English texts tell students how to create an outline. That language
can send struggling writers into panic attacks.
A simple trick I call a writing skeleton™ shows struggling
writers how to do an outline in minutes without
any of the anxiety caused by the need for creativity and
writing.
Writing prompts give ideas efficiently
English texts instruct students at length how to settle on a writing
topic. That may be fine for students with lots of patience and lots
of time. It is not good for struggling writers, especially those
with learning disorders.
If a kid has a problem such as dyslexia or attention
deficit disorder, the hardest part of writing may be getting started.
Even smart "normal" kids struggle with writing because just when
they think they have a good idea, they have another that looks
even better. They could die of old age while working to find the
perfect topic.
Learning to write is much easier if students just use the first
idea that comes along. If you give students no-brainer
writing prompts related to your course content,
they cannot go too far wrong.
For example, if you ask students to write about whether Atticus
is the hero of To Kill a Mockingbird, even your dullest
students will see that they have only two thesis statement options.
Picking one of two thesis statements is much easier than picking
one topic out of millions and then having to find a thesis statement
for it.
Writing on teacher-set topics may sound boring to you, but for
novice writers the set topic is a security blanket: they don't
have to find a good topic. And if the topic isn't interesting,
it's the teacher's fault, not theirs.
Example of plan based on thesis
Let's suppose Britt is supposed to write about wifflets. Before
she can learn how to do an outline about wifflets, she needs to
know how to build a working thesis about wifflets. You'll
find that discussion here.
From the thesis sentences she builds, Britt picks this one to write
about:
Wifflets should be prohibited at
the Bigger City High School.
To do an outline in writing skeleton™ format, Britt
will replace the period with the word because and
then add a reason for believing the thesis to be true. I've
put the thesis statement and the reason statement in different colors
below so you can see them easily:
-
Wifflets should be prohibited at the
Bigger City High School because wifflets
distract students from paying attention in class.
-
Wifflets should be prohibited at the
Bigger City High School because some
students use wifflets to cheat on tests.
-
Wifflets should be prohibited at the
Bigger City High School because wifflets
are available on campus if students really need them.
Students who are working with topics related to their class curriculum
should not have a great deal of difficulty coming up with reasons
for their theses using the writing skeleton™ pattern.
The brighter and better-informed students are, the easier it is
for them to do an outline in this way. However, because the writing
skeleton™ can be produced mechanically by doing a set task
repeatedly, even less academically able students can be taught
how to do an outline using the writing skeleton™.
