Solid writing program?

[hsmomma]

I posted this on the special needs board and didnt get many bites so I am trying over here. Sorry if you are reading it twice.

I am looking for a solid writing program for my 17yo. It can be geared toward younger writers. I would like to increase his ability to be a functional writer. Short reports for college, work, letters, notes. I am wondering if anyone has come across a program that is not full of bells and whistles but stresses paragraph construction, and the various kinds of essays. We have done several things but he has a LD is in this area and it has been in one ear and out the other.

[Momling]

I used to teach ESL at community colleges and universities and used a writing series by Ann Hogue, the first of which is called "First Steps in Academic Writing"

 

Last year, I re-discovered the book and used it with my 10 yr old since I had it on my shelf. She liked it and so did I. I did skip a few exercises here and there that were not useful for a native speaker, but we did 95% of the book and I really saw improvement in paragraph organization and writing mechanics. It's aimed at young adults, so your teen won't find it childish or condescending in any way... and yet it is intended to lay out clearly how to construct sentences and paragraphs. The focus was academic writing, though there was a letter writing segment in the back.

 

The older edition can be ordered on amazon for super cheap. http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=0201834103 so you might consider giving it a try.