Writing FAQs for homeschool students

Because I said so! Oops. That's not very helpful. I'll try again.

     You know that recent movie you loved? Someone wrote that--and got paid for it! Have you ever looked at your cereal box in the morning? Someone wrote all the stuff on there--and got paid for it. How about the directions to your Wii? The president's speech? The song you downloaded? The last book you read? That funny fast-food commercial? The booklet you studied to get your driver's license?    Someone wrote all that--and got paid for it!

     "The aim of writing is communication, not just self-expression." So says Donald Murray, a writer, teacher, and mentor who happens to be right. Communicating: That's what it's all about. You have opinions. Find out how to persuade others by developing your organizing, researching, and writing skills. You know how to do things that others may not. Learn how to teach others by using your organizing and writing skills. You have drawn conclusions about the world, history, and current events. Hone your writing skills so you can communicate these observations and conclusions to others.

     Many professions, even volunteer jobs, need people who can communicate clearly in memos, annual reports, bids and quotes, requisitions, and so forth. Everyone from the musical director at a church who writes notes to his team to the detective who writes up crime reports needs to know how to write well enough to be understood.

     Intelligent people know how to communicate clearly with other people. Learn those writing/communication skills so you can make your impact on the world.

     Someday, you may even get paid for it.

A writing assignment is best tackled by breaking it down into its component parts. Let's go through an assignment for, say, writing about the benefits of riding a bicycle. I know that's tame (lame?), but let's go with it for now.

     Brainstorm: Quickly write down all the benefits you can think of. Don't censor your ideas. Simply write them down no matter how serious or silly. Then circle the ideas you think you can write about or the ones you think you can research to support your point.

     Organize: Look at what you have written and organize the ideas into groups. For instance, you most likely have some physical benefits of bike riding, some environmental benefits, and maybe even some financial benefits. Voila! Now you have your paragraphs, based on the separate groups.

     Research: Some of your points will need research to support them. Once you have done the research, you may have a clearer idea of your real points or you may even have to change some of your points to fit your new information.

     Decide upon your Main Point (Thesis Statement): This sentence pulls all your material and ideas together under one roof. It tells your readers what direction you are going in, how you are approaching your topic. For the bike-riding topic, your thesis statement may be something like "There is no downside to riding a bicycle" or "Riding a bicycle is beneficial on many levels" or "Out of shape? Low on cash? Concerned about the environment? Bike riding may be the answer to all these ills."

     Organize Again: Now that you have your points, some supporting material, and a thesis statement, put your points in a logical order. You want to make the most impact with your paper. In which order will you put your points? Try using an outline, a simple list, or even movable sticky notes to help you decide upon your order.

     Write the Body: Forget the introduction and conclusion for now. Write the paragraphs that contain your points. Each paragraph contains only one point, along with a topic sentence to make things clear to your reader. If your point is long or bulky, with lots of information crammed into it, your teacher may want a long paragraph for this point or some shorter paragraphs with the point broken into smaller bits in an organized way. Check with your teacher on this. If you are a beginning writer, however, it might be easiest to stay with the one point/one paragraph guideline. Now you are ready for your introduction and conclusion.

     Write the Intro and Conclusion: In your brainstorming or researching phase, you most likely came across one or two interesting facts or anecdotes (true stories). Begin your introductory paragraph with something interesting to grab your reader. Who wants to read a boring paper? Your introduction most likely will be one paragraph long and will show the importance of your topic. Your thesis statement is usually the last sentence in your introduction. When you add your concluding paragraph, make sure to draw some interesting conclusions, make some insightful observations, include another interesting fact or anecdote, and somewhere in there, restate your thesis statement in a new way.

     Rewrite: This is a super-important phase of the process than many students skip. Reread your paper-out loud-to see if it makes sense, supports your thesis statement, flows well, and says something important about the topic. You will find many errors by reading out loud, and you will get a better feel for the effectiveness of your paper. Consider asking another student or friend to read your paper, too. He or she may have valuable insights that will make your paper stronger. Make the necessary changes, print off your paper, and hand it in.

Ideas can come from anywhere: a current event headline, a chance remark by a friend or parent, a brainstorming session with classmates, or even your own fertile imagination.

     First, let's discuss finding ideas when your teacher has assigned a topic for you. Before researching a paper on, say, the working conditions in South African diamond mines, you may have absolutely no ideas at all. At this point, you don't even have enough information to make a list of points or draw any conclusions. You are in the dark. But not for long.

     As you research and take notes from books, magazines, and Internet articles on the topic, you will start to formulate ideas simply because you are reading about the topic. In fact, you can get ideas for points by looking at chapter titles or article headings. They naturally break the topic into logical chunks already.

     To keep your paper from being mind-numbingly boring, look for a slice of the topic that interests you. Hidden in almost any topic is something that grabs you. In your research about the diamond mines, you may come across information about how foremen keep workers from stealing diamonds. Perhaps this theft prevention has changed through the years, and you find this interesting. Then devote a larger portion of your paper to this part of the topic. Because you are excited about the topic, your paper will be easier to write and will be more interesting to read.

     Now, let's talk about getting ideas when your teacher allows you to choose the topic. What interests you? What do you find intriguing? What do you mull over? Use these and questions like them to get you thinking about what you could write about. You may even get an idea from your current reading, a recent movie or TV show, a discussion in church, or an activity in which you are involved (sports, music, drama, etc.).

     Consider things you feel intensely about. Something makes you angry. What is it? Injustice? Unfairness? Bullies? Abuse? Getting your cavities filled from a dentist who has bad breath? Something thrills you. Helping someone? Being part of a group that works together, whether it be a sports team, orchestra, dance group, or drama camp? Capture that intensity and that topic and translate it into an exciting paper.

     There's no reason to sit alone in the dark and bang your head against the wall in hopes of getting an idea. Try a brainstorming session with friends or classmates. These creative sessions will often produce a workable idea or two. And your head won't hurt so much.

Your thesis statement (also called a "controlling idea" or the "main idea") shows readers what direction your paper is taking. It is one or two sentences that clearly guide the rest of your paper, like the steering wheel of a car, in that direction. Every topic sentence, every paragraph, every fact, anecdote, or illustration, and your whole concluding paragraph support your thesis statement.

     Let's say your science teacher gives you the topic of snakes. How many different directions can you go with this? Snakes as pets, escaped pet snakes as a danger to the neighborhood, the impact of snakes inadvertently introduced to other countries through imports, the science of snake venom as medicine, how a poisonous snake bite works and affects the victim, the varieties of snakes in the world, snake-skin patterns, how snakes reproduce and care for their young, the needs of snakes, where snakes fit in the food chain, the anatomy and physiology of snakes, and so forth. And I'm just getting started.

     If your thesis statement is a question ("Do snakes make good pets?"), then everything in your paper should answer that question. If it is a declarative sentence ("Non-native snakes have had a negative impact on the state of Florida"), everything in your paper will support and prove your declaration.

     Some students develop a thesis statement before they begin their research. That's okay. But be aware that, during the research phase, you may learn facts that drive your paper in a different direction. That's okay, too. You will simply rewrite your thesis statement to fit the new direction.

     If your paper doesn't match your thesis statement, either change your thesis statement or change your paper. If there is a point or any information in your paper that doesn't answer or support your thesis statement, delete the point or information. Streamline your paper so it and your thesis statement fit together.

     Where does your thesis statement appear in your paper? Typically, you put it at the end of your introduction.

Staring at a blank piece of paper or computer screen is so intimidating! So why do it?

     And anyway, who says you have to start at the first sentence?

     One blogger of my acquaintance writes an informal outline so he can write any part of his blog first and then put it all together later in the order he planned it. Many professional writers write their conclusions first because they know exactly what they want to end up saying.

     Try this: Once you have a working thesis statement (see question 5 for more info on a thesis statement) and know the direction of your paper, consider writing the body of your paper first. This contains the paragraphs that support your thesis statement.

     The body of your paper is like the hamburger patties in a triple cheeseburger. It contains the "meat" of your paper, and each patty represents one paragraph. (Don't limit yourself to three paragraphs, though, especially after you gain some writing experience.) The top bun is like the introduction; the bottom bun is like the conclusion. You can start writing your paper anywhere on the "burger" as long as you know where you're going with it.

     Begin writing where you feel most comfortable or where you have the most interest. Then fit everything together later.

Yes, it's true. The first draft, or what some call the "sloppy copy" or the "rough draft," is only the beginning. It is not the finished product. The writing process is not complete until you have also proofread.

     Your first draft puts everything where you want it and is the first step in saying what you want to say. Let it sit for a day or two and then begin your proofreading/editing process by printing off your first draft and reading it out loud. Now what?

     First, look for obvious grammar mistakes and for missing or repeated words. You may be surprised at what you find. Second, check to see if all the paragraphs and facts hang together and support the thesis statement. Last, pay attention to the "flow" of your paper-whether the second point follows naturally after the first, and so forth. Your paper should make sense in the order you have chosen for your points. As Susan Sontag, a famous essayist, advises, "Directions: Write, read, rewrite. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as needed."

     Make changes to your printed-off paper and then add the corrections to your paper on screen. Save the changes and then print it off again. Then repeat the tasks in that last paragraph again. In this way, you are evaluating your own work and preparing it to better meet the world.

     E. B. White, author of Charlotte's Web, puts it this way: "I do think that the ability to evaluate one's own stuff with reasonable accuracy is a helpful piece of equipment."

Writing takes time. There's no way around that. You need time to think, plan, research, organize, write, and rewrite.

Here's a basic rule of thumb: For every 100 words you are assigned, allow for at least one hour of work. Therefore, a 300-word essay (about one and one-half pages) will take at least three hours to write. A 1,000-word essay will need at least 10 hours of thinking, planning, organizing, researching, writing, and rewriting. You know your work habits; pace yourself accordingly.

Keep in mind that, in order to take a decent swipe at proofreading, you should write your paper a few days before it is due. This allows it to "cool off" so when you come back to it, you will be more objective about your work and be able to do a more thoroughjob of proofreading.

Here's the good news: Yes, writing stories counts as writing. And here's the bad: You still have to learn how to write essays and reports.

     But here's more good news: Learning to write nonfiction (essays and reports) will actually help you in your fiction writing. There is a cross-over benefit. This isn't just teacher-speak. It's true. I've seen it in the students I teach.

     When you learn the techniques for nonfiction writing and gain some proficiency in it, you are aiding your fiction-writing abilities. The thinking, planning, researching, organizing, writing, and proofreading skills you learn from the nonfiction side of writing will make you a better fiction writer. Learning how to communicate more effectively to an audience enhances your ability to write stories, and it also improves your fiction-writing style.

     Fiction writers often possess traits, personalities, and learning styles that make them enjoy writing fiction. As a storyteller, you may never be comfortable writing essays and reports. You may never win an award for that problem-solving process paper on how to defeat terrorism in three easy steps. We're not talking miracles here; we're talking proficiency, improvement, and skills.

Start crying now.

     Oh, wait. That's not right.

     First, understand that the SAT essay is a persuasive essay. That means you have to choose a side. You have to support a view. You have to try to convince an imaginary audience that you are right. Expository essays that explore the pros and cons of each view will not earn you a high mark.

     Second, practice. Basketball players practice free throws so that when the opportunity arises in the big game, they will step up to the line with confidence and hear the swish. Arrange some "free-throw" practice. How?

     Inside the New SAT, written by the staff of Kaplan, a test preparation and college admissions company, advises the following schedule for the 25-minute SAT essay:

          T hink about the topic (2 minutes)
          O rganize your paragraphs (5 minutes)
          W rite your essay (15 minutes)
          F ix your mistakes (3 minutes) Inside the NEW SAT

     To help you practice, go to the College Board's Web site at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/after/essay_prompts.html . It has practice questions and aids to help you write a better persuasive essay. Find one of the quotations on the site and practice thinking about the topic (brainstorming ideas and examples) and organizing your paragraphs (putting your points and examples in order). Do this several times with several quotations/topics-without ever writing the essay.

     Breaking the tasks down, first untimed and then timed, will allow you to get used to the rhythm of the process without getting bogged down in the writing. Check to make sure you are actually supporting a view and choosing points that will persuade readers to that view. After you have gained some proficiency in thinking and organizing, add the writing portion to the practice session. Later, add the three minutes to the end of the session so you can fix your mistakes. Ask someone to keep time for you.

     Third, practice with friends. Even though you will take the test by yourself, there's no rule that says you have to practice by yourself. Have some fun with it. Kick around ideas. Enjoy the back-and-forth of opinions the session will generate.

     And leave your tissues at home.