Writing with a Thesis by Skwire Anyone using this?

[Kendall]

I just read this book cover to cover and I am not trying to figure out how to use it with 10th and maybe 9th next year.  I have the 7th edition.  Now I am going to try to actually write one of each type of essay.  I've done a lot of reading about writing, but now I have a little time to try to write.  For years I've been avoiding the actual writing by doing more interesting things like Calculus and Physics.  But I don't have any of that to prepare for next year so I'm going to tackle writing.

 

I would love to hear opinions, ideas for using, experience, other sources for essays, anything you want to tell me!

 

Thanks,

Kendall 

 

 

[Brad S]

We used it at the beginning of 9th grade, and DS thought it was very useful -- and he's complained about many writing programs.  We used it loosely in the sense that DS read a chapter, and I had him write an essay of the type in the book (he didn't like my assignments as well as reading the book, but that was because it was more work and because of the dynamic or grading your own teenage kid's writing).  FYI, my DS is more of a whole-to-parts kind of person with respect to writing instruction, but I think the Skwire book could work for a variety of learning styles.  We thought the text was excellent.  I described a little more of what we planned and options we considered for 9th grade writing here.

Edited June 25, 2016 by Brad S

[Chrysalis Academy]

We used the book in 8th grade. It was fantastic, one of our favorite resources so far. We went through it together, each chapter over ~ 2 weeks/4 days a week.  Our basic process was the first day, we'd read & discuss the main content of the chapter, and the student sample essay.  Then for the rest of the week or two, we'd read and discuss one of the professional sample essays each day. We used the included discussion questions and/or ones I made up on the fly.  Concurrently, she was working on her own essay of that type, on the topic of her choice.  Usually the first week was spend coming up with a topic, brainstorming/freewriting, and creating a tight thesis & outline. The second week was spent drafting & revising.  This was a relaxed pace that worked well with other things we were doing.

 

What we particularly liked about the book was the way it breaks essay writing down at the same time that it shows you how all the pieces fit together.  Each chapter covers a particular type of essay, and the student essay sample was a nice example of that particular essay type.  But then the professional pieces incorporated other styles & types as well, so that you could see that in "real-world" writing, writers incorporate multiple "types" or pieces thereof, as needed, to fulfill their rhetorical purpose.  We also appreciated the focus on rhetorical purpose, the fact that all writing has a rhetorical purpose, all writing is, on some level, thesis-driven and persuasive, even if the thesis isn't stated directly.  This really helped dd see how "the essay" applied to the kind of writing she will do and the kind of writing she will read.  

 

This book is best used by a student who already has the basic mechanics of essay writing down - it doesn't explicitly teach you how to write an intro, a conclusion, body paragraphs, transitions, etc.  It doesn't focus on the writing process, it focuses on the thinking that goes into good writing, and the various techniques and styles you can use to achieve your purpose.  It's a college level book, but it's so clearly written and approachable that it's usable by younger students.  It does assume the student already knows how to write a basic essay, though. So it's a nice followup to a more basic curriculum that covers those mechanics.  

 

ETA: It has 10 chapters, we covered it over ~20 weeks.  You could easily cover it in a semester.  

Edited June 25, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Kendall]

Thank you both for sharing your experience with it.  We will try it this year.