Course Sample for Our Essay Writing 101 Homeschool Language Arts Course
Essay Writing 101
Unit One: The Writing Process
Lesson Two
In this lesson, we will learn what may be the most important part of the writing process—the planning, or prewriting, process. Why is planning important?
Why not just start writing and see where it leads? How much planning is necessary? Well, let’s think about those two points for a minute. Why not just start writing? Actually, free writing can be part of the process, but free writing without some sort of plan may lead to an unorganized paper. I will discuss free writing later on in this lesson.
How much planning is necessary? The answer is as much as you feel comfortable with. Perhaps you need enough planning to know what your main points are. Or maybe you need so much structure that you need a detailed outline.
The planning process begins with choosing a topic. The best topics will, of course, come from your own interests. Are you familiar with the topic? Do you enjoy doing it or reading about it? Is the topic something you’re not familiar with but want to learn more about? Is the topic a personal experience you want to share? If you don’t find the topic enjoyable or at least interesting, you will not enjoy the writing process and will not produce your best work.
One way to choose a topic is to make a list of those people, events, or experiences you would like to write about. Another way is to write down the first five nouns and verbs that you can think of. What ideas do those words give you?
After you have chosen a topic (or two), you will need to narrow it down. Why is this important? Why can’t you just start writing? Several years ago, I taught English in a small Christian school. When it came time to write essays or term papers, each and every one of my students had the same problem—none of them knew how to narrow down their topics. One student wanted to write about George Washington from the cradle to grave. Another, a diabetic, wanted to write everything she knew about diabetes. I also had a horse lover, a future meteorologist, and a future vulcanologist (scientist who studies volcanoes) among my students. Those students who did not narrow down their topics gave me a lot of facts crammed into a short paper but didn’t really tell me anything. Those students who took the time to narrow their topics gave me much better papers. How did I help my students narrow their topics and write better papers?
One method is by making a list. Begin with your broad topic and then make a list of everything you can think of about that topic. As an example, here is a list for the topic “hurricanes.”
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