For some children,
writing an essay may be a difficult task.
Writing does not come natural for a lot of kids, let alone
grown-ups. However, as a parent we can
help them over-come their fear of putting words down on paper and teach them,
while essay writing may not be that easy, it isn’t really difficult either.
Sit down with your
child and ask them how much they know about writing an essay. If it’s their first essay, explain to them
what an essay is and parts of an essay (Introduction, two body paragraphs and a
concluding paragraph). Try to explain
the process of writing in a fun and exciting way. Remember, some kids may find
writing this assignment even terrifying.
Effective Research
Teach your child
how to do an effective research. Use
resource books from the library, from your own home and of course, the
internet. Explain to them the importance
of note-taking and or highlighting important words/sentences with a
marker. To make it more enjoyable, buy
them different colored markers to use on their research.
Outline
Show them how to construct a good outline. Tell them not to
worry about writing in full sentences yet, short phrases will do. Do a
brainstorming session, just to get their ideas flowing. Don’t ask the questions. Instead, try to prompt them to ask the
questions and let them answer their own questions in short phrases.
First Draft
Once the outline
has been written down, congratulate them and say that they are now ready to
write the first draft. Don’t make it
sound intimidating, make it seem more fun.
Tell your child that this is just the first draft and they can revise
later on. The first draft is just
expounding and writing in full sentences/paragraphs on the questions and
answers they’ve written on their outline.
Read Aloud
Ask your child to
read their essay aloud to you. Explain
to them that by doing this, it will be easy to identify awkward words/phrases
or grammatical errors. And sometimes,
hearing something you’ve written aloud also allows you to critique your own
work. Do another brainstorming session
with them. Ask important questions like
“Do you think you’ve answered all your questions in your outline?” During the discussion, ask them to take down
notes and write the comments on their first draft using a red pen.
Final Draft
Now it’s time to
write the final draft. Teach them how to
incorporate the comments on their final draft.
Ask them whether they think their essay is too long or too short. If you feel that their essay still needs
another re-write, try to prod them by asking questions that will prompt them
into doing another revision. Tell them
that professional writers make dozens of revisions before the final draft.
Proof Read
Remind your child
the importance of proof-reading their own work, watch out for spellings and
missing punctuations. Once they’ve done
that, offer to do a final proof read for them.
References
Even at a young
age, explain to your child what plagiarism is all about. Teach them the proper way of making a
reference and how quotations should be properly cited.
Once your child is
finished, congratulate them for a job-well done.
Perhaps even give them a small reward, like an inexpensive journal. Encourage them to keep writing and asking
important questions. This will help your
child be comfortable with putting their thoughts down on paper and when the
next essay is due, writing will come out natural for them and who knows, your
child may be a future best-selling author or a very important essay-writer!
Author
Bio: Anna Steel is a
mother of four boys who has worked out a great back-to-school routine for her
children. She always helps her children with essays or projects at school, but
when it's difficult to catch up, she uses http://www.essayscapital.com/.
