Comparison Anyone?

[1Togo]

Does anyone own "The Elegant Essay" and Essay Voyage? We are working on paragraph skills and basic essays this year using PBW and PT. I want to spend the first part of next year adding to dd's essay skills, and I would like to know the differences between TEE and EV. I own TEE and don't want to buy anything else unless another curriculum is a tremendous improvement.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

I own both of these. I think The Elegant Essay is a thorough introduction to the essay and you probably don't need Essay Voyage if you already have TEE.

 

EV does talk more directly to the logic stage student and addresses some issues that commonly arise with the young essay writer. The concept of the essay is clearly defined and explained. I really like the chapter on "Formal Language" and I often read it aloud to my Jr. High co-op class. Another feature I think is valuable is the sample essays contained in the text. I think it's important for students to read essays to understand what they are trying to write. For these reasons I keep my EV on my shelf, but you can easily discuss formal language with your student and find sample essays online. FWIW- I don't find many of the assignments in EV to be particularly inspiring.

 

With TEE, you have all the tools you need to teach the essay. You may need to search online to find samples, but that's fairly easy. Imparting the idea of academic tone and formal writing to the student may be difficult no matter what program you use; it's just a concept that needs to be practiced and honed.

 

HTH,

[1Togo]

Leanna,

 

Thank you so much for this. I think I will stay with my original plan of TEE and Windows for next year. That was the last piece of the 9th grade puzzle, so I've got my short list ready to go.