How to Teach Essay Writing & 3 Tips for Clear, Impactful Instruction

Essay writing. For some students, the mere thought of it conjures images of red ink and failing grades. For others, it’s a chance to showcase their critical thinking and communication skills, which help them succeed in school and beyond. That said, few students approach essay writing with confidence. Instead, they often feel overwhelmed by the task and unsure where to begin. As a result, many students struggle to write clear, well-structured essays that articulate their ideas. So, how do we get students to overcome their anxiety and write better essays? First, we teach them how to approach the writing process methodically. This gives them a clear roadmap to follow before and during their assignments so they can focus on communicating their ideas rather than on what’s coming next. In this article, we’ll discuss how to teach essay writing to middle and high school students to help them feel more at ease with their next writing task.  

EssayGrader’s grading software for teachers can help you achieve this goal by providing a clear structure for writing assignments.

Why Teach Essay Writing to Students?

Critical thinking skills are essential for academic and professional success. Writing essays helps students develop these skills by structuring their thought processes. For instance, when students write an essay, they must first stop to consider their topic and develop an argument. From there, they can outline their thoughts and create a coherent structure for their paper. 

This process helps them learn to identify relevant information and eliminate extraneous details that do not support their thesis. As students write, they discover new information and how it relates to their argument. This often leads to a revision of their original thesis. This type of critical analysis is vital for academic work and real-world problem-solving. 

How Essay Writing Improves Communication Skills

Clear communication is key to success in any career. Writing essays helps students improve their communication skills by teaching them to express their ideas clearly and concisely. Regardless of the topic, an effective essay is built on a clear, arguable thesis in the introduction. The essay’s body paragraphs should each begin with a topic sentence that relates to the thesis and communicates the paragraph’s main idea. 

Logical transitions must be made within and between paragraphs for the reader to understand the writer’s point of view. An effective essay concludes by summarising the main points and reinforcing the thesis. This structure helps students communicate their ideas precisely.

Related Reading

• Classroom Management Strategies
• Reading Comprehension Strategies
• ACT Grammar Practice
• Types of Rubrics
  
• Teaching Diverse Learners
  
• Good Titles for Essays
• Student Engagement Strategies
• Inclusive Teaching Strategies

How to Teach Essay Writing

Before writing an essay, students should understand the following concepts: 

• Point of View: The writer or speaker’s perspective on an issue. 
• Deductive Reasoning: Starts with a point of view and sets out to prove it using evidence (wraps up in a conclusion). 
• Inductive Reasoning begins with the facts/evidence and develops a point of view (conclusions). 

Understanding Opposing Points of View

When teaching essay writing, have your students make a table with opposing points of view (POV) on their essay’s topic. Be sure they don’t just use two points of view; every issue has more than two sides! They can list them very simply and then decide on their point of view, like this: Topic/Issue: __________________________________________________________________ 

A: __________________________________________________________________ 

B:__________________________________________________________________ 

C: __________________________________________________________________ 

D: __________________________________________________________________ 

E: __________________________________________________________________ 

ME: __________________________________________________________________ 

What is a Thesis Statement

Be sure your students know this! A thesis statement is a one or 2-sentence statement, usually towards the end of the introductory paragraph. It has three functions: 

• State the purpose of the essay: What is my point/purpose? 
• Provide direction: How am I going to prove my point/investigate? 
• Answer the question. 

The last one seems obvious, I know! Many students go off-topic, so advise them to be careful!

Tips to Build Your Students’ Essay Writing Skills

1. Get the Basics Right 

It is unrealistic to expect students to suddenly be able to write an essay in the target language without support. Build up their confidence over time so that they become familiar with writing increasingly long pieces of text. 

A key part of this will be ensuring that they understand sentence connectors and know how to write simple, compound, and complex sentences—these are the foundations for developing more advanced skills. 

2. Don’t Jump Straight In 

Even in a timed exam situation, students must take the time to plan their writing and to work out the key points that they wish to communicate. This is also an opportunity for them to identify specific vocabulary or phrases they want to include. Depending on their ability, the teacher can scaffold some of this work to support and encourage progress. 

Perhaps your students could begin by following an essay structure/word bank you’ve provided or working through a set of questions you’ve prepared. They could then progress to working collaboratively in pairs or groups before tackling an extended writing task independently. Mind mapping can also be a valuable tool to help students organize their ideas and articulate their thoughts before putting pen to paper. It also helps provide a precise reference point for students to revisit while writing to ensure they are still answering the question set!

3. Follow a Structure 

Being asked to write a 1,000-word essay initially feels like a huge ask for most students. So, help them make it feel less of a challenge by breaking it down into manageable chunks. The 5-paragraph essay structure is widely used for second language writers and provides a clear road map for students. 

• Paragraph 1: This is meant to grab the reader’s attention, give them a clear idea of what’s to come, and generally set the tone for the rest of the piece. 
• Paragraphs 2 to 4: Form the core of the essay’s content. These make specific points that are then backed up by a variety of evidence. 
• Paragraph 5: Delivers the conclusion, summarizing all the arguments and the key points. Students may also find the acronym P.E.E. useful when writing paragraphs 2 to 4. 

This stands for Point, Explanation, and Evidence. Paragraphs should contain clear points or arguments that support (or reject) the overall theme. This is followed by a brief explanation and relevant evidence to reinforce the point. Focusing on these structures can significantly help build students’ confidence. They can focus on correcting the content and language rather than worrying about the essay structure. 

4. Share Examples of Great Writing 

When writing in their target language, it can be challenging for students to imagine or know what good writing looks and sounds like. So, share examples with them – from books, the internet, or magazines on topics that will engage and interest them. While it’s essential to read them and pick up new words/phrases to include, your students may also find it helpful to dissect the examples in detail carefully. 

Help them to identify what makes a piece of writing entertaining or persuasive and help them build the skills to try it themselves (either individually or as a group) 

5. Practice, Practice, Practice 

Of course, the very best way to do this is to practice. Writing more often remains the most effective way for students to improve their writing skills. Of course, some of these tasks should be done as homework, but setting small writing tasks in class reduces grade pressure and ensures that educators are on hand to answer any questions and provide constructive feedback. Pairing students to write practice essays can also be highly effective, particularly when students of mixed ability come together. 

Peer Learning and Feedback: Key Strategies to Improve Writing Skills

The weaker student learns from their peers, and the stronger student reinforces their understanding by explaining it to their classmates. It’s also important that educators make the time to review the outputs of writing tasks with students. 

Highlight the areas where students did well, show them where improvement can be made, and get them to look again at grammar/words they frequently get wrong. This process is vital—it inspires students’ confidence and encourages them to keep writing and trying to improve. 

6. More Than Words 

Every educator will have their view on the accuracy vs. fluency debate, and how they judge the quality of written work students produce will be based on that. Of course, it’s important that students pay attention to using correct grammar, spelling, etc., but it’s also vital that the aim of the piece of writing is achieved. 

• More specifically, does it convince? 
• Does it persuade? 
• Does it encourage me to change my behavior or think again about a topic? 

Therefore, educators must strive to create and deliver lessons that cover core writing skills and encourage students to expand their creativity and critical thinking. Helping students understand the importance of planning and structuring an argument is also valuable beyond just language learning. Ultimately, these tips aim to help you ensure that students find writing a more fulfilling experience. 

7. Use Technology 

We live in an age of technological advancement that permeates every aspect of human endeavor. Education is not an exception. You can use various intelligent tools with youngsters. Modern students are obsessed with innovative applications and devices. It is an ideal opportunity to increase their enthusiasm for essay writing. Grammar checks and digital organizers are among the most entertaining and helpful applications for: 

• High school
• College
• University students

When using grammar checkers, they can identify frequent errors that include punctuation, spelling, grammar, selection of words, and stylistics. In addition, there are online essay writing services that can help students with their essays. The essay writing service 

Exploring CustomWritings: Affordable and Reliable Academic Assistance Services

CustomWritings is one of the best sites allowing learners to spend less on high-quality custom paper. The website consistently receives high marks in reviews. It has received over 4.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot and Sitejabber, indicating that most customers are satisfied with its services. Most clients who evaluated it were: 

• Pleased with the guarantees
• Customer service
• Work quality. 

The platform provides: 

• Assignment assistance
• Written research papers
• Affordable essay writing
• Other high-quality
• Non-plagiarized
• Custom-formatted academic services

8. Use Examples 

With examples, it is easier to teach. Just provide samples of exceptional essays to help your pupils grasp what constitutes a good piece of writing. It may be an essay written by a former pupil. After seeing an example, the learner will understand what an excellent piece should look like. 

Use examples to instruct students on each aspect their essays must have. They will completely understand what constitutes a decent introduction, an instructive body, and a fitting conclusion. In addition, your pupils will be able to examine how sentences are constructed and what grammatical structures are employed. 

9. Insist on Having a Purpose 

It is easier to compose informative, well-written essays with a purpose. An essay cannot simply be written about shared knowledge and concepts everyone fully grasps. 

Therefore, remind your pupils that they should take time to write their essays after selecting a subject. Make them choose the essay’s objective. When a student fully comprehends the purpose of their essay, it will be much simpler for them to create an outline and begin writing. 

10. Use Clear Topic Sentences 

One of the most essential tips to teach writing skills is employing topic sentences. The first sentence of a paragraph establishes its tone. The gist of your content should be communicated in the opening sentence of each section. Explain your paragraph first and then expand upon it by providing examples and explanations that support your essential ideas and demonstrate your expertise. 

11. Revise, Revise, Revise! 

As Pablo Picasso said, “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.” Great writers aren’t necessarily great at writing. They’re great at revision. Writing means revising, revising, and revising—sculpting away what is unnecessary until all that’s left is a powerful essay. There are, of course, different ways to approach revision. Students can do multiple read-throughs, making tweaks as they go along. 

Or they can follow a more systematic approach—doing one read-through for punctuation and spelling errors, one for fact-checking, one for phrasing, one for structure, and so on. The process is up to the individual. Every unit in Pathways contains a revision activity—done on the student’s writing and later on their peers’ writing—to ensure their final drafts are as good as possible.

Related Reading

• Argumentative Essays Topics
• UPenn Supplemental Essays
• Sample College Essays
• ADHD Assessment for Adults
• edTPA Rubrics
• Student Engagement Survey
• Levels of Student Engagement
• Biopsychosocial Assessment
• Career Assessment Test
• Hook Examples for Essays
• Active Learning Strategies
• Pediatric Assessment Triangle

Save Time While Grading Schoolwork with EssayGrader's Grading Software for Teacher

Essay Grader has a simple interface that is easy for educators and students to use. To get started, teachers create a free account on the EssayGrader website. From there, they can upload a single essay or upload multiple essays in bulk. 

After the essays are processed, educators can view student-specific feedback and a score as per their customized rubric. Students can also access this feedback to improve their writing skills. 

The Benefits of Using EssayGrader for Educators 

EssayGrader saves teachers a ton of time when it comes to grading essays. The faster essays are graded, the better the feedback will be. This tool will also help level the playing field for struggling students who can use AI-generated feedback to improve their writing skills and even learn to write better for future assignments.

Related Reading

• Behavior Management Systems
• Classroom Rules
• Professional Development Plan Template
• Yale Supplemental Essays
• Middle School Classroom Management
• Behavior Management Plan
• Princeton Supplemental Essays
• Rubrics for Teachers
• Critical Thinking for Kids
• Middle School Classroom Rules

‍