How to write a paper for High School student, class or tutor?
"The Cooper Union is offering a three-week intensive writing course
to prepare students for college-level writing. The program utilizes
a workshop format that infuses lecture and discussion with hands-
on reading and writing work. Class options are available on
campus in Manhattan or online. More information can be found
online or by emailing summerwritingprogram@cooper.edu."
I've got an 8th grader, and I must say the mini-essays have been fast and furious in middle school, and each time I observe a strange kind of writer's block take over. I chalk it up to over-thinking the issue. They are definitely being instructed in writing interpretative and argumentative writing, though. There are all kinds of pretty intense (and helpful, I think) writing style rules in the 9th grade English (which she's taking now). It seems like a good start to me.
Does Columbia HS not assign long research papers in some of the classes? We did that in all of our history classes starting in 10th grade. (Which, by comparison to what my kids are getting these days, was at generally pretty shallow public school experience.) But, that was loooong ago...
I also think it's a good idea to have older high schoolers read some essays. What subject does she/he like? Find an academic journal/magazine and let them explore a topic of interest (Maybe literature, or art history. Let me know if you need recommendations.)
I think a private tutor almost always works more successfully than a class because they can hone in on individual skills and issues...perhaps, you could find someone who teaches at AP level who offers tutoring. Reading serious non fiction is a huge tool in learning how to be a better writer, especially long magazine pieces in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Mother Jones, etc... There are also summer college writing courses. Maybe the college your kid plans to attend has a precollege writing program in the sumer? Your kid could get some more familiarity with the school and pick up some skills.
Then read what he writes. If it expresses an idea clearly, then proceed with the plan to seek instruction on writing research papers. If not, then he needs instruction in the mechanics of grammar before he proceeds to research.
I hope this helps.
I'm looking into the summer class at Cooper Union, and talked to the teacher who sounds awesome.
two challenges for us 1) it's $2500 and 2) 5 hours a day for 3 weeks. (I'm worried about the buy-in from my teen on spending that much time writing)
Has anyone done the class? or have other suggestions? thanks!
https://www.cooper.edu/academics/outreach-and-pre-college/summer-writing this is the class
The AP Composition class is very good and I think they let anyone take it. Be prepared to help your kid though or to hire a tutor. It's not an easy class for the writing challenged.
Former writing tutor here. This site is a wonderful resource: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/
See also: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/679/01/
Once your son arrives at college, I recommend making a beeline to the campus writing center. If it exists at his college, these sessions are a great way to build skill and confidence gradually.
thank you! I wonder if there are techniques or systems for someone with ADHD to write a paper step by step?
As a professional writer, I have to say that "techniques" and "systems" make for bad writing. There's no formula. Here's a suggestion: Have him talk the paper into a recorder, then transcribe it. I bet he is good at talking.
Also, every college I know of has a writing center. Is this for a college student? If for a HS student, engage help from the teacher.
Here's a one-off tip from a post above:
pickwick said:
I think a private tutor almost always works more successfully than a class because they can hone in on individual skills and issues...perhaps, you could find someone who teaches at AP level who offers tutoring.
The word is HOME, not hone. To home in on something is to focus on it exclusively, to zero in. Think of a homing pigeon.
To hone is to sharpen, as to hone one's skills.
shoshannah said:
As a professional writer, I have to say that "techniques" and "systems" make for bad writing. There's no formula. Here's a suggestion: Have him talk the paper into a recorder, then transcribe it. I bet he is good at talking.
Also, every college I know of has a writing center. Is this for a college student? If for a HS student, engage help from the teacher.
Here's a one-off tip from a post above:
pickwick said:The word is HOME, not hone. To home in on something is to focus on it exclusively, to zero in. Think of a homing pigeon.
I think a private tutor almost always works more successfully than a class because they can hone in on individual skills and issues...perhaps, you could find someone who teaches at AP level who offers tutoring.
To hone is to sharpen, as to hone one's skills.
Helpful
crazy_quilter said:
thank you! I wonder if there are techniques or systems for someone with ADHD to write a paper step by step?
I taught the research writing course at New Providence H.S. This was before widespread use of computers.
The simplest technique and the one most resisted by students is taking notes on 5 x 7 note cards. Students hate these. In using cards for writing my own research papers, the completed set of cards made it easy to organize the writing.
The second most resisted requirement in my course was the outline. While I didn't require a formal outline with "sub a's and 1s" and so forth, outlining enabled the student to see if something was missing. It is easier to correct a problem on an outline rather than after printing 8 pages.
Introductions and conclusions were difficult for many students. It is important that the conclusion summarize the stated intention in the introduction.
Selecting a topic: If you can find 3 -5 books on a topic, it is a good start. For example, U.S. Grant as a general. If you can easily find more than books on a topic, it is too broad a topic and needs to be narrowed. For example, Abraham Lincoln.
God knows how to help students get through the clutter of researching by Google.
I hope this helps.
crazy_quilter said:
thank you! I wonder if there are techniques or systems for someone with ADHD to write a paper step by step?
I think the best way for many ADHD students to learn writing is with a one-on-one tutor and a lot of hand holding and close guidance. They often have the brains but not the motivation for sustained difficult work. You have to do a lot for them for a long time and slowly hand off responsibility. This is not the usual advice and many parents and even teachers will pull away and tell the student to figure it out them selves or call them lazy, etc. This frequently causes them to shut down and avoid further attempts and can set up a bad cycle. It's better to provide close mentoring help and then slowly wean them off. Also as the ADHD student gets more confident they will work more on their own. A good method is to use google docs where the student and parent/tutor can write and edit a document together (marking multiple versions so they can go back, if needed). That way the tutor can model the thinking process directly and the student can try to mimic the tutor with guidance and actual work gets done.
There are also some writing programs said to work well with the special ed population but those are for specific writing issues such as sentence or paragraph writing and they require students to practice writing to improve writing. ADHD students often learn better in the context of getting assigned work done before the due date.
I am an editor, not an educator. I have been thinking about whether I can adapt my skills to tutoring, because I think I would enjoy it.
I would be interested in providing feedback free to a couple of students, perhaps on college essays or other closed-end assignments. If your student might be interested, please PM me.
susan1014 said:
From this week's CHS guidance newsletter:
"The Cooper Union is offering a three-week intensive writing course
to prepare students for college-level writing. The program utilizes
a workshop format that infuses lecture and discussion with hands-
on reading and writing work. Class options are available on
campus in Manhattan or online. More information can be found
online or by emailing summerwritingprogram@cooper.edu."
@susan1014 I had no idea that guidance emails a newsletter. How do I get on the list?
shoshannah said:
The word is HOME, not hone. To home in on something is to focus on it exclusively, to zero in. Think of a homing pigeon.
To hone is to sharpen, as to hone one's skills.
Oh, don't be such a scold. "Hone in" is widely considered an acceptable alternative, and this is casual writing on a message board, not the New Yorker. Speaking of the New Yorker, here's the great Mary Norris on the subject: http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/dont-try-to-hone-in-on-a-copy-editor
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Can anyone recommend a class (Rutgers? Montclair State? Essex County?) or a tutor who could work with him beginning now or over the summer?
Thank you in advance.