Why Johnny Can t Write
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Reference Education -> subcategory Other.
Why Johnny Can't Write
Summary:
Johnny is a creative storyteller but struggles with essay writing. Does this sound like your child or student?
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Johnny thrives at storytelling, yet falters when it comes to writing essays. Does this scenario sound familiar to you?
Despite receiving decent writing instruction, Johnny struggles to transition from creative narratives to structured essays. He’s familiar with concepts like the Writing Process and Writers Workshop from his elementary school days. His portfolio is filled with imaginative pieces, encouraged by teachers to let his creativity soar, though it occasionally exceeded expectations?"like his story about a cafeteria boycott.
However, when faced with an essay prompt such as "Compare and contrast the cultural roles of women in Athens and Sparta," sixth-grade writer's block sets in. He might even begin improperly with "Once upon a time in a far-away land called Greece." The pressure intensifies with timed assessments.
The reality is, most of Johnny's future academic and professional writing won’t capitalize on his storytelling talent. He’ll need to produce informative or persuasive content, often under tight deadlines. Unfortunately, he hasn't received enough instruction and practice in this area. College professors won’t ask him to submit a story of his choice with multiple revisions.
Students must learn to craft structured essays that inform or persuade. How can we turn a creative thinker like Johnny into an organized essayist? By demystifying essay writing and simplifying the terminology around thesis statements, topic sentences, and commentary.
Assign numerical values to different parts of an essay: use a 1 for introductory strategies, a 2 for the thesis statement, 3 for the topic sentence, 4 for concrete details, 5 for commentary, and 6 for conclusion strategies. This numerical system makes essay structure more intuitive.
Encourage structural variety by having students write paragraphs formatted as 3-4-5-4-5, and later revise them into 3-4-5-5-4-5-5. Students can also analyze text structure by coding their science textbook or a newspaper editorial numerically. This approach aids in developing sequenced writing skills and incorporating diverse grammatical structures.
Pennington Publishing’s "Teaching Essay Strategies" offers a comprehensive program to build essay writing skills. With guided practice, students like Johnny can evolve into confident, persuasive writers.
You can find the original non-AI version of this article here: Why Johnny Can t Write.
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