But the reality is, our present culture probably sends more letters than either of the previous two centuries. We just call them emails, instant messages, and texts.

Yes, those are letters, even without the ink, envelopes, and stamps. They are written communication from one person to another with a specific intention in mind.

But because sending [digital] letters is ridiculously easy and commonplace now, students often ignore their early lessons about how to construct a letter properly. This informality is perfectly acceptable in the day-to-day communication between family members and peers, but it does not extend to all situations.

A common situation that demands a more formal approach to letter-writing is contacting teachers.

This applies also to students utilizing the EIW Scoring Service. All our scorers (and many professional teachers besides) can attest to the extreme frustration of receiving a message from a student who doesn’t so much as identify themselves!

Students from all types of schooling make this kind of a mistake, but it is especially common for homeschool students. After all, they rarely have to email their teacher; they usually can just walk into the kitchen and ask Mom whatever they need to know. This technique doesn’t work for the Scoring Service, however; nor will it work in a collegiate or professional environment.

So how are homeschool students supposed to write an email to a teacher (or other authority figure)?

Here are some basic formatting and etiquette tips to help you out!

Writing Format

1. Include the parts of a letter

The parts of a letter are date, greeting, body, closing, and signature. In digital letters, the date is often included automatically by the messaging system. However, you should include all other parts.

2. Identify yourself and your class

Always state your full name and what course you are taking at the very beginning of the message. After all, teachers have a lot of students. They often won’t be able to immediately remember who you are and what class you’re taking, so you are in effect wasting your teacher’s time by making them dig for that information themselves—which sometimes college professors won’t do, so your question will go unanswered.

3. Identify the specific assignment or topic about which you have a question

Again, TEACHERS ARE BUSY!! Don’t make them read your mind or Sherlock Holmes their way into figuring out what you mean.

4. Use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation

Hopefully you like your teacher, but your teacher is not your friend. Dont send causal message with slang and improper grammer and bad spellin and typos liek u dont relly car e and it deonst matter? Take it from me: this is the quickest way to make your teacher livid.

Writing Etiquette

1. Be humble

Don’t grovel, but write to your teacher from a level-headed place of humility. This is NOT because the teacher is always right, but because it’s honestly the easiest way to get what you want (whether that is an answer to a question, an extension for an assignment, or help with a confusing topic). Teachers (and everyone, for that matter) respond better to people who speak kindly. “Why’d you give me a C on my paper” won’t get you nearly as far as “Could you please help me understand why I received a C on my paper?”

2. Be respectful

Again, teachers aren’t your friends or your peers. They are authority figures, so treat them with respect (even if you don’t particularly like them). At the very least, this is good practice for working with your boss or other professionals in the future.

3. Close with a thank you

Once again, TEACHERS ARE BUSY! Always thank them for the time they took to read the message as well as for their help. I can almost guarantee you that 87% of teachers will finish the message like, “Look at this respectful young person! I like them! I’m going to help them out right away!” Or at least something similar

Learning how to write to authority figures like teachers is an invaluable skill for homeschool students.

I hope these few formatting and etiquette guidelines are helpful to you!

By Athena Lester
Head of Curriculum and Scoring

A.   groan as loud and long as their lungs allow
B.   slump in their chair, slide off to the floor, and lie there face down like a slug
C.   pick up a pencil and start eating it while vacantly staring at anything except the paper in front of them
D.   pick up a pencil—then pick up another pencil and start practicing for their future career in a rock band
E.   write the assignment

For some students, writing is no big deal. However, many others would literally rather do ANYTHING ELSE besides write a personal response or an original poem or an essay.

How can you, as a homeschool parent and educator, help such reluctant writers?

Once students hit high school, this argument sometimes works: “Just do the assignment and get it done because you’re in school and this is what you need to do right now, so just do it.”

But that doesn’t work well with elementary students and middle schoolers.

So what can you do?

Ultimately, you will have to discover what works best for you and your homeschool student. In the meantime, here are 7 helpful tips to keep in mind.

1) People first. Products second.

Make sure your student knows (and YOU know) that they are valuable and important even if their writing needs improvement. Some students resist writing because it is hard or they don’t do it very well. This may lead to their thinking that they aren’t smart or good enough, which will lead to their resisting writing even MORE because it makes them insecure. Let it be clear that your student is valued and important and good even if writing is hard.

2) Break it up.

If completing an entire assignment seems like too much to accomplish, the student may resist starting it at all. If they only have to concentrate on a small piece at a time, however, the work may not seem so intimidating. Breaking the assignment up into smaller parts to be done at different times makes doing the work much less of a chore.

The Essentials in Writing homeschool curriculum has this principle built into the textbooks already. It separates the steps of the Writing Process so that students won’t have to worry about writing an ENTIRE assignment when they sit down to work. They only have to think about one step at a time.

3) Mosey over yonder for a spell.

Take your homeschool student out of their normal learning environment for a session, somewhere that they aren’t used to doing school. The irregular environment may prompt the student to avoid the regular reaction of Noooooooo! Try a corner booth at a fast food joint, or Grandma’s dining room table, or a tree house. Pick somewhere different but not too distracting and then have the student write the assignment.

This won’t be an option for every writing assignment, but you really only need to do it once. If the student realizes they CAN get through a writing project, they may be less inclined to groan or deflate or space out when writing at home.

(Off-topic question: are you a “school room” homeschooler or a “kitchen table” homeschooler?)

4) Just give them a reason. Just a little bit’s enough.

No offense to anyone, but unfortunately, some homeschool students don’t care about their work because only Mom or Dad sees it, and it’s just Mom or Dad. Shake things up and give them a reason to care!

Tell them what they write will be shown to someone else—a grandparent, an older sibling or cousin, a teacher friend of the family, or anyone! Send a picture of the work to the EIW Curriculum Team on Facebook! (We love seeing how students use the curriculum!) Share their work with others. Make it matter if they do the work and do it well. If it matters, they may not drag their feet so much.

5) Live on the flipside.

Some people’s brains shut down when told to write. They believe they just can’t communicate their ideas on paper, but they can TALK about their ideas ALL DAY.

If your student is like this, let them talk! Work through the writing process verbally. Take the pen and paper away from the student and into your own hand. Write down what they say—exactly what they say. Don’t spruce it up, don’t correct anything—just write down exactly what they say. By doing this, you will demonstrate that the student CAN take their thoughts and put them onto paper. That is, they can write.

Show them it is possible. Eventually, they’ll be able to do it on their own.

6) Don’t buy into the “one-size fits all” mindset.

When kids get into high school and college, yes, they will need to write about what the teacher wants them to write about even if the student isn’t interested in the topic at all. That will require discipline and the ability to write even if the student doesn’t care or doesn’t want to.

But elementary and middle school kids aren’t there yet.

In elementary and middle school, we want to teach the kids how to write—not how to survive a boring class, not how to appease a teacher, not how to impress an SAT essay grader. No, at this point, we just want to teach them how to communicate with words on paper. Teach them using something they are interested in! Homeschool students will be more inclined to participate and practice if the topic is something they care about.

Create writing prompts specifically for your student. Focus on monster truck rallies, ballet, animation, the family dog, Disney movies, computer coding, or even Fo….Fo….Fortnite. (That was really difficult for me to get out. I don’t like Fortnite. But you know who likes Fortnite? Middle schoolers. Do you know who has a lot to say about Fortnite? Middle schoolers. Do you know who would probably readily write a letter or a paragraph or an essay about Fortnite? Middle schoolers.)

7) Cool merch.

This last tip may seem a little dumb, but for real: a fancy folder or notebook will make writing WAY more interesting for elementary and middle school students.

I know a pack of lined paper is a dollar and a plastic black folder is $.57, but if your student just does NOT want to write, why not try to bribe them with cool stuff? Yes, it’s a cheap trick (or, I guess it would be a more expensive trick—literally, at least), but it may be what it takes to get your homeschool student over the hump of reluctance. They may not like writing, but you know what they do like? Kai from Ninjago, or Moana, or llamas in hats, or NASCAR. Associate writing with something they like, and they may not pout so much when they have to pull out that particular subject folder.

Also, for your consideration, three words:

multi

colored

pencils

Every homeschool family will have to figure out what works best with their reluctant writer, for every student is unique. Until then, we hope these tips will help you and your student discover the way to excellent writing.

By Athena Lester

Head of Curriculum and Scoring

Let’s face it—not everyone is thoroughly invested in preparing a persuasive essay for living in the country or the city, or comparing and contrasting heat and cold. Sometimes, however, you are given the opportunity to write about something that personally applies to your life, and it’s thrilling! At the same time, this can be a tricky issue to handle in academic circles.

Topics like analyzing a favorite novel, explaining a religious stance, or persuading a reader to agree with a political opinion are all fabulous for essays, and students are often highly invested in them, but these can also lead to pitfalls in writing.

Because you have a personal connection to the subject matter, approaching it in an academically appropriate manner may be difficult.

As a scorer for EIW’s Scoring Service, I have received dozens of essays about topics like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, gun control laws, environmentalism, origins of the universe theories, and even uncontroversial topics like beloved family members and favorite hobbies. These can be the best essays—and they can also be the worst. Not because I do or don’t agree with the student, but because they don’t know how to write academically about the subject matter. While it’s wonderful to see my students so passionate and invested in various aspects of their cultures and countries and families, their voice could be better heard if they knew how to communicate personal viewpoints well.

This applies to other issues as well, such as mental health and opinions about art, films, and literature.

Let’s say, for example, a student is writing an expository essay about an art piece. Which of the following excerpts is more appropriate for an academic paper?

       The vibrant colors applied in thick coats across the canvas captivated me. Once I was paying attention, I saw the smaller details, like the abstract figures interlaced throughout the swirling colors. To me, the piece was about the beautiful mess of humanity, intertwined yet distinct.

       The painting was amazing and beautiful; people simply can’t see this work and not be changed by it. It speaks to the soul with a powerful message about humanity. I was inexplicably joyful after my visit to the museum. Truly, it was a life-changing experience.

Both passages are first person accounts of an impactful artwork, but only the first one uses concrete details and explanations; the second uses only vague terms like “amazing,” “powerful,” and “life-changing.” While these may be accurate, they are not informative. The first sample is much better fit for an academic paper.

How are you, a homeschool student, supposed to write academic essays about things that are personal to you?

About faiths you do or do not adhere to, political topics you do or do not agree with, health struggles you may or may not experience firsthand? Here are three basic guidelines:

1) Be informed.

Just because you have personal knowledge of the matter does not mean you have all the knowledge. Several of the essays I have graded in the past contained no information about the topic beyond the writer’s limited personal experience; therefore, the student came across as uninformed. This will discredit the writer very quickly in high school and college circles. You must be informed about an issue to approach it convincingly, especially if you are required to write about something you don’t believe in or don’t agree with—which is almost a certainty if you go to college.

2) Be specific.

Like I said earlier, “amazing” and “life-changing”—or, in the negative, “ridiculous” and “awful”—are not informative adjectives, and they often make your writing seem elementary. Even if you have had a life-changing experience with the matter at hand, describe that experience specifically, not vaguely. This is true for all academic papers; just because you have a personal connection to the topic doesn’t mean you should be less specific. In fact, you should be more so. Using a thesaurus to find fresh and elevated vocabulary will help bring clarity to your writing, but remember that an effective description is more than fancy adjectives and verbs. Find words and craft phrases that pinpoint exactly what you want to communicate.

3) Be academic.

Obviously, right? When writing an academic paper, be academic! But what does that mean? It means that you aren’t writing a blog post or a memoir; you aren’t writing a devotional or propaganda; you aren’t writing a journal entry or a personal letter. You’re writing an academic paper. Be formal. Be respectful. Be more focused on mind than on heart, more focused on facts than on feelings. This can be difficult when writing about a topic that really means something to you, but it is very important.

In other forms of writing—blogs, fiction, journals, devotionals, memoirs, etc.—feel free to throw #3 out the window! The first two points will help your writing be stronger in any circumstance, but the third is just for school settings. It is important, though! When writing for academics, write for academics!

On a final note, I want to say, YES! Write about topics you are personally invested in!

Do it! I don’t want to scare anyone off from writing about such things. I only want to help you write about such topics properly. The goal, as always, is to write well and communicate clearly.

By Athena Lester

Curriculum Development and Scoring Services

This is an issue that every educator deals with. Some people might be tempted to slap a D or an F on the assignment and move forward, but that won’t help the student in future compositions, so what can we do?

Even though the concept of a “wrong answer” should not really apply to literature, written responses can still be poorly done. We want our students to learn and to grow into the very best version of themselves, and studying literature and writing literature responses can develop their thinking as well as their communication abilities.

But what should you do when something about the student’s writing just doesn’t work?

Generally,

• identify what is lacking
• discuss how to remedy the situation with the student
• have the student correct the problematic areas.

Often, poor responses fall into one of three categories:

1. It misunderstands the literature
2. It doesn’t use textual support
3. It is badly written

How should you respond in each of these situations? For now, let us consider example high school-level responses to Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken.” (This poem is readily found online if you are not familiar with it or need a refresher.) The prompt they are answering is:

Explain a theme in “The Road Not Taken.” Support your answer.

Example #1

       “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is an excellent poem about resisting peer pressure. In the first stanza, a traveler is contemplating two roads, and in the final stanza, he says that he took the road that most travelers ignored. The roads are metaphors for life choices, and the traveler chooses to resist going with the crowd. In the same way, people should choose to make wise choices rather than popular ones. Frost’s poem is an edification for people who choose to do what is right, even if most people choose to do what is wrong.

This response is very well written! The word choice is elevated, it cites specifics aspects from the poem, and the content is well organized and communicates clearly—but it fundamentally misses the point of the literature.

Frost’s poem is not about peer pressure, so even though the student has evidenced critical thought and written well, they missed what the poem is about.

In this situation, praise the student for writing and communicating well and then discuss the literature with them. Show them how they may be misreading or misinterpreting certain areas and then guide them to better understanding. Oftentimes, we read or see what we want to see in art rather than what is actually there.

Oftentimes, we read or see what we want to see in art rather than what is actually there.

Example #2

          “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost describes how everyone makes choices that affect the rest of their lives. Sometimes in life, choices are made, and there’s no going back. For example, if someone chooses to commit a crime, they cannot escape from the aftermath of the crime. Personally, I have made choices that I’m sure have changed my life. When I was in fifth grade, I chose to take piano lessons instead of joining a soccer team. I’ve played piano ever since, but I wonder what kind of person I would be if I chose soccer instead. Robert Frost’s poem focuses on this kind of contemplation of life choices.

This student understands the point of the poem! The opening line clearly and correctly states one of the main themes. The rest of the response, however, provides no support for why the student thinks the poem contains this theme.

Even though the student has the right idea, they are making an unfounded claim. They apply the idea very well and provide a fabulous personal anecdote that relates to the poem, but they never connect with the actual text.

In this situation, commend the student for their valid understanding and relevant life applications, and then explain that they need to support their understanding with textual evidence. Just like a blueprint for a rocking chair doesn’t only show the finished product but also the parts and methods for achieving that finished product, a literature response must demonstrate why and how the literature supports certain ideas. (Another way to think about this is likening it to theorems and proofs in geometry, but I didn’t want to scare anyone away with math.)

Example #3

          The roads mean life choices. The poem says neither one is better. It says both are worn about the same. That means just as many people chose one as chose the other, but later the poem says he took the one that was less traveled. But that doesn’t mean it was better. Sometimes choices aren’t better or worse but just one or the other. And some choices can make big differences in life, like the poem says. That’s what the poem is about.

This response has the right idea and uses textual support—but it is very poorly written. The word choice is lacking for a high school student, it is more like a list of statements than an organized paragraph, and they never even indicate what poem they are discussing!

In this situation, once again, encourage the student that their reading of the literature was excellent and their ideas were correct; they only need to work on communicating better in writing. Show them how they can organize their thoughts and articulate their ideas in a stronger fashion. Encourage them to improve their word choice and to transition more smoothly from thought to thought. This student gets the literature. They simply need to improve their writing.

These concepts can apply to any kind of literature response—responses to short stories, novels, poetry, nonfiction, and so on.

Overall, when it comes to literature responses, you want your student to understand the literature, use textual support, and communicate clearly in writing.

By Athena Lester

Curriculum Development and Scoring Services