The State of Affairs for “Beginning, Middle, and Endings” in Student Writing The sad truth is students aren’t interested in beginning, middle, and ending. No. I’m not sure that they ever were… but in this modern age… it’s passé. It’s boring. It doesn’t pique their interest… and they don’t see what it is so important [...]
Two Kinds of Writing Assignments for Student Essays and Reports 1. The topic has not been assigned. Students choose the topic. 2. The topic has been assigned. Students must follow the directions and stay on topic. Teachers must find the right balance between these two methods when giving assignments. These ideas will help when you do [...]
Using and Benefiting From Prewriting: Elementary and Middle School Students The benefits of mastering prewriting skills for elementary and middle school students are really quite profound. By learning effective prewriting techniques students can develop the skill of being able to see the big picture before they start an assignment or project of any kind. When [...]
Transitions We want our writing to flow naturally. We want our readers to feel that we know where we are headed and we are in control of our writing. This means they can just sit back and enjoy the ride! We don’t want our readers to feel that we are jumping all over the place. [...]
Mass Idea Generation: Another Important Trait from the Six Traits of Writing Along with organization, ideas are the other trait that Paul B. Diederich felt deserved greater weight. Good prewriting skills lead to good ideas. If students think the first idea that pops into their head is a good idea, it’s unlikely they [...]