Expressing yourself through writing is one of the most clever and adept tasks one can choose. We often tend to express things that we might not be able to say through writing. Such is the importance of writing in the day to day life.
We notice that when children are first introduced to the assignment of writing an essay, they are not very enthusiastic about it. Children can find it difficult to structure a good sentence just to express themselves, which could make it difficult for you to teach the kids how to write an essay.
But it doesn’t mean that teaching your kid the essay writing method is an impossible task. The continuous efforts to make them write an essay and love the activity won’t go in vain if you follow a considerate process with the kids. Parents and teachers do need to ensure that they don’t pressurise the child to write the “perfect” essay.
With a careful approach and essay writing methods, children will be able to develop the skill of structuring their thoughts and expressing them through writing. This skill will not only increase their academic performance, but it will also help them in their professional career in the future.
What is Essay Writing?
An essay is a piece of writing that presents accumulated ideas based on what the author intends to convey. It can be an expression of inner emotions, a debate about something, or presenting an opinion to others. An essay is a way of writing that helps the writer, irrespective of any boundaries, to express their inner selves. They can structure their thoughts and write them in a presentable way.
The ideal word count for essays is considered to be between 1,000 and 3,000 words which is enough for a writer to express their views and for the readers to comprehend the information precisely. The options for choosing the topic for an essay are endless. The essay could be anything from writing a piece of history to analyzing a movie scene; it all depends on what the writer wants the readers to read.
What is the Process of Writing an Essay?
To enhance and elaborate the process of writing an essay, the following steps should be complied with:
#1. Begin with the Basics
The base of any writing piece in any language is vocabulary and grammar. So before your child starts writing their essay, first check-up with their grammar and vocabulary. Ensure that your child has a basic grasp of grammar and vocabulary, and they should be appropriate in the concepts according to their age.
Keeping their grammar right is necessary, or else incorrect grammar will become a roadblock for both you and your child, making the essay writing process frustrating.
Make a note to not reprimand them on incorrect usage of grammar and vocabulary; just keep correcting them whenever they make mistakes. Tell them what the right way to write a particular sentence or word is. Be friendly with them; this will help them grasp the concepts easily.
#2. Explain the Idea of the Essay
It is not just about the process of writing an essay but also about what to write about. You can give your child a topic to write about or tell them to come up with a topic. The best thing to write an essay about is the thing your child is fond of. It can be music, sports, their favourite book, family, friends, or even about themselves.
You can tell your kid about the thesis statement. A thesis statement is the central idea of the essay. So you have to guide your child to frame the essay based on the central idea. You can show them some examples of the thesis.
#3. Introduce Children with the Outline
The outline of an essay will give your child a broad idea about the format of the essay and the aspects they need to write. Children get baffled and might not know where to start and how to build the structure of the essay. The outline will give them a heads-up with the basic flow of the essay.
Introduce the kids to the basic structure for an essay, introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. An introduction is the beginning of an essay where the writer introduces the topic and the theme to the readers with their views on them.
A body paragraph is the second component. In the body paragraph, ask your children to discuss their views in writing or make arguments regarding the topic. The ideal structure of the body is three paragraphs. But if your kid has just started writing and adds only one paragraph, then that is good too. Don’t pressurize them; encourage them to practice and improve.
The conclusion is the third and the last part of any essay. A conclusion requires a logical outcome and a summary of the whole essay. Make your kid understand that a conclusion is required to give the essay a finishing touch.
#4. Let the Kids Write
Once you have guided them on how to write an essay, now it is time for them to write it. Tell them to go as per the process you told them. It is their first attempt, and they might get nervous, so help them lighten the mood by guiding them wherever they need it.
Give them a specific time frame to complete it, and keep reminding them to focus on the flow and stick to the theme.
You can offer some rewards, such as chocolates, ice cream, or their favourite thing, upon the completion of the essay. This will encourage them to complete the essay in the given time frame.
Once they are done with the essay, applaud them for completing the task, and later proofread the article and tell them what the mistakes are and how they should correct them the next time.
Keep in mind, you should also always praise them for their good work and sometimes it is okay to let go of the minor mistakes.
#5. Make them Read and Practice
Reading is the best way to help your kid enhance their essay writing skills. Encourage them to read extensively. Reading will introduce them to new vocabularies, and it will make them understand how to frame sentences. Introduce kids to comics, children’s novels, and other readings for children. The more they read, the more they will learn about grammar, words, spellings, and sentence framing.
After reading, your kid needs to write to keep their writing skills at par. In school, they get a very limited time to write, and it doesn’t help them boost their vocabulary. So you can encourage your kid to write a topic a day every day at home. Give them any topic which they are familiar with, and ask them to write about it.
Conclusion
These essay writing methods will help the kids to improve their writing skills. You should encourage your kid to read and write more. You can also take the aid of online tools for improving your children’s writing skills. Many tools help to improve the grammar of an essay and make it more accurate.
If your kid is spending more time on the phone, make them watch some videos and tutorials for essay writing. The Real School Of Montessori, which provides an all-around development of speaking, writing, and reading skills of the kids through engaging online sessions and classes, will come to your rescue here. Visit the website and register for the free trial session at The Real School Of Montessori.
