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....
Do you read? If so, what do you think about paragraphs? Do the paragraphs you read in your daily reading match what you have been taught about paragraphs? Chances are, they don’t. As discussed in Before the Rules: How Paragraphs Actually Developed, writers were using...
Writers were using paragraphs long before anyone could explain how they worked. This may sound strange. How can something be widely used, yet not clearly understood? But that is exactly what happened with the paragraph. For centuries, writers broke up their writing...
What’s a paragraph? You know what one is, don’t you? If you are not sure, just look down this page, and if necessary, the next page. What do you see? Do you see chunks of text surrounded by whitespace? If so, you are seeing paragraphs. (If not, please rush to a doctor...
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...
Why Do Some Well-Structured Essays Still Feel Weak? Students can follow a clear structure and still produce ineffective writing. The reality is that structure alone is not sufficient. Students must understand the purpose of their writing. This is where the four main...
Want Students to Write Clear Essays—Fast? Most students struggle with writing for one simple reason: They don’t understand structure. Give them the right structure, however, and everything changes—quickly. That’s where the Tell Them Model comes in. It’s simple,...
When you teach your students how to write paragraphs, what exactly are you teaching them? In short, paragraph instruction involves three basic paragraph concepts: 1) Unity, 2) Coherence, and 3) Emphasis. These three concepts are the three traits of paragraphs. All of...
When you teach multi-paragraph writing effectively, your students begin to write in an organized and natural multi-paragraph form in all of their daily writing across the curriculum. Furthermore, when it’s time for a writing assessment, your students easily address...
The modern models on teaching writing (e.g., Six Traits, Writer’s Workshop, rubrics and checklists, Reading-Writing Connection, Writing Across the Curriculum, etc.) encourage teachers to take charge and take ownership of teaching writing. They promote this because...
What your students write about is one of the most important decisions you make in teaching writing. To a large degree, it defines (1) what you teach about writing, and (2) how you teach writing. Put simply, we can’t leave what our students write about to chance. By...
The Timed Writing System: Apples-to-Apples Comparisons and Evaluation I strongly urge teachers to use the Timed Writing System. You are going to get concrete results with Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay, you are going to be able to build on those...
Research-based report writing requires that students organize information and ideas. That’s a critical component of what Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay teaches! After using Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay, your students will easily be ready...
