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Start
Your Child's Writing Assignments Off On the Right Page
By
Debra Pryor and Deborah Meyers
For many students - and adults too - the hardest part of writing
is getting started. Writing teachers suggest using creative
ways to think about the topic, and always writing at least
one draft. If your child in middle school or high school has
difficulty with writing assignments, come to the rescue with
these techniques for generating ideas.
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advertisement
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- Questions.
Make a list of interesting questions to explore. For example,
on an assigned topic of "honesty": Are there different ideas
about what honesty means? Has someone's dishonesty ever
affected me personally? Are honesty in business dealings
and personal dealings equally important? Or ask these traditional
journalist questions about the topic: Who? What? Where?
When? Why? How?
- Cubing.
Explore the topic from six views, making notes on each.
Spend no more than five minutes on each, following this
order: (1) Describe it - what do you see? (2) Compare/contrast
it - what is it similar to or different from? (3) Associate
it - what does it remind you of? (4) Analyze it - how is
it made or what causes it? (5) Apply it - what can you do
with it, how can it be used? (6) Argue for or against it
- take a stand, one way or the other, and list any reasons,
serious or silly.
- Clustering.
Pick a key word related to the topic and write it in the
middle of a sheet of paper. Circle the word and draw rays
extending out. Write down other words that cometo mind,
and circle them. Keep writing and connecting words for a
few minutes. If you go blank, draw connecting lines and
circles - you'll think of more words later. Then look over
the words in the cluster until they suggest a starting sentence
for the essay.
Practice
Makes Perfect These techniques can help you get your child
on the right path to writing success. To keep them on the
right track, it's important for them to continuously fine-tune
those skills. For additional practice in writing essays, check
out AOL®
Writing Wizard. Your child can submit essays online, receive
immediate and specific feedback, and -- most important to
support learning -- revise and resubmit the assignment so
that the feedback can be used to improve writing skills. And
you don't have to be a member of AOL® -- EVERYONE can
take advantage of AOL® Writing Wizard! There's absolutely
no commitment - so take 30 days to try the product for yourself.
Click
here for your FREE Trial. Check out other services too,
such as AOL®
Learning Games, where learning and fun combine in over
100 educational activities and AOL®
Step by Step Math for improved success in math.
Debra Pryor has over 20 years of experience in the K-12 education
market. She is the author of Technology in the Classroom; Ahead
of the Trend Study: Youth and Education; The Ten Emerging Truths:
New Directions for Girls 11-17; and Empowering the Next Generation
Learner, and has been quoted on educational issues in USA Today,
New York Times, and Los Angeles Times. Deborah Meyers has over
30 years' experience in the areas of education, communication,
and public information. As writer and project manager for Partners
In Brainstorms, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in identifying
current and future dynamics in the education market, she has
contributed to numerous program materials for tweens and teens
ages 11-17 as well as research reports on the K-12 education
market. |
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