Learning to write essays well requires knowing a number of preliminary writing skills, as well as knowing what the different types of essays are and how they should be planned. Teaching essay writing requires knowing how to simplify these skills and improve them so that students can write effective texts. The following sections on teaching essay writing will give you tips on where to start, an overview of the writing skills needed, and the steps to plan and write an essay.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Before You Begin
Step 1. Strengthen your own understanding of the writing structure and process
Before you can teach someone how to write, you have to have a good understanding of what to teach and how to do it.
- If you are the teacher of a class, you can strengthen your knowledge of how to teach writing through professional training and classes at the university.
- If you're teaching your children at home, find a writing curriculum that will help you teach them the preliminary skills needed to write essays and other types of text. It will also help you assess your children's writing skills so that you can find a suitable starting point.
Method 2 of 3: Skills Needed for Writing Essays
Step 1. Teach how to write complete sentences
Since writing essays generally requires constructing complete sentences, students have to learn to construct effective complete sentences. They must understand the types of sentences that exist (declarative, imperative, interrogative, exclamatory), the active and passive voice, and they must have the ability to make subjects and verbs agree well.
Step 2. Teach them how to organize sentences into paragraphs
When students have mastered writing complete sentences, they will have to learn to string them together to form a paragraph. They must learn how to follow one sentence with another and then another that expands on the idea presented in the first sentence. They will also need to know how to arrange the sentences so that the previous ones lead to the idea that is presented in the final.
Step 3. Teach them how to organize the paragraphs and how to move from one to another
When students can write coherent paragraphs, they will be ready to learn how to connect the paragraphs so that each one leads to the next and the one that follows is a more forceful expression than the last. A transition sentence can be placed as the last of a preceding paragraph or the first of one that follows, or both.
Encourage students to connect two, three, four, and five paragraphs little by little to build a coherent essay. As students become more familiar with the format, help them learn how to write the introduction, present background information, information that confirms and contradicts their beliefs, and then summarizes as a conclusion
Step 4. Teaches how to observe and record observations
To start, you can teach students how to observe and write about what is in front of them and then compare their written observations with those of their peers and with professional writers who are seeing the same thing.
Step 5. Teach them to express their opinions in writing
Show them the difference between writing facts and opinions. Students should learn when and when it is inappropriate to include their opinions in what they write and how to express them in a courteous and professional manner.
Step 6. Teach them how to research for an essay
Students have to learn to select materials that they can write about, how to read for information, how to analyze it, and then organize the notes in an outline.
Although it is possible to make diagrams in the head, students must first learn to make them on paper so that they can review how the rehearsals are developed with the initial plan. They must learn to modify the scheme first and then the same essay as they get new information that makes them review their work
Method 3 of 3: Plan a trial
Step 1. Determine what to write about
This is the subject of the essay. For younger children, determining the topic is sufficient, while for older children and college students, it is necessary to refine it to a thesis.
Step 2. Identify the reason for writing
Students should be able to identify the reason why they are writing their essay, whether it is driven by something they have read or motivated by something that has happened.
Step 3. You must know what the deadline is
Essays and most written assignments are usually expected to be done in a specified period of time. Understanding how much time is available is the first step in planning how to best use your time.
Step 4. Get to know the audience for this essay
Students must understand who will read what they write and how to direct their message to that audience. Students must be aware of the knowledge their audience has on the subject at the moment, their opinions and how to inform and convince them.
Step 5. Understand the purpose of the essay
Students need to understand whether the essay is used to present information on a single topic or a group of related topics or to make a persuasive argument.