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Start Your Child's Writing Assignments Off On the Right Page

For many students – and adults too – the hardest part of writing is getting started. Writing teachers suggest using creative ways to think about the topic, and always writing at least one draft prior to the "final copy."

If your middle school or high school child has difficulty with writing assignments, come to the rescue with these techniques for generating ideas.

• Questions. Make a list of interesting questions to explore. For example, on an assigned topic of “honesty:"
  • Are there different ideas about what honesty means?
  • Has someone’s dishonesty ever affected you personally?
  • Are honesty in business dealings and personal dealings equally important?

Or ask these traditional journalist's questions about the topic:

• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?
• How?
  
  
• Cubing. Explore the topic from six views, making notes on each. Spend no more than five minutes on each, following this order:
  • (1) Describe it – what do you see?
  • (2) Compare/contrast it – what is it similar to or different from?
  • (3) Associate it – what does it remind you of?
  • (4) Analyze it – how is it made or what causes it?
  • (5) Apply it – what can you do with it, how can it be used?
  • (6) Argue for or against it – take a stand, one way or the other, and list any reasons, serious or silly.
    
    
• Clustering. Pick a key word related to the topic and write it in the middle of a sheet of paper. Circle the word and draw rays extending out. Write down other words that come to mind, and circle them. Keep writing and connecting words for a few minutes. If you go blank, draw connecting lines and circles – you’ll think of more words later. Then look over the words in the cluster until they suggest a starting sentence for the essay.

Good luck! And remember, practice makes perfect!

Practice Makes Perfect
These techniques can help you get your child on the right path to writing success. To keep them on the right track, AOL has recently created a FREE service, StudyBuddy.com that can help. StudyBuddy.com is a FREE search engine built just for homework! Now children can find exactly the information they need for homework assignments and reports.

StudyBuddy.com's specially designed search engine anticipates students' information needs and delivers only grade-appropriate, credible and relevant results, sorted by resource. And StudyBuddy is FREE to everyone – no AOL membership is required.

Debra Pryor has over 20 years of experience in the K-12 education market. She is the author of Technology in the Classroom; Ahead of the Trend Study: Youth and Education; The Ten Emerging Truths: New Directions for Girls 11–17; and Empowering the Next Generation Learner, and has been quoted on educational issues in USA Today, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times.

Deborah Meyers has over 30 years’ experience in the areas of education, communication, and public information. As writer and project manager for Partners In Brainstorms, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in identifying current and future dynamics in the education market, she has contributed to numerous program materials for tweens and teens ages 11–17 as well as research reports on the K–12 education market.

08/07/2006