Teaching Tips to Help Reluctant Writers
How to Guide Writers to Get Started Writing a High School Essay
Jan 31, 2009
As a teacher, you’ve probably come to the realization that many reluctant writers are just plain scared of writing. Even—or perhaps especially-- high school students experience anxiety when they face a blank page, and they don’t know how to get started. Here are some tips to help reluctant writers feel more comfortable approaching their next assignment.
Validate Students’ Experience
Students often feel that they must have something profound to say in their essays. What they often do not realize is that insight is granted to writers during the actual process of pen interacting with page. Even famous novelists often do not know how their stories are going to end until they pen the final chapters. Writing is a creative process, with lots of room for growth and insight along the way. Besides, students aren’t expected to write their first novels in high school! Encourage students to compose a thesis based on authentic feelings. They may be given a persuasive prompt, such as the following:
Convince your reader whether year-round schooling is beneficial for students.
Most students would force themselves to write an essay against year-round schooling just on principal alone. However, when they brainstorm a pros and cons list about year-round schooling, their list may strongly favor the notion. If that is the case, they should write authentically, based on their feelings and the list their brainstorming has produced.
Give Students Choices
You can give students choices about several items, but the most important choice is on essay topics. If you are assigning an expository essay, for instance, you can encourage students to decide whether to explain or describe their topic. You can also offer them two or three different topics, or two or three angles on one topic. For example, if you have selected the hoary favorite, “describe what you did over summer vacation,” be sure to offer fresh variations on this topic, such as “describe your favorite summer memory” or “explain what you plan to do next summer.” This way, students do not feel the pressure of responding to a limited, specific topic. Remember, even on standardized writing exams, students are generally given two topics from which to choose.
Offer Numerous Practice Opportunities
By the time students enter high school, they are expected to not only understand the basics of essay writing, but to produce one during a single class session or as an overnight homework assignment. However, writing is not like riding a bicycle. It’s more like ice skating. That is, if you haven’t been gliding on the ice in a while, you are likely to end up kicking your blades in the air a few times before you catch on again. So, give your students opportunities in class to brainstorm, freewrite, and respond to writing prompts in an ungraded format.
Here’s a tip about freewriting. Without purposeful direction, students often don’t know what to do with this nebulous piece of scribble. Instruct them to put it away for a little while and then reread it with a fresh pair of eyes. Then, they should engage actively with their random, energetic thoughts by highlighting segments they like. These can be strong words, interesting phrases that capture an image, or simply succinct statements that solidify their thesis statement.
By implementing these tips, you will ingratiate and disarm even your most anxious writers. When possible, provide students with specific feedback on these early steps in the writing process to help them know they are not just slipping on the ice.
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