Parent Tip: Writing essays
Most kids would rather do almost anything besides write an essay. We’ve seen students do every possible practice and lesson but our Level 3: Texts Under Scrutiny lesson on essay writing to avoid the task. It’s understandable. Essays have a bad rap, mostly because many schools teach them as the equivalent of abruptly slipping on a whale-boned corset and performing a series of arcane and inscrutable dance steps to kids who have only worn sweatpants and Crocs their whole lives. Kids who’ve never been asked to express any nuanced thoughts or arguments before are suddenly tasked with having something to say—at length.
In our essay lesson video, we use the image of a glass of orange juice to talk about essays. Specifically, that you need both the glass and the juice to enjoy a cup of juice, but it is the juice that gives the glass of juice meaning. People want the juice. Just so with essay writing. An essay should not be confused with a glass/the form, which can vary tremendously in the real world. People write and read essays because they want the juice, not to admire a well-made glass full of empty thoughts.
So, what does it take to write juicy essays with relative ease beyond the basic ability to write mechanically sound sentences and type or handwrite at length (both important)? The following are what June Writers ensures kids learn before they tackle essay writing:
The glass
Familiarity with basic argument structure conventions
Level 2: Arguments in Microcosm is all about learning the conventional structure of an argument, and then writing arguments in various ways. Though we tell kids this is writing various kinds of paragraphs, you’ll notice that our examples tend to be long paragraphs. This isn’t a mistake; we are teaching argumentation structure first and foremost. As a result, many of our students end up writing mini- or full scale essays in Level 2 because we encourage them to let their argument dictate the length of their text. These same kids will nonetheless often freeze up when they reach the essay lesson because they have not thought of what they were writing before as essays (they were!) and the word has become so loaded. This is why we have all kids build the elements of their essays in bite-sized chunks when they do reach Lesson 3.3.
The juice
A habit of ideas/something to say
One of the things that sets the June Writers curriculum apart from others is that we ask kids to explain their ideas and reasoning beginning with Practice 1.1.1. This is not simply because it’s fun to hear kids explain why they would name a monster Reasonable Roach. Instead, we want kids to grow accustomed to thinking and communicating their reasoning. We’ve talked elsewhere about the importance of developing the habit of having ideas. But we can’t state enough the importance of kids having ideas; people and civilizations grow and die on ideas. In Level 2, we nurture the idea habit by teaching kids the skills of looking for connections and a deeper level of insight into their subclaims as part of the standard argument form. These elements demand space, and so kids get used to writing at length. They learn how a complex idea can unfold, and see that this is something they can do. It’s beautiful to watch.
Analysis tools
Once kids get used to having ideas and making arguments, we teach them a new set of skills to deepen their ways of thinking about all the aspects of an argument: analysis tools. At the end of Level 2 and the beginning of Level 3, kids spend time learning about the classical tools of rhetoric. They then spend time using these tools to make arguments and write analyses of other people’s arguments at increasing length. These tools effectively give kids new dimensions to their thoughts and possibilities for what to discuss in their essays. It’s a continuous process of unfolding an idea.
Awareness of your audience
In many schools, kids are taught to begin their essays with a catchy hook (e.g., Have you ever wondered how the pyramids of Egypt were built?). If you’ve read these hooks once, you’ll never want to read them again. They’re sad approximations of finding authentic connections with the interests and assumptions of your audience (kairos in classic Greek rhetoric). But essays do generally need to connect with an audience, unless someone is purely writing for themselves. This is why we teach kids about adapting their arguments to different arguments before they take on essay writing. Lessons 3.1 and 3.2 are about looking at the interplay of audience and argument. Thinking about the audience is a useful skill for all manner of writing situations; unfortunately, most kids only realize this when they struggle to write school application essays.
Together, these foundational tools help kids ease into essay writing with less pain—and increase the amount of juice in the glass. Kids will still be at various levels with where they start and how far they need to grow in the process of mastering the essay, but they’ll at least be capable of serving a truly excellent glass of juice, even if they never stop wearing Crocs.
A special note about essays on standardized tests
In the real world, an essay or paper can be many things. While there are conventions within particular academic and popular fields regarding form and voice, these forms are not set in stone. They continue to evolve with the field. So, if June Writers had our way, we would not teach kids that there are only three or four specific genres of essays (expository, persuasive, narrative, etc.). However, we recognize that our national testing and schooling systems have converged on these categories as a way of being able to assess specific skills in children:
Expository: Can a child ask a good question and analyze information and ideas using facts and evidence to answer that question?
Persuasive: Can a child make a persuasive argument well enough to be an informed and effective participant in a democratic society?
Narrative: Can a child tell a good story, think chronologically, and be both appreciative of and able to critique the narratives that structure human life? Can a child distinguish a story from a historical or epistemological narrative?
These are useful skills for our overall population of children to develop. Most kids can write persuasive and narrative essays with relatively little complaint, but it is the expository essays that have the Croc lovers sprinting (slipping) for the exits. Hence why many teachers do everything they can to get students to at least achieve the form of an essay, however juice-free. There is still value for kids to learn the components of an argument and to be able to separate fact and evidence from feeling. This form of argument is a foundational entry point into the long legacy of Western thought. We all hope for more for every kid, though. Because these are simulacra of an essay—meme replication—not actual thought.
So, while June Writers does teach kids the essay genres that appear on standardized tests, we also don’t lose sight of the fact that these are specific types of glasses, not the juice. An idea can be explored in many ways—tumbler, crazy straw cup, champagne flute, crystal goblet, World of Crocs official brand cup, frozen ice cube tray, etc.
Ready for your child to learn how to write essays with lots of juice? Enroll your child today.
