Middle School Essay Writing
Four steps to a successful essay.
The most daunting part of essay writing for most middle schoolers is knowing how to get started. In middle school, most essays are centered around narrative or opinion writing, so organization is the key component to creating a solid groundwork for the prompt. The following steps will help the student organize his or her thoughts and ideas, and ensure an excellent outline. This, in turn, will lead to an excellent essay.
Step 1: Summarize your main point of your essay in one sentence. In high school, this step would be called a thesis statement , but many middle schools do not use this phrasing when teaching their students about essay structure. This sentence should not be overly complicated, but instead should succinctly state the student’s overarching idea. For example, the main point of a student’s opinion essay about his or her favorite animal could be: “kangaroos are my favorite animal because they are marsupials, they hop around quickly on two legs, and they are herbivores.” This sentence states what the student will be arguing and supplies supporting evidence.
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A Quick Guide to Teaching Any Middle School Academic Essay
Using the six traits of writing as common language for teaching any academic essay.
Whenever I met with my middle school English department, sat down with a colleague to collaborate, or simply talked to other others that teach any type of writing, the question would always come up: “So, how do you teach the essay anyway?” The academic essay is often largely subjective in terms of skill sequence and design involved in a unit plan. As I get the opportunity to work with more and more teachers, I find that this type of assignment is largely assigned based on the teacher’s own personal learning experiences, the teacher’s experiences with their mentor teacher, or a commonly known set of skills that everyone thinks is accurate. I am not saying that my way to teach any academic essay is better than anyone else’s method of teaching the essay. This post serves as a starting point for a larger discussion about how the genre of academic essays is implemented throughout the various grade levels. The goal should always be consistent. For the sake of this post, I am going to use the Six Traits of Writing as a common language to talk about how writing is taught in a classroom. I like the six traits of writing because all of the terms used can apply to many different types of writing. Throughout this post, you will find examples and tips on how to approach each part of the academic essay.
What do I mean by academic essay?
An academic essay boils down to an essay that is assigned with a specific prompt and has a particular structure. There is a common expectation for how the assignment will be graded whether that involves teacher feedback, rubrics, or other evaluation tools. This could include many different types of writing including, but not limited to:
Narrative (Personal, descriptive, viewpoint, historical, linear, non-linear)
Expository (Informational, cause & effect, problem & solution, compare & contrast, definition, classification, process)
Argumentative (Persuasive, research, analysis, personal)
Literary Analysis (8th-grade and higher) Note: Literary Analysis is not included in this post.
The expectation is that everyone completes a similar assignment under a number of specified guidelines and a certain set of skills are included in the objectives of the assignment.
Why the Six Traits of Writing?
Use your writing voices.
VOICES is an acronym to remember each part of the Six Traits of Writing. The Six Traits of Writing is a writing framework made largely popular with the books created by Ruth Culham. Often, they are also called Six +1 Traits of Writing when you add the element of Presentation into the equation. Again, this framework applies to all types of writing, so as we move throughout the blog post, you will see how I apply the ideas of the Six Traits of Writing to the academic essay. I also use this framework to help guide my feedback. This is a bonus if you are a newer or pre-service teacher and you are asked, “How are you going to grade this assignment?” Some of these feedback points can be great places to start when it comes to assessing student work.
While it is called VOICES as a way to help you remember what the Six Traits of Writing are called, the order they should be taught is the following:
Organization
Word Choice
Sentence Fluency
Conventions
In middle school, the majority of the time spent on teaching material is on ideas and organization; however, I find many teachers get caught up with teaching and assessing conventions and word choice. While they are important, it is more important to make sure that the awesome ideas that kids have in their minds are getting down on the page. There are some classes that never move on from ideas and organization. As long as you are meeting students where they are, you are able to help move them forward.
The goal is to balance all of the Six Traits of Writing in any given writing piece.
The Six Traits of Writing Explanation and Examples
Voice -the tone and presentation of the piece.
Voice will be determined by the genre of writing. When we start the year with narrative writing, students are introduced to points of view and the first-person, second-person, and third-person. Often, for more informal writing, first-person narration and pronouns are used quite often. In more formal papers like an argument paper or a research paper, a teacher might specify to use third-person narration and pronouns only. This would take the many “I think that…” out of a student’s writing piece and replace them with more direct examples.
Some standards to go by if stuck:
Narrative Writing uses first-person and second-person
Expository Writing uses first-person and third-person depending on the assignment
Argumentative Writing uses third-person depending on the assignment
Example Voice Teacher Feedback Comments:
Third person pronouns only
Too informal of a tone, writing sounds like a casual conversation
Robot writing. Writing does not sound like you.
Remove narration of your own writing. Example: I’m going to show you an example of...
Organization -How the writing is presented to the reader, what goes where
The organization of an academic essay largely depends on who is teaching the setup. All teachers should include examples and give a lesson on how they think an essay should be organized before assigning a paper. Many teachers start with the five-paragraph model as a beginning point on how to show students what a piece of writing should look like. Some people despise the five-paragraph essay. For the sake of this post, I am going to show you the setup that worked for me for over 10+ years of teaching for both a paragraph with evidence and an overall essay. The organization will change depending on genre and assignment, but these are two examples to get you started.
Paragraph Setup:
Topic Sentence
Supporting Detail-Introduces Evidence
Supporting Detail-States and Cites Evidence
Supporting Detail-Explains Evidence (This part may be more than 1 sentence depending on the amount of evidence presented)
Concluding Sentence/Transition
Essay Setup:
Introduction
Hook/Attention Grabber
Summary of Issue/Topic
Claim Statement/Position Statement/Thesis Statement
Body Paragraph (Similar to Paragraph Setup Above)
Topic Sentence (Goes back to claim reason)
**Repeat for each body paragraph**
Restate Claim
Review Reasons
Call-to-Action
Example Organization Teacher Feedback Comments:
Hook missing.
Topic sentences need to go back to reason in the claim
Introduce evidence with a signal phrase
Needs transition words between paragraphs
Needs to restate the claim in the conclusion
The conclusion needs to have a call-to-action
New idea=new paragraph!
Needs a creative title.
Paragraph off-topic
Missing evidence to support reasons
Ideas- The main idea, supporting details, evidence, and explanation
Ideas are the heart of any good paper. This is where you get the argument, the main idea, or the details that really bring the paper to life. Ideas should be the first thing discussed and brainstormed in the writing process. I often recommend using a graphic organizer to help students get their ideas down in a logical way.
Example Ideas Teacher Feedback Comments:
Claim is missing
More background information/summary needed in the introduction
Provide more explanation of evidence in your paragraphs. State why the evidence matters and how it relates to the reason.
Counter-claim is not present/not clear
A repeat of ideas already stated before.
Remove personal opinion
Stating the obvious.
Remove retell of a book or story
Conventions -Editing process involving grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization
Conventions are the typical copy-editing marks that get circled or corrected on a draft. The use of computers has largely made spelling errors an easy conventions mistake to fix before draft turn-in day. Capitalization is also easily corrected. The ideas around grammar and punctuation may require more direct teaching or lessons to help kids learn the rules around these areas.
Example Conventions Comments:
Spelling. Misspelled word.
Comma usage. Insert or delete a comma.
Period usage: Insert or delete a period.
Capitalization error(s)
Missing quotation marks.
Punctuation with quotation marks. Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks.
Cite evidence with quotation marks and page number
Indent paragraphs.
Title formatting. Italicize book titles!
Excellent Word Choice -Vivid word selections to help with meaning, clarity, and interest
This is where the revision and editing process can get more fun! Helping students learn about vivid verbs and swapping out the general “things” and “stuff” for more interesting words is half the fun when working with students on an academic essay. Perhaps, if you have a group of students who use a ton of boring words over and over again, you can have a sort of “word funeral” to outlaw them from some drafts. I did this around Halloween one year, and the kids loved it. You can also have them doing brainstorms on posters for words that are better to use in their papers. Kids love synonyms. Show them how awesome words are on paper and in real life.
Example Word Choice Comments:
Unnecessary words. This section is fluff, filler, or material that just takes up space without saying anything new.
Overused word (s). You seem to use the same word over and over again.
Switch out the word for a more interesting word. Find a synonym.
Needs powerful and active verbs.
Include more adjectives to help your writing with description.
Write out the number. Example 2=two.
Write in present tense. You are talking ABOUT the text now.
Vague pronoun
Sentence Fluency -How the writing SOUNDS, the rhythm and pace
This is one of the more advanced traits to teach, and also the reason why it is second to last on my priority list when I am looking at the Six Traits of Writing. In middle school, you will be focusing on sentence fragments and run-ons. These can also be helped with lessons on punctuation. The goal is to help kids realize that their writing has a particular sound, and the bigger goal is to help them realize that their writing should sound like them-no matter the voice they are using in their writing.
Example Sentence Fluency Comments:
Awkward phrasing/choppy. Avoid choppiness in your writing. You likely have stacked several short sentences together or repeatedly used the same sentence starter. Combine sentences together to connect your ideas and make your writing flow.
Vary how you start sentences. Start sentences with different words.
Vary your sentence length. A lot of your writing sounds the same because the sentences are the same length.
Sentence fragment. A sentence must have a complete thought. Your sentence is missing a piece.
Run-on sentence. Break up your longer sentence into two or three.
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Want more examples? Want to check out grading best practices for assignments like these?
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Writing Mindset Reflection: How do you teach the academic essay? What is your favorite part of the writing process?
How to write a perfect essay
Need to write an essay? Does the assignment feel as big as climbing Mount Everest? Fear not. You’re up to the challenge! The following step-by step tips from the Nat Geo Kids Almanac will help you with this monumental task.
Sometimes the subject matter of your essay is assigned to you, sometimes it’s not. Either way, you have to decide what you want to say. Start by brainstorming some ideas, writing down any thoughts you have about the subject. Then read over everything you’ve come up with and consider which idea you think is the strongest. Ask yourself what you want to write about the most. Keep in mind the goal of your essay. Can you achieve the goal of the assignment with this topic? If so, you’re good to go.
WRITE A TOPIC SENTENCE
This is the main idea of your essay, a statement of your thoughts on the subject. Again, consider the goal of your essay. Think of the topic sentence as an introduction that tells your reader what the rest of your essay will be about.
OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS
Once you have a good topic sentence, you then need to support that main idea with more detailed information, facts, thoughts, and examples. These supporting points answer one question about your topic sentence—“Why?” This is where research and perhaps more brainstorming come in. Then organize these points in the way you think makes the most sense, probably in order of importance. Now you have an outline for your essay.
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, WRITE!
Follow your outline, using each of your supporting points as the topic sentence of its own paragraph. Use descriptive words to get your ideas across to the reader. Go into detail, using specific information to tell your story or make your point. Stay on track, making sure that everything you include is somehow related to the main idea of your essay. Use transitions to make your writing flow.
Finish your essay with a conclusion that summarizes your entire essay and 5 restates your main idea.
PROOFREAD AND REVISE
Check for errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. Look for ways to make your writing clear, understandable, and interesting. Use descriptive verbs, adjectives, or adverbs when possible. It also helps to have someone else read your work to point out things you might have missed. Then make the necessary corrections and changes in a second draft. Repeat this revision process once more to make your final draft as good as you can.
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Middle School Essay Writing Help for Your Homeschool
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Need some Middle School essay writing help? You are not alone! Essay writing is an essential skill for middle school homeschoolers these days, but my middle schoolers have never risen in the morning and announced, “Hey, Mom, can we write ESSAYS today?”
However, they have all learned to write them and write them well. They have been thankful for the skills they mastered in middle school as they faced high school and college-level writing.
Middle School Essay Writing Help
I have found that middle school homeschoolers need to be able to:
-capture an idea or opinion
-phrase it as a thesis that others can understand
-explain their thesis
-defend their thesis
-give clear and logical examples
-use good grammar and vocabulary skills
Why? Because they will be defending their ideas the rest of their lives! Hey, middle schoolers are presenting verbal essays all the time.
“3 Reasons I Don’t Want to Clean My Room”
“5 Reasons Math is Stupid”
“2 Reasons I Shouldn’t Have to Write This Essay”
If you give your middle school homeschooler some easy, self-directed, geared-for-success, no-busywork ways to write an essay, he/she will gain confidence for communication now. High school is coming, too, and essay-writing is foundational for high school education.
Get started now and it won’t be intimidating then!
For middle school essay writing, my youngest homeschooler used Middle School Guide to Essay Writing by Marilyn Groop . It met my goals of introducing essays user-friendly, no-wasted-time format.
It was presented in a 10-week, 4 days per week, format this downloadable pdf guide that taught my homeschooler the steps to writing coherent essays. It taught:
-Basic essay format
-Persuasive essays
-Literary analysis
-Compare/contrast essays
-Editorials/letters to the editor
-Tips for taking a short-answer essay test)
The Middle School Essay Writing Guide includes 3 essay rubrics that you can use to grade the essays, as well as an answer key to the short-answer essay test.
Here’s an excerpt from Middle School Guide to Essay Writing.
You can do this! Essay writing is good preparation for the writing tweens will do when they hit homeschooling high school years. Need a little encouragement? Check out these episode of the Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Preparing Middle Schoolers for High School and our friend, Latonya Moore’s advice on homeschooling middle schoolers .
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Ultimate Middle School Guide to Essay Writing
A middle school is basically a place when you finally dip your toes into a real academic program. Compared to elementary school, it is no longer all about playing and having fun. Now begins the real education and it requires much more patience and effort to succeed.
Entering middle school, pupils face many subjects for the first time. And, they face many new types of assignments for the first time as well. One such assignment is an essay.
While you could’ve been assigned essays in elementary school, trust us – it is not the same. A middle school essay is way more complicated and demanding, so it is important to know how to handle it.
Middle School Essay: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide
If you were assigned to write a middle school essay but have not the slightest clue where to start, pluck up the courage and get ready to do some work. Whether you need assignment assistance from CopyCrafter or you’re ready to dive in yourself, we’ve got you covered. To help you get on the right track, we’ve prepared a detailed guide on how to tackle the task and get the best results.
Grasp the Basics
Before you dive right into the process, take a moment to understand the basic requirements. As a rule, a teacher will provide you with all the instructions.
Some of such basics may include:
- Type of essay
- Suggested structure
- Format, etc.
As soon as you know and understand all these details, you can move on.
Learn to Use Available Tools to Your Benefit
Before you get straight to writing, think of the tools you have that make the process simple and enjoyable.
Some basic tools you will need are a laptop or a pen with a paper, and access to the Internet. However, there are many other handy tools. For example, if you know that you are getting distracted easily, you might want to get yourself some distraction blocking software.
Some other tools to use are text editors. They will make the process much simpler.
Finally, keep in mind that there are such resources as https://essaywriterservice.com/ that also can come in handy. Such services employ professional essay writers and help students handle their tasks with no effort.
Choose Your Topic
In many cases, you will have a specific topic assigned to you by a teacher. However, it is also not uncommon to be given a choice of a topic . If the latter is your case, you need to approach this choice with the utmost attention.
First of all, when picking the topic, you should keep in mind your purpose. Depending on the assigned type of paper, you may need to take your essay in a certain direction. So, it is an important factor.
Also, it is vital to consider your interests. The truth is that the best academic papers are written by students who are genuinely interested in what they are writing about. You can also check it at test-done.com . But, at the same time keep in mind that it should be engaging for the audience as well.
Finally, it is important to pick a topic that has the perfect scope. This means that it shouldn’t be too broad or, on the contrary, too narrow.
Next, you need to learn more about the selected topic and find trusted sources of information. Ideally, you should conduct your research in a library. Books are proven to be the most reliable sources.
However, if you still decide to do research online, here are the two key tips we have for you:
- Always question the validity of obtained data and double-check facts across different sources.
- Use the right tools for online research such as academic databases like Google Scholar.
- If you follow these tips you will handle the research stage easily and effectively.
Organize Your Thoughts and Sources
The next step is brainstorming. During this stage, one must lay out all the ideas and information they have and think about how to organize them right in a paper.
The main tips for this stage are to always ensure a logical flow of information, avoid contradictions, and think of smooth transitions between different ideas. Another handy tip is to organize your points by their value. Consider placing the most convincing ideas or arguments close to the beginning of your essay and follow them with less significant ones.
Make an Outline
It can feel frightening to get started on your essay. And, it gets especially scary when you are not too experienced in handling such tasks. But, there is a way to reduce stress. You should create a detailed outline of your work!
Outlining gives plenty of benefits. It helps to follow the right structure. Also, it ensures that all your ideas and arguments will be just in the right places and that you won’t miss out on anything. Finally, writing is just much simpler when you have a plan. So do not neglect this step!
Create Your Thesis
First of all, when you get to writing, you need to develop a strong thesis statement . A thesis statement is your core argument. It is what you are going to prove throughout the paper. Thus, it should be very clear and specific, define your position on the topic, and also be concise.
Write the Paper
When the thesis is ready, move on to writing. At this stage, be sure to strictly follow the plan you already have. You can tackle your paragraphs one by one starting with the introduction to body paragraphs, and finishing with a conclusion.
However, it is often recommended to start with the body of the text. The thing is that both the introduction and conclusion are really tied up onto the body paragraphs. Thus, in order to make them logical, many experts advise to handle them last.
Lastly, the final stages of the work are proofreading and editing. Before getting started, be sure to let your essay rest for a few hours or even a day. Then, come back to it with a fresh outlook. Carefully check the work for grammar, punctuation, style, formatting, and other errors that might be present.
A good tip is to let someone else read your paper before the submission. Another person, for example, a friend or family member, can notice some mistakes you’ve missed.
Chase the Write Dream is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers
P LANNING, PARAGRAPHING AND POLISHING: FINE-TUNING THE PERFECT ESSAY
Essay writing is an essential skill for every student. Whether writing a particular academic essay (such as persuasive, narrative, descriptive, or expository) or a timed exam essay, the key to getting good at writing is to write. Creating opportunities for our students to engage in extended writing activities will go a long way to helping them improve their skills as scribes.
But, putting the hours in alone will not be enough to attain the highest levels in essay writing. Practice must be meaningful. Once students have a broad overview of how to structure the various types of essay, they are ready to narrow in on the smaller details that will enable them to fine-tune their work as a lean vehicle of their thoughts and ideas.
In this article, we will drill down to some of the aspects that will assist students in taking their essay writing skills up a notch. Many of the ideas and activities can be integrated into broader lesson plans based on essay writing. Often, though, they will work effectively in isolation – just as athletes isolate physical movements to drill that are relevant to their sport. When these movements become second nature, they can be repeated naturally in the context of the game or in our case, the writing of the essay.
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Planning an essay
The Boys Scouts’ motto is famously ‘Be Prepared’. It’s a solid motto that can be applied to most aspects of life; essay writing is no different. Given the purpose of an essay is generally to present a logical and reasoned argument, investing time in organising arguments, ideas, and structure would seem to be time well spent.
Given that essays can take a wide range of forms and that we all have our own individual approaches to writing, it stands to reason that there will be no single best approach to the planning stage of essay writing. That said, there are several helpful hints and techniques we can share with our students to help them wrestle their ideas into a writable form. Let’s take a look at a few of the best of these:
BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN: UNDERSTAND YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.
Whether students are tackling an assignment that you have set them in class, or responding to an essay prompt in an exam situation, they should get into the habit of analyzing the nature of the task itself. To do this, they should unravel the meaning of the question or prompt. Students can practice this in class by responding to various essay titles, questions, and prompts, thereby gaining valuable experience in breaking these down. Have students work in groups to underline and dissect the keywords and phrases and to discuss together what exactly is being asked of them in the task. Are they being asked to discuss, describe, persuade, or explain? Understanding the exact nature of the task at hand is crucial before going any further in the planning process, never mind the writing process .
BRAINSTORM AND MIND MAP WHAT YOU KNOW:
Once students have understood what the essay task is asking of them they should consider what they know about the topic and, often, how they feel about it. When teaching essay writing we so often emphasize that it is about expressing our opinions on things, but for our younger students what they think about things isn’t always obvious, even to themselves.
Brainstorming and mind-mapping what they know about a topic offers them an opportunity to uncover not just what they already know about a topic, but also gives them a chance to reveal to themselves what they think about the topic. This will help guide them in structuring their research and, later, the essay they will write itself. When writing an essay in an exam context, this may be the only ‘research’ the student will be able to undertake before the writing, so practicing this will be even more important.
RESEARCH YOUR ESSAY
The previous step above should reveal to students the general direction their research will take. With the ubiquitousness of the internet, gone are the days of students relying on a single well-thumbed encyclopaedia from the school library as their sole authoritative source in their essay. If anything, the real problem for our students today is narrowing down their sources to a manageable number. Students should use the information from the previous step to help here. At this stage, it is important that they:
● Ensure the research material is directly relevant to the essay task
● Record in detail the sources of the information that they will use in their essay
● Engage with the material personally by asking questions and challenging their own biases
● Identify the key points that will be made in their essay
● Group ideas, counterarguments, and opinions together
● Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay.
Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a logical order.
WRITING YOUR ESSAY
There are a number of ways for students to organize their points in preparation for writing. They can use graphic organizers , post-it notes, or any number of available writing apps. The important thing for them to consider here is that their points should follow a logical progression. This progression of their argument will be expressed in the form of body paragraphs that will inform the structure of their finished essay.
The number of paragraphs contained in an essay will depend on a number of factors such as word limits, time limits, the complexity of the question etc. Regardless of the essay’s length, students should ensure their essay follows the Rule of Three in that every essay they write contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Generally speaking, essay paragraphs will focus on one main idea that is usually expressed in a topic sentence that is followed by a series of supporting sentences that bolster that main idea. The first and final sentences are of the most significance here with the first sentence of a paragraph making the point to the reader and the final sentence of the paragraph making the overall relevance to the essay’s argument crystal clear.
Though students will most likely be familiar with the broad generic structure of essays, it is worth investing time to ensure they have a clear conception of how each part of the essay works, that is, of the exact nature of the task it performs. Let’s review:
Common Essay Structure
Introduction: Provides the reader with context for the essay. It states the broad argument that the essay will make and informs the reader of the writer’s general perspective and approach to the question.
Body Paragraphs: These are the ‘meat’ of the essay and lay out the argument stated in the introduction point by point with supporting evidence.
Conclusion: Usually the conclusion will restate the central argument while providing a summary of the essay’s main supporting reasons and before linking everything back to the original question.
ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS
● Each paragraph should focus in on a single main idea
● Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence, students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence
● Paragraphs should be denoted consistently, students should choose either to indent or skip a line
● Transition words and phrases such as alternatively , consequently , in contrast should be used to give flow and provide a bridge between paragraphs.
HOW TO EDIT AN ESSAY
Students shouldn’t expect their essays to emerge from the writing process perfectly formed. Except in exam situations and the like, thorough editing is an essential aspect in the writing process.
Often, students struggle with this aspect of the process the most. After spending hours of effort on planning, research, and writing the first draft, students can be reluctant to go back over the same terrain they have so recently travelled. It is important at this point to give them some helpful guidelines to help them to know what to look out for. The following tips will provide just such help:
One Piece at a Time: There is a lot to look out for in the editing process and often students overlook aspects as they try to juggle too many balls during the process. One effective strategy to combat this is for students to perform a number of rounds of editing with each focusing on a different aspect. For example, the first round could focus on content, the second round on looking out for word repetition (use a thesaurus to help here), with the third attending to spelling and grammar.
Sum It Up: When reviewing the paragraphs they have written, a good starting point is for students to read each paragraph and attempt to sum up its main point in a single line. If this is not possible, their readers will most likely have difficulty following their train of thought too and the paragraph needs to be overhauled.
Let It Breathe: When possible, encourage students to allow some time for their essay to ‘breathe’ before returning to it for editing purposes. This may require some skilful time management on the part of the student, for example, a student rush-writing the night before the deadline does not lend itself to effective editing. Fresh eyes are one of the sharpest tools in the writer’s toolbox.
Read It Aloud: This time-tested editing method is a great way for students to identify mistakes and typos in their work. We tend to read things more slowly when reading aloud giving us the time to spot errors. Also, when we read silently our minds can often fill in the gaps or gloss over the mistakes that will become apparent when we read out loud.
Phone a Friend: Peer editing is another great way to identify errors that our brains may miss when reading our own work. Encourage students to partner up for a little ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’.
Use Tech Tools: We need to ensure our students have the mental tools to edit their own work and for this they will need a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation. However, there are also a wealth of tech tools such as spellcheck and grammar checks that can offer a great once-over option to catch anything students may have missed in earlier editing rounds.
Putting the Jewels on Display: While some struggle to edit, others struggle to let go. There comes a point when it is time for students to release their work to the reader. They must learn to relinquish control after the creation is complete. This will be much easier to achieve if the student feels that they have done everything in their control to ensure their essay is representative of the best of their abilities and if they have followed the advice here, they should be confident they have done so.
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The content for this page has been written by Shane Mac Donnchaidh. A former principal of an international school and English university lecturer with 15 years of teaching and administration experience. Shane’s latest Book, The Complete Guide to Nonfiction Writing , can be found here. Editing and support for this article have been provided by the literacyideas team.
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COMMENTS
We instruct students in all steps of the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) and assess students' writing regularly. The
The most daunting part of essay writing for most middle schoolers is knowing how to get started. In middle school, most essays are centered around narrative
Sentence Fluency-How the writing SOUNDS, the rhythm and pace · Awkward phrasing/choppy. Avoid choppiness in your writing. · Vary how you start
How to write a perfect essay · BRAINSTORM · WRITE A TOPIC SENTENCE · OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS · ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, WRITE! · WRAP IT UP · PROOFREAD AND REVISE.
The mission of Rivera Middle School is to provide an educational environment that enhances the abilities of all students.
Here is a quick video explaining how to format an informational essay. (Middle School Language Arts)Music: WanderMusician:
A classroom ready video - Focus on higher order thinking as defined by the Common Core.
You are not alone! Essay writing is an essential skill for middle school homeschoolers these days, but my middle schoolers have never risen in the morning and
Ultimate Middle School Guide to Essay Writing · Middle School Essay: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide · Grasp the Basics · Learn to Use Available Tools to Your Benefit.
Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay. Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a