mom@home Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I am considering Essentials in Writing (EIW) for my dd 9th grade and ds 10th grade. We have unsuccessfully played with several writing curricula in the past and are hoping this will be the ONE. I was planning to start both kiddos in Level 10, but after reading previous posts am wondering whether I should drop back a level or two. Any advice from EIW users would be greatly appreciated. I would also love to hear a comparison from anyone who has used this and Bravewriter. We have taken a Bravewriter class before and really liked it, but because the classes are so short for the amount of money they cost, I'm looking at other options. Thank you!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradomomof5 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Following. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Not much help here, but I did venture to try EIW after loving Brave Writer. I did choose to start my kids a little younger for EIW. My kids found it dry and I did not think they gained much from it. The big thing that was missing was the great feedback from the BW teachers. I know there are people who love EIW out there, but I didn't see the progress that I expected in their writing compared to the BW courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 We used EIW first, starting at a lower grade to get them started. A few levels was a great Intro to writing types. But, our greatest success was from the BW classes. Yes pricey, but worth it, I felt. EIW has a grading program now, that may give good feedback for your child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@home Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Thank you, Julie in KY and Hilltopmom. I completely agree about the feedback from the Bravewriter coaches. They drew words out of my children that I do not have the ability to do. I have considered trying the EIW grading program this fall, but we tried Write at Home last semester and was VERY disappointed with the instruction and feedback compared to the Bravewriter class my children took. They were given generic comments that did not help to improve their writing. Having two high schoolers next year causes a little pressure to make sure we don't let writing slip through the cracks any more. If anyone else has any experience, please chime in! I'm open to any and all suggestions! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 If you just did BW once or twice a year, you might not spend much more than you would spend on EIW or other program. I think I read that is a little intense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@home Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Janeway, did you mean that EIW was intense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradomomof5 Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Class 1 hour Video to watch each week Grammar assignment Writing assignment It's a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradomomof5 Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Class 1 hour Video to watch each week Grammar assignment Writing assignment It's a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@home Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Coloradomomof5 are you talking about Essentials in Writing? From their website it looks like the videos are less than 10 minutes each day and the average lesson is less than 40 minutes. It actually *seems* doable, but I wanted to hear others experiences. Maybe it is more intense than it appears. If anyone else has any experience with the high school levels of EIW, will you please chime in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 (edited) EIW not too intense. Last year My son & a friend came over once a week to work on it together. They worked for about 2 hours, watched usually all of the videos for that specific assignment & then started the project, finishing at home over the week. A few longer ones we stretched out over a few weeks. I wonder if Coloradomom meant "IEW", which I think is much more intense than "EIW". Edited July 14, 2016 by Hilltopmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 (edited) Janeway, did you mean that EIW was intense?No, Brave Writer is intense. But that is second hand info. My understanding is, if you do it twice in a year, even though that only equals 12 weeks, it really is equal to 6 weeks. Edited July 15, 2016 by Janeway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradomomof5 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 I looked into classes with IEW online. Looked like a bit much. We did classes with Home2teach. Loved the hands off that I had but it didn't give the kids a formula or plan of HOW to write. It told the WHAT to write. We are going to try Saxon grammar/writing with a coach this year to help with edits and keep the kids accountable. It gives a plan of what to write withought the confusion of the style that IEW adds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 IEW and EIW are two completely different programs by different companies. I think that's what's causing the confusion here:) IEW "is" intense, EIW is not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@home Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 IEW and EIW are two completely different programs by different companies. I think that's what's causing the confusion here:) IEW "is" intense, EIW is not. I agree. We used IEW and it was not a good fit. Essentials in Writing (EIW) is what I am considering. I ordered both the Level 9 and Level 10 and from just looking at them, there appears to be very little difference. When I spoke to the representative on the phone she said the difference came in the instruction in the videos. Does anyone have any experience in how the levels are different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 (edited) Hmm, I have 8 & 9. The topics are much the same, but the assignmens get longer or more in depth at each level, I thought. (Have not looked at them in awhile) Eta- Nope, I sold 9, so I can't go back & check for you. Edited July 16, 2016 by Hilltopmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@home Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 Hilltopmom, if my kiddos have not done a lot of writing would you recommend starting them a grade level below where they are? The representative strongly suggested starting them both AT their grade level, but since I have a 9th grade girl and a 10th grade boy, and they do the majority of the same curricula I had planned to start them both at level 10. However, I'm not opposed to starting them at grade 9 or even grade 8 if that would help them be more successful in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 We started lower, because he had practically no writing experience. We started level 8 in 9th grade. But starting at 9 would be fine. Level 8 starts at paragraphs before essays, I can't remember if 9 did too. I'd start both at 9, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I agree. We used IEW and it was not a good fit. Essentials in Writing (EIW) is what I am considering. I ordered both the Level 9 and Level 10 and from just looking at them, there appears to be very little difference. When I spoke to the representative on the phone she said the difference came in the instruction in the videos. Does anyone have any experience in how the levels are different? We've used levels 7-11 here (and will use 12 this coming year). They all follow a similar format: First a section working on sentences and clauses, then a section on paragraphs, then a section on essays and a research paper. They types of paragraphs and essays covered varies sometimes, and the sentence section can cover different topics (for example, level 8 had a great lesson on prepositional phrases and how they impact writing that turned on the lightbulb for my dd--we had done Easy Grammar which starts out by having you memorize prepositions, and then finding those phrases in sentences--but she didn't catch on to the why of using them until that EIW lesson.) There's a bit of a "jump" between level 8 and 9 if you have a reluctant writer (Level 8 has the student identifying clause issues in given sentences, Level 9 has the student looking for sentences in outside sources, for example). This didn't phase my youngest, but if it had been my oldest's first intro to the program, it might have been an issue. There's also a jump between levels 9-10 and levels 11-12, where 11-12 assume students have had lots of writing instruction over the years and don't need instructions to be as incremental. The first year my oldest did EiW, 7 was the highest level out, so he did that in 9th grade. The next year, the high school levels were out, and I debated whether jumping up to 10 was too much of a leap. I ended up bumping only to 9 after discussing with my son--we both agreed that having incremental instruction for a longer time was important for him. HTH some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@home Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 MerryAtHope, Since my children have had a lot of grammar, I don't think the sentence section will be a problem. With that said, do you think their is too much of a jump between level 9 and 10 to start them in level 10, or would you recommend starting both kids at Level 9? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 I found EIW half way through my daughter's 9th grade year. We also had tried multiple programs and we didn't find a good fit. So as a last ditch effort, I bought levels 8 and 9 used. After looking at them, I decided to have my daughter start at level 8 and she was able to finish it in a semester. She wrote without tears and crabbing and fussing. It was beautiful. I didn't think the assignments were worthy of 9th grade work, however, she was writing and for me that was amazing!!!! My plan is to have her try to finish both levels 9 and 10 next year so she will be on track for levels 11 and 12. I might change my tune as the year progresses...so we will see. I am glad I went down a level, even though the reps told me that we could start at level 9. I am glad I listened to my gut. (although the reps are wonderful at answering questions...I even had an opportunity to "chat" with Matthew (the teacher) over a question I had. The first writing assignment in level 9 was similar to an assignment she had in a previous program and struggled with , so I knew that wasn't the place to start. Good luck with what you decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 MerryAtHope, Since my children have had a lot of grammar, I don't think the sentence section will be a problem. With that said, do you think their is too much of a jump between level 9 and 10 to start them in level 10, or would you recommend starting both kids at Level 9? If they are not struggling writers, I don't think it really matters--overall the levels are very similar in construct each year. Things that might matter: If there's a chance you want your 9th grader to use EiW all through high school, she wouldn't have a level to use after 11th grade if she starts in 10. If either is a struggling writer, starting in 9 gives you an extra year with more incremental instruction (9 and 10 are slightly more incremental, while 11 and 12 assume the student doesn't need as much instruction). HTH some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@home Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 (9 and 10 are slightly more incremental, while 11 and 12 assume the student doesn't need as much instruction). Thanks, MerryAtHope. This is exactly the information I needed. While I wouldn't consider either child a struggling writer, since neither of them have had much writing instruction I think they both need the more incremental approach. If my 10th grader starts at Level 9 and only goes through Level 11 will he be missing much needed info. Should I plan to skip Level 11 with him? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I've never done 12, but my oldest only did up through level 10 for high school (we did speech his last year instead of writing). This will be my first year doing 12. However, it doesn't look that much different from 11. 11 and 12 add in a literary response essay. I wouldn't speed ahead just to get to that though. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrittiBop16 Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 On 7/18/2016 at 9:47 PM, kfeusse said: My plan is to have her try to finish both levels 9 and 10 next year so she will be on track for levels 11 and 12. Were you able to complete a single level in one semester? I was thinking of having my daughter take a creative writing class one semester and completing EIW 9 in the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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