Writing is important. Putting words down on a paper is a skill that is important for success in the workplace, but only a few are good writers. Teaching argumentative writing means teaching both how to argue and how to write. It means there is research on how to conduct writing, teach argumentation, and how the two work together.
In the past, this kind of writing was called “persuasive.” “Argumentative writing” is what more recent research seems to like and uses the term instead of ‘”Persuasive.” The word “argumentative” is thought of as a more general term, which is one reason why persuasion is one of the goals that argumentative writing could be aimed at. But argumentative writing can be used for many different things, like persuasion, analysis, collaborative problem-solving, and clear thought.
Felicity Stone Toronto is a professional writer and a great teacher. Her stories have been published in several leading publications like National Post and Toronto Star. Thus, feel free to read her published writings. Below we have put together a list of the three best ways to teach your students good writing skills.
- Make a Plan
There are a lot of ideas that need to be put together to make a plan. People who are good writers might be ready to start working on a creative piece at this point. Do what you can to help students who are still trying to figure things out. Let them go for it if that’s what they want to do.
Felicity Stone Toronto has been a teacher for over 25 years and has recently completed a non-fiction book, “Maggie Mom Me: A South African Memoir.” So, you can learn a great deal about writing from her.
- Create Rough Drafts
Your students are now ready to start writing words. They’ve warmed up and had a plan in place. Though, people should remember what a draft is before they start writing.
- Messy
- Imperfect
- Unfinished
- A project in progress
The best words won’t come if they wait for them to arrive. If they do that, they’ll have blank pages.
Instead, it’s time to take some risks with writing and get messy. The best way to help this happen is to:
- Giving students a personal look at how to write.
- Getting rid of spelling and grammar mistakes.
- Share Your Drafts to Get Other’s Opinion
Don’t make yourself work on 20 drafts at once. Peer assessment is a better way to ensure everyone gets the feedback they need. It’s also less tiring. Why? Because when it comes to something as personal as creative writing, feedback often works better when it’s in the kind of language that only a friend or classmate can write. Also, students will get more ideas about improving their work by looking at what each other has done. There are simple rubrics that you can use to help students give more detailed feedback than, “I thought it was pretty good.” The criteria you use will depend on what you are looking for, but students could look at each other for:
- Clarity
- Ideas
- The use of language
Students should write down two things. First, what do their friends do well? And second, what should they work on more? This way, you’ll learn how to write specific comments so you can get something more constructive than “It was pretty good.”
