Writing an essay isn’t most kids’ idea of fun, but building those skills early on is an important step in preparing kids for high school tests, college courses, and professional work. It’s never too early to start kids on the path to English essay writing success.
However, most parents don’t know where to begin to get their kids interested in writing and in building the kinds of skills that will help them to write great essays in the future. In this article, we’ll take a look at some tips to help you motivate your kids to start developing the skills that will help them to achieve more in high school, college, and beyond.
So where do you start? It’s a good question. The first place to start is also the easiest.
The Importance of Reading
The first step in turning kids into lifelong writers is to help them become lifelong readers. Kids who read a lot of books grow up to become teens and adults who can write well. Reading helps kids to become accustomed to the rhythms of the written word and the way that sentences, paragraphs, and pages are constructed.
When you expose kids to a wide variety of great literature, you are exposing them to models that they will be able to take with them no matter what type of writing they do in the future. And the material they read doesn’t have to be essays to benefit them in the future. Any type of writing will do. Have them read what’s fun for them so they can begin learning to love the written word.
Practice Free-writing
Before kids can write great essays, they first need to be comfortable with the writing process. Engaging in free-writing activities can help kids to become better writers. For example, have your kids write a paragraph or two every day. It can be on any topic or none at all. It doesn’t even have to tell a coherent story.
Just have them write down whatever ideas come into their heads. The idea is to practice putting pen to paper (or typing as the case may be) and getting the words out of their brains and into written form. Free writing activities can help to make writing less intimidating and more fun for students.
Make Writing Part of Everyday Life
Another tip to help prepare kids for essay writing is to make writing a part of everyday life. Kids should be practicing some kind of writing every single day. This doesn’t have to be a major essay. After all, you don’t want your kids searching online for a free essay writing service to try to avoid your assignments. You want to save professional academic paper help from an online custom writing service like SmartWritingService.com for when they need help on the actual college essays they will write someday.
At this point, you are really just looking for them to see writing as a natural part of daily life. Have them keep a journal about what they did each day, or practice writing you a daily letter or email. Any type of writing you can make part of their regular routine will help to build writing skills.
Teach the Art of Outlining
A key skill that will help kids throughout their academic careers is to teach the art of outlining. Being able to plan an essay before you start writing is a skill that will stick with kids for life and be applicable in many different contexts. When you outline an essay, you are thinking about all of the parts that have to go into it and are making a plan before the essay writing starts to address all of the requirements and expectations.
When you work through the logistics of the essay early on, you will experience a progression in your logical thinking and reasoning skills, which in turn will make the essay that much stronger. Many kids will resist outlining because it can seem like an extra layer of work that doesn’t have immediate dividends, but with a little practice, even the most reluctant writers will soon come to see the importance of writing and outline to create a great essay and worksheet.
Use the Power of Technology
Many kids are somewhat averse to putting pen to paper but will be more receptive to using technology to write their papers. If you kid doesn’t like writing with a pen, try a laptop. If they aren’t enthusiastic about sitting and writing on a laptop, you can try a tablet.
A lot of kids prefer to compose on a tablet, even if adults may wonder how they can type effectively on touch screen. Beyond the method of typing, technology can also help kids to plan their essays. For example, kids might enjoy starting a Pinterest board where they pin ideas for future essays or other writing projects.
Make Sure They Have the Basics Down
Most important of all, make sure that your kid has a good grasp of the fundamentals. That means working with your kid on grammar, spelling, and other mechanical issues to ensure that your child has a command of the skills needed to develop effective and persuasive essay writing. After all, when students write papers, they need to be able to deliver the best quality work, and that means ensuring that it is clear, readable, and understandable to ensure the meaning comes through correctly.
