High School Writing Skills

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I am looking for a general list of topics/skills needed for writing in High School. Something like, "In 9th they need to be able to write a friendly letter, compare and contrast, paper, persuasion, .... and be able to tell (fill in the blank) in a story/ novel." or even just a check list of all skills needed for writing in the 4 yrs of HS. I had a few of Kathyrn Stout's books for elementary and they were very useful. Anything out there for High School?

[royspeed]

What follows may be unorthodox, but it's my two cents on the skills needed for high school writing and beyond. (That is, all of the skills discussed below will support writing in college and in a profession.)

To write effectively, students must have:

• command of language — the ability to put thoughts into clear English, with rich vocabulary, correct sentence structure, correct usage, and correct punctuation;
• knowledge, perceptions, & insights — in other words, they must have something to say;
• convincing arguments — the ability to make a sound case, with clear points supported by solid evidence;
• logical flow — the ability to arrange chunks of material to unfold in a logical progression, along with the tools for carrying forward an idea or argument from paragraph to paragraph, even sentence to sentence, such that the writer sustains (and the reader never loses) the logical thread;
• a sound process — a command of all the critical stages in the writing process, like:
  — thinking tools, how to get your thoughts clear before you try to write a draft (sentences and paragraphs);
  — an understanding/awareness of the different kinds of openings;
  — tools for the editing/revision stage, e.g., eliminating clutter, enhancing readability, arranging sentence elements for proper emphasis;
  etc. 

Students who can do all of the above will be equipped to tackle ninety percent of the challenge with virtually any kind of non-fiction prose — essays, reports, articles, and so on. These skills are invaluable for other kinds of writing, too, like effective letters, emails, proposals — though each of those formats has its own twists and turns and wrinkles. 

(The challenges of writing fiction, poetry, etc., involve other matters altogether.)

As for the proper sequence for the mastery of all these skills, well, that's not an easy question. Writing skills don't develop and evolve in simple one-year increments. (The divisions of 9th, 10th, 11th grade are constructs of the school system; student brains are not so easily compartmentalized.)

Still, you may find these thoughts helpful:

• Command of language — Can begin in 9th grade, but then never really stops, i.e., continues right through the high school years and beyond. In my experience, a student may learn, say, the five most important comma situations in 8th or 9th grade, but then needs reinforcement for several years (e.g., through the grading/correction of essays, along with reminders of the key concepts, like parenthetical clauses & phrases). Similarly, a student may learn in 9th grade the concept of parallel construction as a general principle, but then to use it correctly in one's own writing — and use it to great effect — is another challenge altogether (though with encouragement, I've seen students do it in 10th grade, 11th, and beyond). Similarly, students must engage in an ongoing, conscientious effort to enrich their vocabularies (Do I mean reticent or reluctant? — Is this a misnomer or a misconception? — Do I mean discreet or discrete, etc.), and that effort must continue right through high school and into the college years.
• Knowledge, perceptions, & insights — 9th through 12th grade. Having something to say is the biggest part of the writing project. It is the end-product of your student's broader education, ensuring that your student's mind and heart have been enriched and cultivated through both study and real-world experience, with the student encouraged at every stage to reflect on what he or she has learned. (In my view, studying literature is a tremendous support in this endeavor.)
• Convincing arguments — By 9th or 10th grade, most students' minds have matured to the point where they can appreciate a logical argument, handle various types of evidence (like statistics and citations), and so on. Many students can tackle these things earlier; it all depends on the individual student.
• Logical flow — Should begin in 9th or 10th grade and then continue. The skills involved include: 1) mindmapping or outlining; 2) constructing paragraphs around topic sentences, and then sticking to the point; 3) use of transitional expressions to signal where each sentence is headed with the logical thread (amplifying or intensifying a point; restating or clarifying a point; contradicting a point; showing cause or showing consequence; providing an example or illustration, etc.) — plus a few others.
• A sound process — The objective here is to use a writing process that both 1) is efficient, and 2) results in effective writing. Put another way, it's about producing a good product and delivering it quickly, with minimal pain. Students should take their first steps with mindmapping/outlining in 9th or 10th grade, but then they should develop more skill with that stage in the later years. 

Sure hope this is helpful, Down_the_Rabbit_Hole. — Sorry for running so long!

[Lori D.]

Here's a thread "What types of writing?" from a few months ago on this same topic. Lots of great thoughts in there by various posters.

I'm copy-pasting part of my response in that thread -- a list of types of writing to consider covering during high school:

high school / college writing:
- note-taking from lectures
- science lab reports
- oral presentation with a power point /slideshow component
- research paper with citations
- reader response papers
- timed essay from prompt  (SAT/ACT tests; prep for essay exams in college)
- various types of essays (literary analysis, persuasive, argumentative, descriptive, narrative, process ("how to"), definition, compare/contrast, cause/effect...)
- personal essay (college/scholarship applications)

real life writing:
- resume and cover letter writing
- types of letters (letter of inquiry; letter of application; letter of information; letter of complaint; letter of thanks/recognition; letter of recommendation; letter to the editor)
- business writing (the memo; problem-solution report; summary report (specific type of narrative / description of events); an evaluation; committee report)
- process paper ("how to" or demonstration paper; the process or steps needed to do something)
- newsletter or blog article

Edited February 19, 2019 by Lori D.

[Junie]

Virginia publishes its public school SOLs (Standards of Learning).  Here are the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade English standards.

[Farrar]

I think it's a little hard to quantify. A 9th grader needs to be able to write a persuasive paper. But a 12th grader needs to be able to write a much better one and if they're college bound, probably much more quickly as well. A lot of high school writing is about honing and improving skills rather than trying new forms or checking off a particular list of skills.

Edited February 19, 2019 by Farrar

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Thank you all very much. Each of you has given me quite a lot. I would comment on each of the posts but I don't see a 'reply to post' button. I am going to take a few days and read over the responses and the links....abundance of quality info here.