I need some good resources for teaching how to write essays for exams, please.

[HappyGrace]

We're at the beginning of the high school yrs and I want to teach dc how to write essays for exams. I have no idea how to teach this-any resources you can recommend?

 

I want to teach it first and then I guess it's just lots of practice?

 

Thanks.

[1Togo]

Bravewriter's Expository Essay class or Help for High School followed by the Timed Essay class

 

IEW Advanced Communications dvd

 

Although these resources teach timed writing for the ACT/SAT tests, they are good prep for any timed writing.  In addition, lit and history curriculum often have questions that can be used to practice this type of writing after the student has learned to deal with the timed component.  Charlotte Mason-type written narrations are a beginning point as well.

 

 

[BlsdMama]

Exams for classes or specifically for the ACT/SAT?

[HappyGrace]

Well, that's a good question! I'm a newbie. :blushing:  All I know is that eventually they will have to do timed essays on tests (I did know they needed it for SAT but I assume they will need it for other tests?)

[ThisIsTheDay]

I bought at least half a dozen writing programs during high school for my oldest.  I was most interested in essay writing instruction.  By far, the top two were Lucile Payne's The Lively Art of Writing and IEW's High School Essay Intensive, and those are the only essay instruction I will give to my second student.

 

LAoW is a small paperback that costs about $5 on amazon.  I'd heard about it here on the boards. It gives very explicit instruction on how to come up a thesis and what is involved in writing a basic essay.  If you buy one book, this is it!

 

I love Pudewa and we also used High School Essay Intensive.  It was much preferred over IEW's Elegant Essay, which at the time, did not have a teacher manual.

 

 

[BlsdMama]

I liked the High School Essay Intensive.  I think it was a great starting place.  Work through that first.  Then I bought PWN the SAT Essay.  (It was like $5 on Kindle.)  I like that as well.  And, finally, have them work through prompts.

 

So it looks like this:

 

1. IEW High School Essay Intensive to begin with hand-holding as you figure out WHAT IN THE WORLD THEY WANT. :D

2. Practice with prompts.  Do 1-2 a week for a month or so until your kiddo is consistently able to answer the prompt.  They are thinking up and stating a clear and concise thesis, coming up with two examples, using transitions, supporting their argument, and tying it up nicely.

3. Then read PWN the SAT.  I think that helps with weak points, IMO.

 

And frankly, there is nothing that will improve the natural use of a child's vocabulary and sentence structure like reading a wide variety of classical literature.  There is no amount of test prep that can atone for a child who doesn't read.  So, have that child read, read, read. ;)

 

[BlsdMama]

Well, that's a good question! I'm a newbie. :blushing:  All I know is that eventually they will have to do timed essays on tests (I did know they needed it for SAT but I assume they will need it for other tests?)

 

Oh, and not necessarily.  IMO, essay writing for the SAT is unique.  It's timed.  It doesn't allow for revision though the graders are supposed to take into account that there have been no revisions and to expect a modest amount of revision needs to be done. 

 

However some things will remain constant from SAT essays to plain jane esay writing such as sentence variety, the importance of structure and support, word useage, etc. 

[daijobu]

I bought at least half a dozen writing programs during high school for my oldest.  I was most interested in essay writing instruction.  By far, the top two were Lucile Payne's The Lively Art of Writing and IEW's High School Essay Intensive, and those are the only essay instruction I will give to my second student.

 

LAoW is a small paperback that costs about $5 on amazon.  I'd heard about it here on the boards. It gives very explicit instruction on how to come up a thesis and what is involved in writing a basic essay.  If you buy one book, this is it!

 

 

 

I was looking at LAoW on Amazon, and I notice there are 3 editions: 1969, 1975, and 1987.  I know it's a silly question, but do you recommend any particular copy, or should I purchase the most recent one?  

 

ETA:  Actually, now that I look morely closely, the 1987 edition seems to have versions with different subtitles:  "Understanding Forms" and "Developing Structure."  

 

I'm not the OP, but I'm in the same boat!  

[SandyKC]

Bravewriter's Expository Essay class or Help for High School followed the Timed Essay class

 

IEW Advanced Communications dvd

 

We used BraveWriter and the IEW Advanced.  IEW also has a "High School Essay Intensive" which is specifically for the ACT/SAT exams.

[Lori D.]

There were good ideas in this past thread: Preparing for eassay exams.

[swimmermom3]

I would be careful not to be looking at this process backwards. The primary goal is to teach your student to write thoughtful, articulate, and competent essays, is it not? Essays for standardized testing are not necessarily those things and each type of essay (SAT or AP) has its own quirks.

 

We used The Lively Art of Writing and I can't say enough good things about the book, especially since I have spent a fortune on writing programs over the years. Sometimes I think we make the process too complex. I would also recommend that your 8th and 9th grade student study a lot of well-written essays, particularly those of professional writers. I tried to pick essays that tied into other subjects that we were studying or ones that had a unique appeal. For example, while working his way through the Teaching Company's  Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything, my son decided that Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal was something he needed to read. That is a terrific essay to examine for argumentation skills, besides blowing a mental gasket or two on first reading it. :D

 

If you go to the College Central Board where the AP testing information is, you can see essays from previous year's tests in many different subjects. Timed essays are what they are. There have been very few essays that received anywhere from 7-9 that I would accept from my son in any circumstance other than a timed standardized essay. For example, the advice commonly given for the AP World History essays is to write out your thesis, and leave a bit of room to flesh out an introduction, which you would only do if you had adequately answered the prompt and had time left over at the end. The thesis statement earns you a point; a well-written introduction does not.

 

Does this make sense? Teach your child how to write solid essays on a wide range of topics, then worry about doing that under time constraints. Any testing that I do for ds's classes at home usually involves short essay prompts. I put a lot of emphasis on understanding and answering prompts, especially multi-part prompts.

[nansk]

I was looking at LAoW on Amazon, and I notice there are 3 editions: 1969, 1975, and 1987.  I know it's a silly question, but do you recommend any particular copy, or should I purchase the most recent one?  

 

ETA:  Actually, now that I look morely closely, the 1987 edition seems to have versions with different subtitles:  "Understanding Forms" and "Developing Structure."  

 

I'm not the OP, but I'm in the same boat!  

I've read all the possible threads about LAoW on this forum. All of them recommend this 1969 single-book version. I read that it is not necessary to get the 1987 3-volume set.

[Vida Winter]

My older daughter used Bravewriter's SAT/ACT Essay class specifically to study for the ACT essay. Later on she ended up taking a few more BW classes because she learned a lot and they were well run.

 

 

 

[ThisIsTheDay]

I was looking at LAoW on Amazon, and I notice there are 3 editions: 1969, 1975, and 1987.  I know it's a silly question, but do you recommend any particular copy, or should I purchase the most recent one?  

 

ETA:  Actually, now that I look morely closely, the 1987 edition seems to have versions with different subtitles:  "Understanding Forms" and "Developing Structure."  

 

I'm not the OP, but I'm in the same boat!  

 

I am not familiar with the different versions, but I bought the 1969 ed.  I was dubious about this book in the beginning, but I figured I didn't have much to lose since it was so cheap.  It was one of the best purchases I've made in 12 years of homeschooling!

[Nan in Mass]

We used Bravewriter, too, and mine wound up doing well on the writing portion of the SAT, despite wobbly spelling. : ) They enjoyed the classes and the social interaction they provided, also.

 

And I want to back up what Lisa/swimmermom3 said. Forget about cramming for college entrance exams until they are just around the corner. What you really want your student to learn is how to write a good essay, and how to answer an essay question on a non-timed exam for college. Reading lots and lots of high quality writing IS something that needs to be started early and consistently worked on. That will help immeasurably with writing. We began teaching essay writing by working on storytelling both because I thought this would be a useful skill for my children (I was much more right about this than I expected) and because I thought that if they were unable to retell a very short story, they were highly unlikely to be able to manage any sort of writing. Then we worked on orally summarizing Science News articles (same reasoning). And THEN we attacked writing with a huge variety of resources, most of which were picked to deal with a particular problem. Some of the most useful for writing essay exams were Powerful Paragraphs, which unlike many writing programs has GOOD examples, and the Schaffer materials (look on wikipaedia). My children had trouble organizing their essays and elaborating by giving details, and both of these resources helped them to learn to do that.

 

Nan

[Kareni]

I've owned two volumes of the three volume set of books by Lucile Vaughan Payne.  As I recall, they cover the same basic material but were written with schools in mind.  When my daughter was in eighth and ninth grades, we used the single volume book: The Lively Art of Writing.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[Crimson Wife]

LAoW is excellent for general academic writing, but I do think that admission test essay-writing is its own beast. DD will be taking the SAT in January for talent search and I've been having her work through Sadlier-Oxford "Grammar and Writing for Standardized Tests" http://schoolstore.sadlier.com/ProductsList.aspx?CategoryID=62

[daijobu]

 I've been having her work through Sadlier-Oxford "Grammar and Writing for Standardized Tests"

 

Thank you for this recommendation.  Should one buy the Teacher's Edition, Student Edition or both?  (And why are the test booklets so expensive?)

[swimmermom3]

LAoW is excellent for general academic writing, but I do think that admission test essay-writing is its own beast. DD will be taking the SAT in January for talent search and I've been having her work through Sadlier-Oxford "Grammar and Writing for Standardized Tests" http://schoolstore.sadlier.com/ProductsList.aspx?CategoryID=62

 

The problem that we are seeing locally is a misplaced emphasis on teaching writing that specifically addresses SAT and AP essays. Yes, those essays are their own beast, but not necessarily a beast you want to keep around for the long term. What I am seeing here is a focus on an end-result for tests that can short-change the student on actual writing skills. Ds (15) is currently taking an AP English Language class. There is little talk about the test itself, but a lot of hard work on honing actual writing skills. I care somewhat how ds does on the AP English Lang. test; I care a whole lot more that he is able to write competently, articulately, and with a certain level of polish.

 

Spend seven months of your school year focusing on solid writing skills and rhetorical analysis and two months on prepping for the test, not the other way around.

[Crimson Wife]

Thank you for this recommendation.  Should one buy the Teacher's Edition, Student Edition or both?  (And why are the test booklets so expensive?)

The TE is the student book with the answers filled in. One could in theory correct without it, but I personally found that difficult (the TE was back-ordered when I first got the student workbook). I haven't seen the tests but it looks from the website that they are only sold in packages of 10.

 

The first half of the book covers grammar/usage/mechanics and the second half covers admissions test writing.