I remember reading the first letter my husband ever wrote to me. I was 21 and had just finished my Junior year in college. Actually, it was a thank you note, but I remember thinking, "Wow, he doesn't write like an engineer." He had a degree in Physics and a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but I thought that he really wrote like a Liberal Arts major! Not only was his penmanship neat and "pretty", but his language was "flowery" and very interesting to read.
I don't know when I developed my perception of how people wrote, or what it said about them, but here I was 21, and passing judgment on a young man who had innocently written me a letter. Well, come to find out, law school fit him to a tee, and maybe I was right after all!
So, here I am given the task to educate four boys. However, NONE of them have demonstrated strong liberal arts tendencies. My daughter started journaling as soon as she could form letters. I have precious little notes that she wrote while on a field trip in first grade stuck in my photo albums. A couple of years later she was appalled at her spelling, but I know that probably now, as a senior in college, she can appreciate the process of becoming a fully functional writer. Her journaling turned into essays, critiques and term papers. Giving her ANY instruction in style only enhanced her writing, as she'd instantly try to adopt the new style. When she went back to Strunk and White, she said, "I don't consider all of that writing a waste. It basically gave me a bigger piece of marble to sculpt from." Ahhh.... music to a mother's ears.
Back to the boys. The Science boys. So far, I have one that graduated with a degree in Chemistry. Son number two has expressed an interest in getting an Electrical Engineering degree. Jury is still out for sons three and four, but I still have to go through the wringer trying to get them to write papers.... needless to say, they didn't start journaling at the age of 5.
Here is what I do. 9th grader needs to write a cultural paper for Geography. I supplied him with ideas for about 5 different papers and let him pick his favorite topic. He chooses the topic that sounds the most interesting: Religions of Asia.
I grab a stack of index cards. I make him ask me at least 20 questions on Religions of Asia. I set the timer for 30 minutes. He knows some of the main Asian Religions. But, he starts with the easy one: What are the Religions of Asia? He gets warmed up, and starts asking varied questions. How did Buddhism get started? How did Islam spread? How many people practice Hinduism? I am furiously writing his questions down, separately on each card. Before he has finished, in 1/2 an hour, he has come up with over 30 questions.
Next, we take the stack of index cards and I have him categorize them. Now I have him line them up on the dining room table in an outline form. Still just questions on the cards, but he has an outline. Sometimes I'll have them transfer the questions onto a sheet of paper, but when they are younger, it is easier to just tape them onto a poster board, and let it sit up against a wall until the paper is done.
Over the course of whatever time frame we have, I have him do research in 1/2 hour increments on as many questions as he can answer. He puts the answers on the reverse side of the index card, and then puts it back into his outline. As he uses a reference, I have him make a Bibliography card, where he lists his references as he goes, and numbers his reference, and puts the same number on the question card that this reference answered.
When he is done gathering his information, he writes the body of his paper. This is where style is worked in. Using Institute for Excellence in Writing, or IEW, (http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/) has been very helpful for my boys. There is something to be said for using a checklist for them. I don't make them follow every rule, every paragraph, but it becomes like a puzzle to them, if they do try to finish the checklist. They understand how to vary their writing, and I am glad to have a checklist to give them.
In a week or so the paper is finished, waiting for me to (depending on the age): type it, run through it with my red pen making marks on all of the grammatical and spelling errors, and then let them redo it.
The "question method" of generating their outlines has really worked for my boys. The success has been that after they have done it for a couple of years, it becomes easier each time, with the goal being that when they get to college, they can just write those 20 questions into a document on their computer, and go for it. At least that's my goal. The "getting them to journal" goal never really got off the ground. And I don't know that they'll ever write like a liberal arts major, or their father, but I have hope.
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