Lucy in Australia Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I'd love to hear from some of you experienced parents about what has helped you teach good essay writing. I have a son in grade 7 who is doing fairly well across the board, but this would be his weakness. It seems to be such an important skill, and yet I've looked at some of the work our high school kids produce here (and they go to the better private schools) and it made me feel quite depressed. I guess I'm just suddenly suffering from an insecurity complex: if these kids can't learn to write a basic essay when they have the best teachers, how am I ever going to do it? :confused1: Give me your success stories, please !!!!!!!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I'm concerned about mine as well, so I will be checking for answers here too! Thanks for asking the question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathleen Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Is there some aspect of your son's essay writing that you think needs help? He's still young--as you discovered, many high school students don't have a good handle on it. For that matter, many college students don't, either! Just ask my son who works in the writing center at Baylor (he's an English grad student). In any case, you can do it. Some people, of course, take to writing more naturally than others, but I think anyone can learn to write a good, solid, organized essay. Some of the things that have helped me especially are a small book titled, Writing to the Point by William Kerrigan. I have the 4th edition, ISBN 015598313X. Another is The Lively Art of Writing by Lucile Vaughan Payne, ISBN 0451627121. Either (or both) of these books will teach how to write a good, solid essay. Beyond that, I love Classical Writing. It teaches students imitation and analysis of great (ancient) writing, and along the way relates this to the modern essay. It's a multi-year program, but your son is young enough to begin it with the "older beginners" books, and even finish the series (assuming it is done on schedule) before he graduates. These aren't the only options, but they are ones that have worked for me, or that I have used and liked. I'm sure you'll get many good responses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy in Australia Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 Thanks, Kathleen! This is just the kind of post I was looking for. I love hearing from parents who've "been there, done that". I'm definitely going to look up the books you mentioned, and it might be time for me to seriously consider CW. Several of my hs friends have a high opinion of it, here, too. BTW, I love your blog and your last few entries make me think you might be my long-lost twin. I so agree, especially with the "victim trend" thing. Keep blogging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Lucy, have you looked at the online courses at Write At Home? Ds is taking an essay course that is teaching him how to put together a persuasive essay. They are using The Lively Art of Writing. The basics are-- Figure out your thesis statement. List 3 pros and 2 cons. Make your introduction paragraph your thesis statement and the pros (go from broad to narrow) Do a very brief con paragraph. Make each of the next three paragraphs begin (or contain) the 3 pros as topic sentences, adding supportive details. Conclude with a recap of the 3 pros and the thesis statement (go from narrow to broad). Lively includes a lot of helps, great exercises, and it's quite brief and non-threatening. I can highly recommend it! Write at Home is a little pricey, but I've loved having someone else evaluate ds' writing. I wish we had started earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in AR Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Beyond that, I love Classical Writing. It teaches students imitation and analysis of great (ancient) writing, and along the way relates this to the modern essay. It's a multi-year program, but your son is young enough to begin it with the "older beginners" books, and even finish the series (assuming it is done on schedule) before he graduates. This gets my vote. Your son has plenty of time to go through the CW program. Here's their website: http://www.classicalwriting.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmittgirlz Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Here are some more suggestions: Put That in Writing II: Mastering the essay is a great resource that is written directly to the student and it includes clear explanations and clear assignments. The writing assignments are edited three weeks after being written which allows the student to go back and reflect and improve their writing. The website has samples: http://www.barrettsbookshelf.com The other suggestion is IEW, it is great! It helps students incorporate style and structure into their writing. There are SWI workshops and other resources designed specifically for the student, e.g., ancient history. IEW also offers The Elegant Essay and a new progymnasmata writing program. The website is http://www.instituteforexcellenceinwriting.com HTH! Clare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gail Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Write Shop. Write Shop has a Book I and Book II. I used Book I for my children in 7th grade which focuses on basic writing skills. It is Write Shop II that goes into the essay, which we covered in 8th grade. Each Write Shop manual gives detailed instructions to the student in a student manual. The Teacher's Manual gives planning and feedback directions for each lesson. What I like about this curriculum is that it provides step-by-step instructions on how to TEACH writing. I am a good writer but I struggled with passing that on to the kids. This program helped me to do that. Other programs I used only gave writing assignments but had very little in the way of instuction for improvement. There is a detailed grading criteria sheet for each assingment that can be followed so that feedback is immediate and clear. Subjective grading is eliminated and the student knows exactly what is needed to improve. This program can be adapted. You can use their writing assignments or "beef up" the assignments to make them harder, longer, or you may use different topics than those they suggest. The cost for both books and the TM is around $100.00 I think. However, I found mine second-hand online for $75.00. Even if you must purchase it new, it has high re-sale value on the used homeschool book websites. When my children are finished with this, I plan on selling mine there. This curriculum will only teach the basics of writing a good essay. After that, mastery is achieved by practice, practice. I continue to assign essays on a periodic basis and their work continues to look more and more polished. You can continue to use the grading checklists forever. Just make a few photocopies of them to use as originals before you sell the Write Shop manuals to someone else. Well, that is what has worked for us. If the suggestions others have made here don't work out for you, you might look into the Write Shop program. Good luck! Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyce Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 My son is a very reluctant writer. After hearing the discussion here about IEW we bought it at convention last year (SWI-C). He has been using it all year and is writing is much better. He now knows what needs to go in it and how it's structured. I like the way IEW teaches the student to make it more interesting by adding in a few basic grammar prinicples. We will be doing SWICC next year and that is supposed to help even more. IEW has really made a difference for my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 Hi Lucy, You may like to check out the thread I started yesterday http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26436 It has some good suggestions in it. If you want to look at CW, I have Homer and Aesop, I can bring them on Friday. email me peela at iinet.net.au Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 I just wanted to add my recommendation for The Lively Art of Writing. I have found several used copies at library book sales over the years for $1 or $2. I checked out the new edition at amazon and compared it to my old torn up copies and found that they haven't changed the text in years. This is a very straightforward, simple and INEXPENSIVE book. The examples may be a bit outdated, but the concept is excellent and the results are marvelous. HTH, Kathleen in VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 I just wanted to add my recommendation for The Lively Art of Writing. ... The examples may be a bit outdated ... Yes, my daughter loved (ahem) those examples of drag racing! Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy in Australia Posted May 12, 2008 Author Share Posted May 12, 2008 Thanks everyone. It's great to hear what's worked for different people. Peela, I've emailed you:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux Et Veritas Academy Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Lucy, I am so glad you posted this- I am anxious to read the comments, since this is an area that I am concerned about as well. I have been having them do a personal journal everyday and write a one page paper everyday, with longer reports on books and research. I had a reluctant writer before and now she (13) is feeling so much more comfortable with it. Next year, we will up it with mechanics and work on a rubric system more. I use write source which I love, I use their grammar books too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Would you share your requirements for the one-page paper? Also, how long does your child spend on it? Do you assign rewrites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildiris Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 In addition to the above responses, I think it important that the student understand that writing of any kind is more than just getting down the basic structure of the assignment be it a five paragraph essay, a literary response, a piece of researched writing or a piece of fiction. Any good writing requires the writer to rewrite many times to refine ideas, words and sentence structure. I've found the single most valuable thing to do with a student's writing is to read the piece aloud. If the words grind and the flow of thoughts diminish, the writing can be reworked to find its natural voice and pace. Understanding grammar plays into this process. Grammar allows the writer to know where and when to modify parts of speech, and it allows the grace of crafted sentences to convey meaning effortlessly. Wildiris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Bump, because I"m really hoping Classic Mom will answer :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbmoran Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 We have used WriteShop I & II and really had success with that program. I loved having the checklists and teacher resources that the program provides in order to help me in grading the essay. I feel so inept when it comes to grading my children's writing, and this program helped immensely. Next year, we will be using The Elegan Essay by IEW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langhaven Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I do recommend the Potters School, which offers and Advanced Composition (SAT prep) class which is unbelievable. Writing was my strength in college. If ever there was a college level class to take in high school, this would be the one! Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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