Outlines are visual. They are a visual representation—a picture—of what is going on inside a whole composition. In this article, we are going to discuss nine important concepts in writing. Interestingly, in writing, the use of these concepts is often not clearly...
An outline is defined in two ways: A preliminary or general indication of a plan, system, or course of thought. The line marking the outer limits of an object or figure; for example, a silhouette profile portrait depicts the outline of a person’s head and shoulders....
Introduction: The Problem and the Paradox of Digression Writing requires unity. At the same time, writers are naturally drawn to digressions. We think of something interesting, something important, something worth saying—and we want to include it. That’s the problem....
Strong writing skills begin with understanding one key idea: great writing is shaped by decisions. Strong writing is not an accident. It is the result of decisions—decisions about what to include, what to emphasize, how much space to devote to ideas, and how to guide...
It’s time for students and all writers to take control and ownership of their writing! You can do this by expanding your world of ideas. You can also do this by understanding the power of statements. Yes, I said statements, aka declarative sentences. I know. You...
Beginning, middle, and ending is so important in teaching kids to write that I created an acronym for it: BME. Clearly, I’m not trying to be creative with that acronym. I just use the term so often that I need an acronym for it. Over the centuries, humans have come up...
How do we teach young students to get ideas for writing? It’s a process of inspiring students, setting the right tone, building the right habits, and teaching them specific idea-generation techniques. My goal is always to create a classroom full of writers as I teach...
The benefits of mastering prewriting skills for elementary and middle school students are profound. By learning effective prewriting techniques, students can develop the skill of seeing the big picture before they start assignments or projects. When students have...
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 sit back and enjoy the ride! We don’t want our readers to feel that we are jumping all over the place. We also...
Paul B. Diederich’s traits model greatly influenced the Six Traits of Writing. Diederich believed that both IDEAS and ORGANIZATION deserved greater weight than the other traits. Since both are so important, prewriting becomes critical. Prewriting is the process of...
