Writing Essentials

Writing has never been one of my fortes but I have to say that I wish that I had this list when I was younger or wished that my teachers would emphasize oh each writing essential, especially with a couple of them. I think that all teachers should have this check list somewhere in their classroom because all these points are important and it’s nice to have this resource to look as a refresher on all the main ideas of writing. I was excited to read this list as it brought me back to my childhood and also made me think about how I write. In elementary school I remember how my teachers would emphasize that five paragraph paper, starting with the introduction, three bodies, and the conclusion where the thesis was the last sentence of the introduction and the first in the conclusion. Another activity that I learned when I was younger that I still used today is the brain storming chart using a circle map. The main topic is in the middle branching out the minor details that I would want to write about.

One essential that I see is powerful is the embrace of language. Playing with words is not only fun to do and read, but encourages the reader to experience other types of writings which will hopefully will have the student explore other different types of genres. For example reading poetry could lead to reading Shakespeare and learning how he wrote and use their creative minds to create their own style.

Another essential that I also liked was the authentic voice. Yes it is important to have a piece of writing understandable, clear, and powerful, but sometimes in doing so the writer could get bored. When I write, I want the reader to know my voice and have it sound like me and not be dull because I associate dull with boring.

The only one that I see as somewhat problematic is, “read widely and deeply – and with a writer’s perspective.” Some students simply don’t enjoy reading while others don’t read as well as others for example ELL students. I’m not saying that all ELL students will have a difficult time adjusting to different genres but a story that uses a lot of figurative language, that they may not get it. But as teachers we can expose them to these different types of writings, however not everyone will see this point as effective.