to provide students with constructive feedback that highlights both their strengths and areas for improvement. This type of feedback encourages students to continue developing their writing abilities.
Specific Feedback: Instead of offering general comments, it is beneficial to provide specific feedback that addresses particular aspects of the essay. This could include suggestions for improving the organization, clarity of arguments, or use of evidence. Specific feedback helps students understand where they need to focus their revision efforts.
Guided Revision Process: To support students in their revision process, educators can provide step-by-step guidance on how to revise their essays effectively. This could include breaking down the revision process into smaller tasks, such as reviewing the thesis statement, strengthening topic sentences, or checking for grammatical errors.
Peer Feedback: Encouraging students to share their essays with their peers and provide feedback can be a valuable learning experience. Peer feedback allows students to benefit from multiple perspectives and receive input from their classmates. It also fosters collaboration and promotes a sense of community within the classroom.
Encouraging Self-Reflection: In addition to external feedback, it is essential to promote self-reflection in the revision process. By asking students to critically analyze their own writing, they can identify areas for improvement and develop a stronger sense of self-awareness as writers.
Revision Checklist: Providing students with a revision checklist can be a helpful tool to guide their revision process. This checklist could include prompts or questions related to the core components of essays, such as thesis statements, evidence, organization, and coherence.
Revision Workshops: Organizing revision workshops can create a supportive and collaborative environment for students to work on their essays. These workshops can include activities such as peer review, group discussions, or one-on-one conferences with the instructor to offer personalized feedback.
By implementing these feedback and revision strategies, educators can empower students to refine their essay writing skills and achieve greater levels of clarity, coherence, and persuasive effectiveness in their work.
Develop Strong Thesis Statements
Crafting a persuasive and coherent thesis statement is essential for any essay. The thesis statement serves as the foundation for the entire argument, setting the tone and direction of the piece. A strong thesis statement concisely conveys the main idea of the essay, while also indicating the writer’s stance on the topic.
Teach Clear and Concise Writing Style
One essential aspect of effective essay writing is teaching students how to develop a clear and concise writing style. This style involves using precise language and avoiding unnecessary words or phrases. By teaching students to write in a clear and concise manner, they can effectively communicate their ideas and arguments to their readers.
When students are able to write with clarity and conciseness, they are more likely to engage and hold their reader’s attention. Clear and concise writing allows the reader to understand the main points and arguments without getting lost in unnecessary details or confusing language. By teaching this writing style, students can craft essays that are easy to read and understand.
One way to teach clear and concise writing is by emphasizing the use of precise language. Encourage students to choose words that accurately convey their intended meaning and avoid using vague or general terms. By using specific and descriptive language, students can paint a clear picture for their readers and make their writing more engaging.
Another strategy is to teach students how to avoid unnecessary words or phrases. Help them understand that brevity can enhance their writing and make it more concise. Encourage them to eliminate redundant phrases, remove filler words, and trim unnecessary information. By doing so, their writing will become more focused and impactful.
In addition, it is important to teach students how to structure their sentences and paragraphs in a clear and concise manner. Emphasize the use of concise sentences that contain one main idea and are free of unnecessary details. Teach them to use transitions effectively to guide their readers smoothly from one idea to the next. Encourage them to organize their paragraphs logically, with each paragraph focusing on a specific point or argument.
Overall, by teaching students to write in a clear and concise style, you are equipping them with a valuable skill that can be applied not only in essay writing but also in various professional and academic settings. Clear and concise writing allows ideas to be communicated effectively and leaves a lasting impact on the reader.
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Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers
P LANNING, PARAGRAPHING AND POLISHING: FINE-TUNING THE PERFECT ESSAY
Essay writing is an essential skill for every student. Whether writing a particular academic essay (such as persuasive, narrative, descriptive, or expository) or a timed exam essay, the key to getting good at writing is to write. Creating opportunities for our students to engage in extended writing activities will go a long way to helping them improve their skills as scribes.
But, putting the hours in alone will not be enough to attain the highest levels in essay writing. Practice must be meaningful. Once students have a broad overview of how to structure the various types of essays, they are ready to narrow in on the minor details that will enable them to fine-tune their work as a lean vehicle of their thoughts and ideas.
In this article, we will drill down to some aspects that will assist students in taking their essay writing skills up a notch. Many ideas and activities can be integrated into broader lesson plans based on essay writing. Often, though, they will work effectively in isolation – just as athletes isolate physical movements to drill that are relevant to their sport. When these movements become second nature, they can be repeated naturally in the context of the game or in our case, the writing of the essay.
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Planning an essay
The Boys Scouts’ motto is famously ‘Be Prepared’. It’s a solid motto that can be applied to most aspects of life; essay writing is no different. Given the purpose of an essay is generally to present a logical and reasoned argument, investing time in organising arguments, ideas, and structure would seem to be time well spent.
Given that essays can take a wide range of forms and that we all have our own individual approaches to writing, it stands to reason that there will be no single best approach to the planning stage of essay writing. That said, there are several helpful hints and techniques we can share with our students to help them wrestle their ideas into a writable form. Let’s take a look at a few of the best of these:
BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN: UNDERSTAND YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.
Whether students are tackling an assignment that you have set for them in class or responding to an essay prompt in an exam situation, they should get into the habit of analyzing the nature of the task. To do this, they should unravel the question’s meaning or prompt. Students can practice this in class by responding to various essay titles, questions, and prompts, thereby gaining valuable experience breaking these down.
Have students work in groups to underline and dissect the keywords and phrases and discuss what exactly is being asked of them in the task. Are they being asked to discuss, describe, persuade, or explain? Understanding the exact nature of the task is crucial before going any further in the planning process, never mind the writing process .
BRAINSTORM AND MIND MAP WHAT YOU KNOW:
Once students have understood what the essay task asks them, they should consider what they know about the topic and, often, how they feel about it. When teaching essay writing, we so often emphasize that it is about expressing our opinions on things, but for our younger students what they think about something isn’t always obvious, even to themselves.
Brainstorming and mind-mapping what they know about a topic offers them an opportunity to uncover not just what they already know about a topic, but also gives them a chance to reveal to themselves what they think about the topic. This will help guide them in structuring their research and, later, the essay they will write . When writing an essay in an exam context, this may be the only ‘research’ the student can undertake before the writing, so practicing this will be even more important.
RESEARCH YOUR ESSAY
The previous step above should reveal to students the general direction their research will take. With the ubiquitousness of the internet, gone are the days of students relying on a single well-thumbed encyclopaedia from the school library as their sole authoritative source in their essay. If anything, the real problem for our students today is narrowing down their sources to a manageable number. Students should use the information from the previous step to help here. At this stage, it is important that they:
● Ensure the research material is directly relevant to the essay task
● Record in detail the sources of the information that they will use in their essay
● Engage with the material personally by asking questions and challenging their own biases
● Identify the key points that will be made in their essay
● Group ideas, counterarguments, and opinions together
● Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay.
Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a logical order.
WRITING YOUR ESSAY
There are a number of ways for students to organize their points in preparation for writing. They can use graphic organizers , post-it notes, or any number of available writing apps. The important thing for them to consider here is that their points should follow a logical progression. This progression of their argument will be expressed in the form of body paragraphs that will inform the structure of their finished essay.
The number of paragraphs contained in an essay will depend on a number of factors such as word limits, time limits, the complexity of the question etc. Regardless of the essay’s length, students should ensure their essay follows the Rule of Three in that every essay they write contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Generally speaking, essay paragraphs will focus on one main idea that is usually expressed in a topic sentence that is followed by a series of supporting sentences that bolster that main idea. The first and final sentences are of the most significance here with the first sentence of a paragraph making the point to the reader and the final sentence of the paragraph making the overall relevance to the essay’s argument crystal clear.
Though students will most likely be familiar with the broad generic structure of essays, it is worth investing time to ensure they have a clear conception of how each part of the essay works, that is, of the exact nature of the task it performs. Let’s review:
Common Essay Structure
Introduction: Provides the reader with context for the essay. It states the broad argument that the essay will make and informs the reader of the writer’s general perspective and approach to the question.
Body Paragraphs: These are the ‘meat’ of the essay and lay out the argument stated in the introduction point by point with supporting evidence.
Conclusion: Usually, the conclusion will restate the central argument while summarising the essay’s main supporting reasons before linking everything back to the original question.
ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS
● Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea
● Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence
● Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line
● Transition words and phrases such as alternatively , consequently , in contrast should be used to give flow and provide a bridge between paragraphs.
HOW TO EDIT AN ESSAY
Students shouldn’t expect their essays to emerge from the writing process perfectly formed. Except in exam situations and the like, thorough editing is an essential aspect in the writing process.
Often, students struggle with this aspect of the process the most. After spending hours of effort on planning, research, and writing the first draft, students can be reluctant to go back over the same terrain they have so recently travelled. It is important at this point to give them some helpful guidelines to help them to know what to look out for. The following tips will provide just such help:
One Piece at a Time: There is a lot to look out for in the editing process and often students overlook aspects as they try to juggle too many balls during the process. One effective strategy to combat this is for students to perform a number of rounds of editing with each focusing on a different aspect. For example, the first round could focus on content, the second round on looking out for word repetition (use a thesaurus to help here), with the third attending to spelling and grammar.
Sum It Up: When reviewing the paragraphs they have written, a good starting point is for students to read each paragraph and attempt to sum up its main point in a single line. If this is not possible, their readers will most likely have difficulty following their train of thought too and the paragraph needs to be overhauled.
Let It Breathe: When possible, encourage students to allow some time for their essay to ‘breathe’ before returning to it for editing purposes. This may require some skilful time management on the part of the student, for example, a student rush-writing the night before the deadline does not lend itself to effective editing. Fresh eyes are one of the sharpest tools in the writer’s toolbox.
Read It Aloud: This time-tested editing method is a great way for students to identify mistakes and typos in their work. We tend to read things more slowly when reading aloud giving us the time to spot errors. Also, when we read silently our minds can often fill in the gaps or gloss over the mistakes that will become apparent when we read out loud.
Phone a Friend: Peer editing is another great way to identify errors that our brains may miss when reading our own work. Encourage students to partner up for a little ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’.
Use Tech Tools: We need to ensure our students have the mental tools to edit their own work and for this they will need a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation. However, there are also a wealth of tech tools such as spellcheck and grammar checks that can offer a great once-over option to catch anything students may have missed in earlier editing rounds.
Putting the Jewels on Display: While some struggle to edit, others struggle to let go. There comes a point when it is time for students to release their work to the reader. They must learn to relinquish control after the creation is complete. This will be much easier to achieve if the student feels that they have done everything in their control to ensure their essay is representative of the best of their abilities and if they have followed the advice here, they should be confident they have done so.
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Last updated on July 29, 2023 by Not So Wimpy Teacher
The Best Way to Teach Students Paragraph Writing
I’m not a betting girl . . . but if I were, I’d bet that many of you start the year with a unit about paragraph writing. Am I right?
I thought so. It’s pretty common to begin your writing instruction with a unit on “how to write a paragraph.” Typical lessons include what a paragraph is, how to write topic sentences and conclusions, and how to construct the perfect five-sentence paragraph.
But after teaching for a couple of years, I stopped teaching paragraph writing at the beginning of the year. And after you read this post, maybe you will too.
By the way, I recorded a video talk about paragraph writing. You can watch it here !
Keep reading more below.
Paragraph Writing is Boring
When I was a new teacher, I too started my writing lessons with the paragraph unit. I thought that’s what you were supposed to do. But I quickly realized that my students were bored to tears.
At first, I thought, oh well, learning how to write paragraphs isn’t very much fun. But it’s a skill students need to learn, so they’ll just have to deal with it.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn’t okay. I didn’t want my kids to be bored. I didn’t want them to think that writing was dull. And I definitely didn’t want them to dread writing workshop.
I wanted writing workshop to be fun. I wanted it to be something my students looked forward to and got excited about. I wanted them to know that writing was going to be different in my classroom.
We all know that how you start the year sets the tone for your entire school year. I did not want to send the message that writing workshop was going to be a drag. But starting with the driest topic certainly wasn’t helping to convince my students that writing is fun.
Students Don’t Care About Paragraphs
The truth is students just don’t get excited about paragraphs. They don’t care about, or even really understand topic sentences. Transition words, hooks, reasons, and examples . . . none of those things really matter to most students. At least not right away.
I decided to flip my instruction around and start with something a little more exciting. A writing lesson the students found interesting. I thought that if I could get them invested in writing, then when I introduced the boring stuff, like paragraph writing, they would be more willing to work on it.
And I was right. Once I got kids hooked on writing, they wanted to be better writers. They were more willing to work on their paragraphs when those paragraphs became an important part of telling a story they cared about.
Paragraphs Aren’t One Size Fits All
Think about it for a minute…
What does a paragraph look like in this blog post? In a Charles Dickens novel? In your favorite psychological thriller, memoir, or chick lit?
The reality is that paragraphs are not all 5-7 sentences long. They come in many shapes and sizes. The length of a paragraph depends greatly on the type of writing. And many of the types of writing that we teach our students don’t have standard 5-sentence paragraphs.
Take personal narratives, for example. You teach your students to start a new paragraph every time the speaker changes. This means that most paragraphs are only one or two sentences long.
Why spend weeks teaching your students that a paragraph has five sentences only to immediately launch into the exceptions to that rule in the next unit? That’s super confusing for kids.
Teach Paragraph Writing in Context
I’ve got good news, though. You don’t need a separate unit for teaching paragraphs. Rather, you can teach paragraph writing within each specific genre of writing. That’s what I do.
I don’t launch each unit with a lesson on paragraph writing, either. First, I get the kids writing. I let them put their ideas on paper and start crafting their masterpiece. Then, a few weeks in, once they are invested in the writing, I introduce a lesson on paragraphs specific to the genre we’re working on. It’s just one of many mini lessons I teach about the genre.
Personal Narrative Paragraph Writing
When I teach personal narrative, I show kids how to start a new paragraph every time a new character speaks. I also model how to use quotation marks and punctuation.
Informational Essay Paragraph Writing
As we move on to other types of writing, I repeat my paragraph lesson specific to each new genre. When I teach informational writing, I explain how every subtopic in their outline becomes its own paragraph. I also teach them about topic sentences, details, and concluding sentences.
This is the typical paragraph many of us think of when we think of teaching paragraphs. It makes sense to teach it inside the informational writing unit because it is appropriate for that genre.
Opinion Paragraph Writing
In opinion writing, the paragraphs are similar to informational writing. There is a topic sentence and a conclusion and supporting details in between. But the important thing for students to understand is that each of the reasons that support their opinion becomes its own paragraph.
Fiction Paragraph Writing
Finally, when I get to fiction writing, the paragraphs become eclectic. Some paragraphs may be one sentence long when students are writing dialogue. Others may be long and chock full of details. When students describe the setting or a character’s thoughts, they may have long, descriptive paragraphs. This variation in length makes the writing more interesting.
I typically teach fiction writing last. So students have already learned about many different types of paragraphs, and they can combine them into one story that is interesting to read.
Perfect Paragraphs Are Not the Goal
At the end of the year, not all of your students will write perfect paragraphs. That’s okay.
They are children. They will continue to practice writing paragraphs year after year, all the way through high school and beyond.
I’ve played around with the paragraph formatting in this blog post a couple of times. And I’ve been writing paragraphs for a really long time.
What you are looking for is growth, not perfection. Do they indent? Are they switching paragraphs when ideas change? Are they using more than one paragraph in their writing?
Teaching writing is about so much more than using paragraphs correctly. You are looking for a story with strong details. You want to see a supported opinion. You want to see that students know how to reference texts and summarize information. All of those things are much more important than perfect paragraphs.
Want to learn how to plan an entire year of writing at one time? Check out this post .
FREE Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Paragraph Writing
If you want more information about how to teach paragraph writing, download my Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Paragraph Writing. You’ll love this surprisingly simple way to teach paragraph writing to kids in grades 2-5 . It will help your students fall in love with writing and learn how to write a variety of paragraphs. Check out this step-by-step lesson you can use with any genre.
Work With Me
Want to learn more about teaching writing? Awesome!
Writing is my jam. And I’ve created an online professional development course for teachers about how to make teaching writing easier, more effective, and a heck of a lot more fun. Check out my Not So Wimpy Writing Masterclass today.
I specifically developed this online professional development course for teachers in grades 2-5 to help simplify writing workshop and provide the tools and strategies you need to be a more confident writing teacher.
You’ll learn:
A process for teaching writing that makes it simple, effective, and even joyful to teach writing —for you and your students, too.
How to create manageable mini-lessons to teach—and have your students stay on task for independent writing time.
Where to find time every day for writing instruction—and weekly conference time for all of your students.
How to help ALL your students get the skills they need to become better writers— and perform well on standardized tests.
Most importantly, teaching writing will be easy, breezy, and beautiful—and your students will actually love to write!
The best part is this professional development takes place completely online. You can do it when you want, where you want, wearing what you want. And you get lifetime access to the course. So you can watch it on your time and go back and rewatch it whenever you want.
Registration for the Not So Wimpy Writing Masterclass is currently closed. Be sure to sign up for the Waitlist so you will be the first to know when we open it again. Sign up now so you don’t miss out!
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Reader Interactions
12 comments.
May 24, 2021 at 8:05 am
Is the Best Way to Teach Paragraph Writing a free item? If so please email it to me. Thanks.
May 24, 2021 at 7:39 pm
The Writing Pacing Guide is a free resource. To have it delivered to your inbox, please follow the link in the article. Thank you!
June 7, 2021 at 2:36 pm
I am an alumni of your terrific writing course but still have a question. Why aren’t the mentor texts indented? They’re just double spaced between. You even mentioned indenting above. I’ve wanted to know this since I started with your material but never asked. I have my students indent and add the double spacing between.
June 10, 2021 at 6:53 am
I’ve thought the same thing. I know you mention something about it, but can aome mentor texts show indentation so students see the difference?
June 11, 2021 at 1:26 am
Hi Susan, Thanks for your question. The age of digital media changed everything! Some style guides for grammar and formatting changed as well. According to the style guides, it is acceptable to indent or skip a line between paragraphs. It’s not recommended that students do both. It’s one or the other. I think it’s important that students see text in both ways and have conversations about the different formats.
February 23, 2023 at 11:31 pm
Hi! May I ask what style guides you follow?
February 28, 2023 at 12:13 am
Hi Dianne, Our informational writing bundle includes lessons on the importance of citations and the information needed to cite. As teachers have different expectations on which style to use when creating citations, we leave it up to the teacher which style guide to use. When writing essays in grades 2-5 it’s important for students to maintain the same voice throughout the paper. The revision lessons guide them with that skill.
November 10, 2021 at 6:42 am
I love the layout of all the info
November 10, 2021 at 6:44 am
Im lookingforward to getting more info from you. The literature on paragraph writing has been very useful to me
November 10, 2021 at 10:22 am
You’ll find the writing pacing guide to also be useful. To have it delivered to your inbox, follow the link in the article.
Wonderful website. Great resources
March 21, 2024 at 1:33 pm
Thank you. This looks wonderful!
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How To Teach Writing: What Educators Need To Know
Here, we’ll go over the basics of how to teach writing and how to light the imagination in a way that lends itself to stellar student writing.
As a teacher, you want to inspire your students and help them grasp the writing process. Writing assignments can be subjective, and it can be tough to teach students to harness their creativity in a way that allows their writing skills to shine.
As a language arts teacher, you know there’s no right or wrong answer when completing a piece of writing, and you want your students to take risks and be bold–all while creating good writing with top-notch vocabulary and excellent sentence structure. Whether you’re an elementary school writing teacher, someone who works with children with learning disabilities, a high school English teacher, or a college professor working on teaching the process of writing to your students, you’re teaching your kids or young adults a skill that will serve them well throughout their academic careers and beyond.
Here, we’ll take a look at the steps required to develop an effective writing lesson, how to gauge whether your students are moving forward in becoming better writers, and digital tools that you can use to help your students grow their writing practice.
Before you begin:
How to teach writing to students, step 1. talk to your students, step 2. learn about your students’ writing skills, step 3. boost class confidence, step 4. start small, step 5. pay attention to skill level, step 7. provide feedback.
1. Grammarly
2. Google Docs
3. Purdue OWL
4. Hemingway Editor
5. Vocabulary.com
Teaching writing skills to students can be tricky; before you begin, plan ahead by creating a lesson plan. You can use our how-to guide below to plan your next lesson for teaching writing and learn how to teach this tricky subject easily. Include each step in your lesson plan and the list of activities you will assign your students; make sure to cover each topic in a different lesson, so you don’t overwhelm your students.
Whether you’re working with elementary-age students or college-level young adults, many in your classroom likely have already had experiences shaping how they feel about the writing process. If your students have had negative experiences with writing in the past, it can be tough to get them to open up and be willing to try something new. Asking your students open-ended questions can help you to get a feel about where they are in their writing confidence. You may choose to ask questions out loud in a classroom setting, or you may choose to talk with your students one on one if time permits.
Some questions you may want to ask students to help you gauge how they feel about their writing skills include:
What do you know about the writing process? Tell me everything!
Last time you wrote a story, what was it about?
What’s the biggest challenge when it comes to writing?
If you’re going to write a story, how would you get started?
By asking these questions, you won’t just know more about your students’ confidence–you’ll also get an idea of what they’ve already been taught about the writing process and whether there are any gaps you’ll need to fill in as you teach them to become writers.
You may also want to let students know that they can come to talk to you with any questions or concerns they have about writing. Sometimes, students with learning disabilities or other issues that affect their writing ability may feel uncomfortable discussing these issues in front of their classmates. If necessary, you may want to work with a special education teacher who can address any unique learning needs in your classroom.
After you talk to your students about the writing process, you may want to provide them with a short writing assignment to help you get a better idea of where they’re at with writing. It’s up to you to decide how much guidance you’d like to give them. Some sample assignment ideas to help you get a good idea of where your students are at when it comes to writing include:
Write a one-page story about something interesting that happened to you over the summer.
Write about when you got into an argument with a family member and how the issue was resolved.
Imagine it’s ten years from now. Where are you? What are you doing? Who is around you? Provide as much detail as possible.
In addition to giving insight into your student’s writing ability, asking these questions can also show how comfortable your students are with the writing process. You’ll notice that some students excitedly get to work while others give short or vague answers.
Take note of how your students do with this initial assignment so that you can praise their progress as they move forward with your writing lessons. Of course, progress will differ for each student; for some, learning to write in complete sentences may be a big accomplishment. For others, mastering a five-paragraph essay may be the goal.
Step 6. Teach The Process
After you understand how your students feel about the writing process and where they’re at in their journey to become better writers, it’s time to begin teaching the writing process. The exact process that you’ll teach your students will largely depend on their age and skill level, and you may find that you need to adjust your process as you continually get a better idea of your student’s skill levels. The framework provided here is at an elementary to middle school level.
The first step in the writing process is developing topic ideas. Then, during the brainstorming process, encourage students to write down anything that comes to mind without censoring themselves—allowing students to keep their brainstorming processes to themselves (rather than requiring them to share out loud or hand in their paper) can help them think freely and write what’s on their mind without a barrier of self-judgment.
After your students complete their first brainstorm, encourage them to return to their lists and cross out any ideas that don’t seem like they could be a good fit. Narrowing down their ideas to three options can be a helpful first step in getting started. Following the initial brainstorming process, ask students to take a few moments to flesh out their three ideas. Often, students find that they can tie two of their brainstorming ideas together, making it easier for them to share more of what they’re passionate about.
During this second stage of the brainstorming process, ask students to add details to the topics they’re debating, helping them see which option has the best chance of developing a compelling story.
After your students complete the brainstorming process and decide on a topic, it’s time to move forward with developing the first draft. Again, it would be best to let your students know that their first draft is a draft. There’s no need for the first draft of their story to be perfect.
Before actually beginning the draft writing process, you may decide to encourage your students to create an outline to guide their writing. For example, they may choose to list all of the points they’d like to make if they’re writing a persuasive piece or may want to list the events they want to describe if they’re writing a personal narrative. For students who have anxiety around writing, it can be especially helpful to get some of their ideas onto paper to act as a guide before they begin writing their first draft.
For many students, writing as freely as possible–including spelling and grammar mistakes–helps them develop the framework necessary to move forward with their writing piece. Remind students that they’ll be able to come back to their work later to clean it up and that there’s no need to get everything right on the first try.
After completing the first draft, give your students some time away from their writing before they begin to revise. Taking a few hours or a few days can give students the time to process what they’ve written and look at their work in a new light. For many students, a two- or three-stage revision process can be helpful.
During the first revision, students read the work themselves. Your students may find it helpful to read all or parts of their work out loud while working through their revision. Hearing their words out loud can help them find sections of text that are awkward or incorrectly phrased and can help them find areas that could be condensed or need to be better explained.
Following the first revision of their work, peer revision can be helpful. During the peer revision, students trade their writing with one another to get constructive criticism on their work. Be warned: this part of the writing process can be difficult for some students, especially if they’re not confident in their writing skills or have chosen to write about a personal topic. Before beginning the peer revision process, set ground rules with your class on how to give the author feedback that’s helpful and drives the writing process forward.
After completing the revision process, it’s time for your students to begin the editing process, where they’ll take the feedback they received during revisions and put it to good use. Editing can take time, and it’s smart to give your students leeway to move back and forth between the revision and editing processes. It’s key to let students know that the writing process isn’t always linear, and sometimes it’s essential to take a step back and reconsider how they’re developing their work.
As an educator, you may want to review your student’s work with them during the editing process before they move on to the publishing phase. Depending on the amount of correction needed and the types of writing your students are working on, you may want to ask them to go back and create a new draft before they enter the final phase of the process. While there’s no need to re-do the pre-writing activities associated with the beginning of the writing process, exploring the draft, revision, and editing phases can make for a smoother final copy.
The publishing process will look different from classroom to classroom, and it’s up to you and your students to decide how they’d like to publish their writing. Some educators put student work into a binder of stories to distribute at the end of the year. Sometimes, simply printing a final edit of their work for them to take home to their parents can be enough to help them feel like a writer. Talk to your students about how they’d like their work to be shared. Creating a classroom website or blog can also be fun for students to share their work with others.
As a teacher, providing feedback to young children and adults on their writing can be tough, especially when you know it’s something they’ve been working to improve. However, providing direct, kind, constructive feedback can go a long way in helping students to become better writers.
When possible, try complimenting students’ writing skills while providing constructive feedback. This helps students see many positive points in their work and can help them feel motivated to continue working on their writing in the future. You may also want to create a system in your classroom that allows students to provide anonymous feedback to one another. This can allow students to read the work of others without bias and can help students feel less nervous about their peers reading their work.
Digital Tools for Teaching Writing
Technology makes it easier than ever to teach writing, as long as you know how to use the tools you have at your disposal. Here, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most effective tools you can use to help your students boost their writing skills inside and outside the classroom.
1. Grammarly
We know–correcting the tiny grammatical mistakes that your students make day in and day out can take a toll on you as an educator. Grammarly makes it simple for students to correct spelling and grammar mistakes and explains why certain words, phrases, and structures should be changed.
The free version of Grammarly works perfectly and provides your students with everything they need to grow as writers. In addition, when your students use a Grammarly account, their work is cloud-based and can be accessed from both school and home, making it simple for them to keep working on their writing no matter where they are.
2. Google Docs
Like Grammarly, Google Docs makes it simple for students to keep working on their writing at school and at home. Google Docs allows multiple people to edit a document, allowing you and your students to work together to create a top-notch piece of writing. With Google Docs, you’ll also be able to make comments to your students about their writing, ask questions, and create a dialouge that allows you to understand their goals
3. Purdue OWL
Older students will benefit from using the Purdue Online Writing Lab, or OWL, to give them the information they need to make their writing meet currently acceptable journalistic and academic standards. In addition to providing basic information on grammar, the Purdue OWL also offers citation instructions for both APA and MLA formats and can help students figure out how to create technically correct writing. Students must check against the OWL regularly, as APA and MLA requirements change from time to time.
4. Hemingway Editor
Hemingway’s short, concise sentences and to-the-point descriptions made his writing clear and bold. Readers love Hemingway because he broke down cumbersome topics in a way that made them accessible, and many readers today strive to emulate the timeless author’s style of writing.
Another tool best suited for high school and college students, the Hemingway Editor, helps students find grammar errors and uses of passive voice, which many agree are best avoided in academic and professional writing. A word of caution: Hemingway Editor does not save work, so it’s key that students copy and paste their edited material into a Google Doc or other platform where their work will be saved.
5. Vocabulary.com
Professional authors and students alike find themselves struggling with using the same words over and over again. Using a site like Vocabulary.com helps writers learn new words in ways that stick, making it easy to spice up writing without getting repetitive. The site is also helpful for looking up the meaning of a single word but has capabilities that go far beyond offering standard dictionary definitions. Cool bonus: the site is free!
Looking for more? Check out our guide on how to teach paraphrasing to students !
Professional development
Planning lessons and courses
Planning a writing lesson
Writing, unlike speaking, is not an ability we acquire naturally, even in our first language - it has to be taught. Unless L2 learners are explicitly taught how to write in the new language, their writing skills are likely to get left behind as their speaking progresses.
But teaching writing is not just about grammar, spelling, or the mechanics of the Roman alphabet. Learners also need to be aware of and use the conventions of the genre in the new language.
What is genre?
Generating ideas
Focusing ideas
Focus on a model text
Organising ideas
Peer evaluation
A genre can be anything from a menu to a wedding invitation, from a newspaper article to an estate agent's description of a house. Pieces of writing of the same genre share some features, in terms of layout, level of formality, and language. These features are more fixed in formal genre, for example letters of complaint and essays, than in more 'creative' writing, such as poems or descriptions. The more formal genre often feature in exams, and may also be relevant to learners' present or future 'real-world' needs, such as university study or business. However, genre vary considerably between cultures, and even adult learners familiar with a range of genre in their L1 need to learn to use the conventions of those genre in English.
Stages of a writing lesson
I don't necessarily include all these stages in every writing lesson, and the emphasis given to each stage may differ according to the genre of the writing and / or the time available. Learners work in pairs or groups as much as possible, to share ideas and knowledge, and because this provides a good opportunity for practising the speaking, listening and reading skills.
This is often the first stage of a process approach to writing. Even when producing a piece of writing of a highly conventional genre, such as a letter of complaint, using learners' own ideas can make the writing more memorable and meaningful.
Before writing a letter of complaint, learners think about a situation when they have complained about faulty goods or bad service (or have felt like complaining), and tell a partner.
As the first stage of preparing to write an essay, I give learners the essay title and pieces of scrap paper. They have 3 minutes to work alone, writing one idea on each piece of paper, before comparing in groups. Each group can then present their 3 best ideas to the class. It doesn't matter if the ideas aren't used in the final piece of writing, the important thing is to break through the barrier of ' I can't think of anything to write.'
This is another stage taken from a process approach, and it involves thinking about which of the many ideas generated are the most important or relevant, and perhaps taking a particular point of view.
As part of the essay-writing process, students in groups put the ideas generated in the previous stage onto a 'mind map'. The teacher then draws a mind-map on the board, using ideas from the different groups. At this stage he / she can also feed in some useful collocations - this gives the learners the tools to better express their own ideas.
I tell my students to write individually for about 10 minutes, without stopping and without worrying about grammar or punctuation. If they don't know a particular word, they write it in their L1. This often helps learners to further develop some of the ideas used during the 'Generating ideas' stage. Learners then compare together what they have written, and use a dictionary, the teacher or each other to find in English any words or phrases they wrote in their L1.
Once the students have generated their own ideas, and thought about which are the most important or relevant, I try to give them the tools to express those ideas in the most appropriate way. The examination of model texts is often prominent in product or genre approaches to writing, and will help raise learners' awareness of the conventions of typical texts of different genres in English.
I give learners in groups several examples of a genre, and they use a genre analysis form to identify the features and language they have in common. This raises their awareness of the features of the genre and gives them some language 'chunks' they can use in their own writing. Genre analysis form 54k
reason for writing
how I found out about the job
relevant experience, skills and abilities
closing paragraph asking for an interview
Learners are given an essay with the topic sentences taken out, and put them back in the right place. This raises their awareness of the organisation of the essay and the importance of topic sentences.
Once learners have seen how the ideas are organised in typical examples of the genre, they can go about organising their own ideas in a similar way.
Students in groups draft a plan of their work, including how many paragraphs and the main points of each paragraph. These can then be pinned up around the room for comment and comparison.
When preparing to write an essay, students group some of the ideas produced earlier into main and supporting statements.
In a pure process approach, the writer goes through several drafts before producing a final version. In practical terms, and as part of a general English course, this is not always possible. Nevertheless, it may be helpful to let students know beforehand if you are going to ask them to write a second draft. Those with access to a word processor can then use it, to facilitate the redrafting process. The writing itself can be done alone, at home or in class, or collaboratively in pairs or groups. Peer evaluation
Peer evaluation of writing helps learners to become aware of an audience other then the teacher. If students are to write a second draft, I ask other learners to comment on what they liked / didn't like about the piece of work, or what they found unclear, so that these comments can be incorporated into the second draft. The teacher can also respond at this stage by commenting on the content and the organisation of ideas, without yet giving a grade or correcting details of grammar and spelling.
When writing a final draft, students should be encouraged to check the details of grammar and spelling, which may have taken a back seat to ideas and organisation in the previous stages. Instead of correcting writing myself, I use codes to help students correct their own writing and learn from their mistakes. Error correction code 43k
By going through some or all of these stages, learners use their own ideas to produce a piece of writing that uses the conventions of a genre appropriately and in so doing, they are asked to think about the audience's expectations of a piece of writing of a particular genre, and the impact of their writing on the reader.
If you have any ideas that you feel have successfully helped your students to develop their writing why not add them as a comment below and share them.
Further reading
A process genre approach to teaching writing by Badger, Richards and White. ELT Journal Volume 54(2), pp. 153-160 Writing by T Hedge. Oxford University Press. Writing by C Tribble. Oxford University Press Process writing by R White and V Arndt. Longman
Very practical and easy-to-go advice for teaching writing
Thank you for this wonderful article. I was planning to improve my teaching skills for the writing class. And I found the techniques you shared are detailed, feasible, and engaging. I will apply the methods you share in my writing class.
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It's very informative and time saving.
thank you for sharing this…
thank you for sharing this article
Really innovative
It was very informative and…
It was very informative and helpful
Interesting article.
Useful information
This is a very nice and…
This is a very nice and informative article.
Thanks for this amazing article
Planning a Writing Lesson Plan
I believe this will make the lesson not only productive but also interesting. Thank you.
Thanks for a very interesting
Thanks for a very interesting and useful article.
Ideas first, then language
Thanks for sharing the plan~
I found in my class that it is always 'Ideas firt, then language follows', similar to L1 writing.
Dear Catherine,
I found your article very useful and I love the advice you give. When I ask my students to write an essay, I tend to correct their mistakes for them and after reading the article I realized that I should be doing it the way you suggested. I learned from my mistakes by finding them out and correcting them not having them corrected for me.
Thank you for a wonderful article.
I am grateful for you for this great article
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Provide as much detail as possible. In addition to giving insight into your student's writing ability, asking these questions can also show how comfortable your students are with the writing process. You'll notice that some students excitedly get to work while others give short or vague answers. Step 5.
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As part of the essay-writing process, students in groups put the ideas generated in the previous stage onto a 'mind map'. The teacher then draws a mind-map on the board, using ideas from the different groups. ... A process genre approach to teaching writing by Badger, Richards and White. ELT Journal Volume 54(2), pp. 153-160 Writing by T Hedge ...
COMMENTS
There's a lot going on at the beginning of the term, and we appreciate WR instructors carving out a little time to assign the Writing Program's common literacy narrative assignment, which is a key part of all students' cumulative portfolios.One goal of the assignment is to get students thinking flexibly about literacy and language from Day 1 of their WR experience.
It's most commonly used with reading comprehension short-answer essay questions, but it works for any situation where students need to provide a written response in paragraph form. ... How To Teach the RACE/RACES Writing Strategy. Most teachers begin introducing this method in the mid-elementary years, often around third grade. ...
A personal statement is a narrative essay that connects your background, experiences, and goals to the mission, requirements, and desired outcomes of the specific opportunity you are seeking. It is a critical component in the selection process, whether the essay is for a competitive internship, a graduate fellowship, or admittance to a graduate school program.
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5th and 6th Grade Essay Writing Contest Attention: Jeffrey O. Office of the State Treasurer 1700 West Washington Street, #102 Phoenix, AZ 85007. WHY: Because winning $529 towards a new or existing AZ529 Education Savings Plan is an incredible way to launch your 5th or 6th grader's future!
Elevate your students' writing with the How to Hook Your Reader PowerPoint Lesson. This 32-slide product provides a step-by-step guide to writing a variety of hooks (including anecdotes, quotations, statistics, etc.), Do's and Don'ts, Check for Understanding Quiz, and Your Turn Writing Practice. You and your students will love this!
Programs like mine have long wrestled with how to teach writing efficiently and effectively to so many people at once. The best answer so far is to keep class sizes to no more than 15 students .
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Once students have their introduction and body paragraphs complete, I then have them move on to writing the conclusion. At this step, I teach conclusion writing to my students and have them restate the thesis and add a general thought to the end of the paragraph. At this point, I emphasize that students should not be adding in any new information.
Teaching students how to write an essay is a big undertaking, but this is a crucial process for any high school or college student to learn. Start by assigning essays to read and then encourage students to choose an essay topic of their own. Spend class time helping students understand what makes a good essay.
The Harvard Writing Project publishes resource guides for faculty and teaching fellows that help them integrate writing into their courses more effectively — for example, by providing ideas about effective assignment design and strategies for responding to student writing.. A list of current HWP publications for faculty and teaching fellows is provided below.
'Four Square' Michele Morgan has been writing IEPs and behavior plans to help students be more successful for 17 years. She is a national-board-certified teacher, Utah Teacher Fellow with Hope ...
Polish Writing Mechanics: Writing an exceptional essay involves more than just ideas and creativity. Our guide will provide you with practical tips to refine grammar, spelling, and punctuation, ensuring that your students' written work is polished and professional. Structure with Purpose: Teach your students the art of organizing their ...
Outline. The last thing to do before starting to write an essay is to make its outline. Choose some topic and make a list of points your students would need to mention if they wrote an essay on it. Such a technique will give them a better understanding of what and essay is, and how it should be written. Make sure that all students perfectly ...
Discuss writing blocks and ways to overcome them. Discuss the planning process and experience how it helps flesh out an essay. Walk them through each lesson making sure they complete each step successfully before attempting to move on in the writing process. Working side by side with your student also helps you become a better instructor by ...
Promoting Structure and Organization: One key aspect of effective essay writing is the ability to structure thoughts and ideas in a coherent manner. Instructors can guide students in outlining their essays, emphasizing the importance of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Establishing this foundation helps students convey their ...
Teaching essay writing in high school can be tedious work for just about anyone. Don't be discouraged; find a thorough guide to help you through it here.
Students should be encouraged to learn words they frequently misspell, as well as words they wish to include in their writing. Teachers also should help students acquire the skills they need to generate and check plausible spellings for words. 3. Teach students to construct sentences for fluency , meaning and style.
ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS. Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea. Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence. Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line.
The reality is that paragraphs are not all 5-7 sentences long. They come in many shapes and sizes. The length of a paragraph depends greatly on the type of writing. And many of the types of writing that we teach our students don't have standard 5-sentence paragraphs. Take personal narratives, for example.
Provide as much detail as possible. In addition to giving insight into your student's writing ability, asking these questions can also show how comfortable your students are with the writing process. You'll notice that some students excitedly get to work while others give short or vague answers. Step 5.
As part of the essay-writing process, students in groups put the ideas generated in the previous stage onto a 'mind map'. The teacher then draws a mind-map on the board, using ideas from the different groups. ... A process genre approach to teaching writing by Badger, Richards and White. ELT Journal Volume 54(2), pp. 153-160 Writing by T Hedge ...