12 Writing Essays

Mode:

Explanatory Paragraph Explanatory Essay

Form:

Theme:

History

English Language Arts:

Writing Logical Organization

Page 106 from Write on Course 20-20

Writing Guidelines

Pages 106-113 provide detailed guidelines for writing an essay. Decide how best to implement these pages. You might, for example, go through them step by step when students write their first essay for the year. Then have students refer to these pages as needed for their other essay writing.

Prewriting

Review with students the guidelines for selecting a topic. Emphasize the importance of focusing on a topic that is neither too general nor too specific for an essay. Then consider implementing this activity:

Have students identify a specific writing topic for a general subject from the “Essentials of Life Checklist” (page 33). Here is an example:

General subject area: food

Subject of interest: pasta

Specific topic: making homemade linguini

Have students repeat this process several times until they find a topic they would like to write about.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

LAFS.6.W.2.4

TEKS Standard:

110.22.b.10.A, 110.22.b.10.B

NE ELA Standard:

LA 6.2.2

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:

Mode:

English Language Arts:

Page 107 from Write on Course 20-20

Gathering Details

Review page 107 with students. Then provide them with time to gather details for one of the topics that they identified earlier. Encourage students to use one of the graphic organizers on this page.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

LAFS.6.W.3.7

TEKS Standard:

110.22.b.12

NE ELA Standard:

LA 6.2.2.c

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:

Mode:

English Language Arts:

Page 108 from Write on Course 20-20

Writing a Thesis Statement

Read and discuss this page. Point out that the formula for writing a thesis statement is essentially the same as the one for writing a topic sentence (see page 93). Also note that thesis statement and focus statement are interchangeable terms. Have students write a thesis statement for the topic they have been working with. Then ask for volunteers to share their statements for discussion.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

110.22.b.10, 110.22.b.11.C

TEKS Standard:

NE ELA Standard:

LA 6.2.1.b, LA 6.2.2.a

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:

Mode:

English Language Arts:

110.22.b.10.A, 110.22.b.10.B

Page 109 from Write on Course 20-20

Organizing Your Information

Review page 10 with your students. Be sure they understand that there are many ways to organize details for writing, including making a list, using a line diagram, and completing an outline. Outlining, of course, is the most formal and thorough form, used primarily for major projects such as research reports.

Have students fill in an organized list for the details that they have gathered for their topics. Download and distribute the organized list template.

Downloads:

Organized List Template

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

LAFS.6.W.2.4

TEKS Standard:

NE ELA Standard:

LA 6.2.2

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:

Mode:

English Language Arts:

Page 110 from Write on Course 20-20

Writing Great Beginnings

Page 110 provides strategies for writing a beginning paragraph for an essay. Carefully review the options and then have students use them to write a beginning for their essay idea. Afterward, have volunteers share their work for discussion. Also be sure to refer to page 43 and to other essays in the handbook for other ways to write a beginning.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

110.22.b.10, 110.22.b.11.C

TEKS Standard:

NE ELA Standard:

LA 6.2.1.b, LA 6.2.2.a

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:

Mode:

English Language Arts:

Page 111 from Write on Course 20-20

Developing the Middle Part

Review with students this information on building the middle paragraphs in an essay. Also refer students to pages 44-45. Then ask students to write one or more middle paragraphs for their essay idea. (Students should use their organized lists to guide them.) Afterward, have volunteers share their writing for discussion. Also consider reviewing the middle part of other essays in the handbook.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

110.22.b.10.B.ii, 110.22.b.11.C

TEKS Standard:

NE ELA Standard:

LA 6.2.1.b, LA 6.2.1.c, LA 6.2.2.a, LA 6.2.2.b

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:

Mode:

English Language Arts:

Page 112 from Write on Course 20-20

Integrating Quotations

Carefully discuss with students the explanation about using quotations in writing. Remind students to use quotations to back up their thinking, not in place of their own thoughts. If students have gathered quotations about their topics, have them integrate at least one of them in a middle paragraph. Ask for volunteers to share their writing for discussion.

As an alternative activity, you can ask students to find a quotation they really like. Then have them develop a brief text around the quotation by introducing it and then following it with a final remark or two.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

LAFS.6.W.3.8

TEKS Standard:

110.22.b.12.D, 110.22.b.12.E, 110.22.b.12.F, 110.22.b.12.G

NE ELA Standard:

LA 6.2.1.c, LA 6.2.1.i, LA 6.2.2.b

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:

Mode:

English Language Arts:

Page 113 from Write on Course 20-20

Writing Great Endings

Read aloud and discuss this information about writing the closing part of an essay. Also refer students to page 46 for additional information. Then ask students to use one of the strategies on page 113 to write an ending paragraph for their essay. Have volunteers share their writing for discussion. You can also point to the endings of in other essays in Write on Course 20-20 for more examples.

State Standard Reference:

LAFS Standard:

110.22.b.10.B.i, 110.22.b.11.C

TEKS Standard:

NE ELA Standard:

LA 6.2.1.b, LA 6.2.2.a

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:

Mode:

English Language Arts: