Reluctant writers often become more reluctant after elementary school.  Due to other physical and emotional changes, academics, in general, can be challenging at this age.  Writing, especially with the idea of editing and rewriting, brings on its own anxiety.  Amazingly enough, it is possible to get through these years productively with a reluctant writer.  Creative assignments, encouraging teaching, prayer and patience all come in handy!

Beginning a written assignment can be the most difficult step. 

1.  Discuss the assignment thoroughly and explain not only what must be done but also what is expected.  Often students fear academic work because there isn't enough direction or because the expectations seem too high.  Discussing the process of completing the written assignment can be helpful.  For example, you might tell your student that he will be writing a short report about a famous American.  Often, teachers and parents stop at this point thinking they have provided enough necessary information.  For a reluctant writer, immediate questions come to mind: What is a report exactly?  What does "short" mean?  About which famous American am I supposed to write?  Anxiety builds as the student imagines the difficulties related to the written work. Continued explanation and discussion including the following could help relieve some of that stress as well as teach the process of writing:

a. Length of the assignment, written or typed including formatting details (font size, spacing, etc.)

b. Date(s) due - for long assignments have due dates for different steps and drafts.  Remember to keep the date reasonable but not so far out that the student can procrastinate.

c. Brainstorm possible topics with your student.   Many students express concerns about having to select their own topics, especially at this age.

d. Discuss where to find Research materials and be sure that your student has sufficient access.

e. Prepare your student for editing and rewriting but don't dwell on it.  Rewriting is typically the most difficult phase for a middle school reluctant writer because they believe that once written, the assignment is complete.  Early preparation can prevent later disputes.

2. Keep initial assignments short and break up longer assignments.  More extensive work can be broken into smaller assignments such as outlining, research and note taking (this can be broken down by resource if general note taking is too overwhelming), writing the introduction, writing the body of the paper (can be broken down by paragraphs or outline topics), writing the conclusion, drafts (2 or more, as appropriate), and the final draft.  For more information about the steps or process of writing, including evaluation, see the Epi Kardia Parent's Manual.

3. Stay on top of your student's progress.  Be encouraging as you correct along the way.  Reluctant writers need to know that they are being evaluated regularly or they lose momentum.  When correcting, be as gentle as possible and always point out something that the student did well.

4. Focus on one or two areas for correction.  With each draft, decide what you will be most concerned about and let the student know.  Areas of concern could be:  content of writing, sentence structure, paragraph development, grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. If you note every mistake, especially on the initial draft, your student may become overly discouraged.

5. Let your student keyboard rather than write manually.  Keyboarding is typically faster and is definitely easier when making changes to drafts.  Professional writers use keyboards, so why not students? The only exception to this will be examined in the next installment concerning high school and SAT essays.

6. For middle and high school students, let them use grammar and spell check.  Such tools reinforce correct spelling and usage despite concerns that they allow students to be lazy.  That is not typically true.

Creative assignments are also beneficial when working with reluctant writers.  Consider using some of the following: 

·          Journaling:  daily journal writing instills the habit of writing, which is a beneficial life long skill.

·          Letters: thank you notes and invitations.  A pen pal can easily meet this need!

·          Responding to fine art, music, poetry and movies

·      Lapbooks: offers shorter writing assignments that can be compiled into one larger assignment when complete.          

·          Alternate story endings: have your student rewrite the ending to a story or book you have read.

  ·       Point of View:  write about an event from someone or something else’s point of view.  For example, write about King Arthur from the round table’s point of view or rewrite a fable, such as The Lion and the Mouse from the mouse’s point of view. 

·          Poetry, Psalms, and Riddles: practice writing verse after studying different types.

·          Recipe books:  this idea offers opportunities for organizing written information, writing directions, and using correct abbreviations.  Extra idea:  put recipes in your book from each of the different historical time periods.

·          Snoring! Boring!:  This assignment requires that Mom or Dad write a very boring paragraph first and then the student rewrites the paragraph making it more interesting. 

·          Family newsletter:  send it to family members.  This is sort of a lapbook using desktop publishing.

·          Advertisements:  this type of writing is an opportune first step to persuasive writing.  Initially, you will want to discuss different advertisements and what makes them effective with your student.

Note that the above ideas were taken from the Epi Kardia Parent's Manual.  See the manual for more ideas!

Communication and discussion with reluctant writers is essential!  Even if they appear to not want to talk through assignments, the rewards will be seen later.  Sometimes it is best to actually allow the student to discuss his ideas and exactly what he is going to write prior to beginning an assignment.  With seriously reluctant writers, you may need to talk him through the writing as he's doing it.  In such cases, shorter assignments are best until confidence is developed.  Allowing a student to record his thoughs on tape prior to writing can also be useful.

The goal for this age group is preparation for more serious writing of essays and research papers in high school.  A large part of this preparation is developing a taste, if not a love, for writing.  With reluctant writers, the idea that writing isn't going away and he might as well do what he can with it may be the most you will get.  However, even that is progress!  The reality of having to write daily is difficult for reluctant writers and their teachers.  Yet, that is exactly what needs to be done.  Communicate well, keep assignments shorter until success has been achieved, be encouraging, and provide consistent daily assignments to prevent a relucant middle school writer from becoming a seriously challenging high school student!