Increasing Rigor and Volume in the Middle School Writing Class, Blogger 5

Introduction

TNReady is designed to measure students’ real understanding of material. For this reason, it’s important that students are exposed to a variety of texts and tasks. In the middle school classroom, the writing needs to be at least fifty percent informational text. Volume in reading and writing is important. How can the middle school teacher increase volume and rigor into the writing classroom? The volume of writing is a key ingredient in the classroom. The teacher can model and confer with students all day long, but if students don’t write, they will not grow as writers.

Teaching Writing Strategies

Many of the writing strategies that we use as writers are not obvious to our students. Students do not know how to write an introduction or a conclusion. They do not know how to research valuable and relevant sources. These skills must be taught as strategies if we want our students to learn them. These issues in writing will come up often in the writing classroom, and teachers must have a tool kit of lessons ready for those moments. Students need to understand assignments before they can effectively respond to it. Grammar, that thorn in every rose, must be systematically taught if students are going to know how to write with good grammar, usage, and mechanics.

Teach the Basics

To create rigor and depth in a piece of writing, teachers must teach and students must learn some basics. Students must learn to write a captivating opening sentence; we also call this the hook. Good writers must create a roadmap for the reader to follow. This roadmap will guide the reader to your conclusion. The opening paragraph must be creative and straightforward. Good writers must have a sense of their own voice in writing. The writing muse be knowledgeable, intelligent, and sincere. Writers must think about audience and how to speak to their audience. Writers must organize their thoughts and ideas in an outline before they begin drafting. Budding authors must be clear and focused in their writing.

Teach Students to Write a Good Introduction

When teaching students to write a good introduction, it is important to show them many examples. Tell students to begin by thinking about the question or questions that they want to answer. Students also need to learn about focus, especially in creating a thesis. Sometimes, it might benefit the writer to write the introduction last. Introductions can always be changed, so students can write their introduction knowing that it can be revised. Remember, hooks are important to get the reader’s attention. Good voice in an introduction comes with confidence.

Paragraph Development

Sentences are the building blocks of paragraphs, and paragraphs are the building blocks of essays. Paragraphs are a group of sentences that create a whole. Paragraphs must have a topic and a topic sentence. The sentences in a paragraph will support the topic or controlling idea. When developing a paragraph, you must decide on the overall thesis that will unite the paragraphs. All of the sentences in a paragraph must relate to the topic sentence. The sentences should be arranged in a logical manner. The paragraphs should be well developed. Sentences in a paragraph should explain how the writer feels about the topic. Paragraphs should include a smooth transition into the next paragraph.

An Example of a Good Introduction for an Essay on “Friendship”

A dictionary contains a definition of friendship somewhere in the Fs between fear and Friday. An encyclopedia gives interesting facts and examples of friendship. But all of these will not convey the true meaning of friendship. Friendship cannot be expressed through words. The only true way to understand friendship is through experience. It is an experience that involves all of the senses.

How to Write an Outline

In order to make sure that you include everything you want in your essay, you should create an outline. An outline is a tool used to organize written ideas about a topic or thesis. Outlines are written in a logical order. Outlines arrange major topics, subtopics, and supporting details. Outlines for essays can be very general or very detailed. Outlines are a formal system that writers use to think about and organize their essay or book. Writers use outlines to make sure that all ideas connect to each other. Outlines will help you see the overall picture. Although outlines are formal, they should not be inflexible. Outlines are working documents that grow as your evidence grows.

Conciseness

Writers must learn to write concisely and not be too wordy. The words in your essay should not be filler for word length. Concise writing is a must in the business world. Busy readers want to get their information quickly and efficiently. Getting to the point promptly will make you a more engaging writer. Eliminate redundant words. For example, there is no need to write, “For each and every book your purchase, you will receive a free bookmark.” You need to write, “For every book you purchase, you will receive a free bookmark.” Reduce your number of prepositional phrases. Using too many prepositional phrases creates boring writing and writing that is difficult to understand.

Think About Your Audience

When you are in the process of writing an essay, it is easy to forget that you are writing to someone. You, the writer, need to always think about your audience. Even if you are writing for one (your instructor), you must write as if your audience doesn’t understand your topic. Thinking about your audience differently will improve your writing. Make sure that you identify your audience and what they want from you before you begin writing. Learning to read the assignment will help you identify your audience. Adapt your tone and word choice to your audience. When you read your own writing, imagine that you are the audience.

Conclusion

There are several ways to increase rigor in the writing classroom. These ways are really basic lessons that should be taught in any middle school writing curriculum. Students must be writing every day. They must learn the basic strategies for getting words on the paper. All students must learn to write an effective introduction. Students must be able to develop good supporting details. Teach students how to outline. Encourage students to be concise in word choice. Teach students to think about audience. Teaching these basic lessons will increase rigor in the writing classroom.