Often, the task of writing anything starts with the question, “What is the purpose of this writing assignment?” Many think of creative writing, or story-telling. Some think of poetry or journaling. Still others think of research papers and long essays. However, in most instances, students must learn how to address writing prompts, determining whether the prompt asks a question, or tells the student to write about a specific topic. Our Basic Writing classes help students learn to respond to writing prompts in all situations.
Formal academic writing requires students to consider the prompt, decide their ideas or perspective, and then write a number of sentences about that given prompt or topic. In the Basic Writing classes, we teach students to break down the assignment into manageable steps:
Gather the ideas related to the prompt
Decide which ideas to use in the composition
Organize the ideas for flow
Put the ideas into complete sentences
Edit or correct the sentences for strength, correct grammar
usage, and quality
Produce a final composition that is strong because all the steps are addressed well
Time and again, The Write Journey hears about the overwhelming expectations that even elementary students should know how to write lengthy compositions (many words) on any given topic. The expectation also demands that students find themselves naturally able to write if they read many books. These often misguided or unfair expectations may leave a student feeling as if they did something wrong, or even as if they are not bright enough to complete the task. We come against this methodology with our Basic Writing classes. Our goals aim to equip and empower the writer to address a writing assignment with the necessary skills to complete the task with confidence. The writer’s toolbox that we help students fill enables them to pull out the correct tool at the appropriate time.
Our focus for students is that they would gain mastery over the skills. This means that they need time and practice. An athlete may begin with some natural abilities, but the hours of practice make a professional athlete stand out. The same is true with writing. A student may begin with some natural skills, like good ideas, eloquent phrases, or the ability to spell every word correctly. However, these are just parts of the whole. A student trained in the writer’s craft we teach will be able to pull all of their skills together to form a well written, well thought-out, skillful composition. It simply takes the proper instruction, time, and practice.
Our Basic Writing Level 1 class opens in the first week of each month. We encourage students to complete levels 1 and 2 at the minimum. These first two levels instruct the student in the layers of tools for writing. The third level allows the student to practice the methods consistently with robust feedback from the instructor, who helps the student identify their strengths, and challenges the student to improve any portions that need improvement.
Basic Writing Level 4 is the High School Essay Writing course. This 12 week course helps high school students learn the various types of essays and compositions: personal reflective, descriptive, expository, persuasive, argumentative, response to informational text, and research projects. Students in this course learn the tools for composing much longer writing pieces without losing any of the skills needed to compose the paper well. This course begins at the start of each semester.
If your student, either a charter student, or one in your home, needs help in the specific subject of writing, consider enrolling that student in the Basic Writing courses. The link for the website is added for your convenience. You will find more information on the website about these classes, and the many other services we offer!
https://thewritejourney.net/basic-writing
Written by: Julie Snyder