You watch as your child stares blankly at the empty page before them. They have no idea what to write or even where to start. They have great thoughts, and their creativity is not lacking, but they have no clue how to begin writing their paper for their English class. How can you help them? How does one write a rough draft? Is there a simple, step-by-step process or something?
I am here to tell you that there actually is!
Writing a paper does not have to be hard. Here are a few tips and tricks for effectively writing a rough draft!
1. Brainstorm your topic.
I am actually going to write another post about how to effectively brainstorm in another post, but you should encourage your child to start the process of writing their paper by simply conducting a brainstorming session. It can be helpful for you and your child to find which brainstorming method works best for them (ex. mind-mapping, listing, etc.).
With that said, I highly suggest making the brainstorming session timed and conducting a little bit of research in order to help your child have a general direction as they consider what they would like to write about in their paper.
Also, I think it is worth noting the importance of your child’s remembering their rubric through this entire writing process. For those of you who may not be familiar with a rubric, it is basically the form being used to grade the paper your child is writing, and it is crucial that your child consider these requirements as they write since it would be devastating to reach the end of the writing process only to find that they have not followed the rubric for the paper in the first place. Ask me how I know!
Through this writing process remember the rubric!
2. Organize your thoughts.
In this stage, your child will write a solid outline. Once again, there are different ways to write an outline, but I suggest starting with a topical outline which simply gives words/phrases as opposed to full sentences.
Let us say that I am writing a paper about how to live a healthier life. For this paper, a sample outline would be as follows:
How to Live a Healthier Life
A. Diet
B. Exercise
C. Lifestyle
After writing a simple outline such as this, I would encourage your child to use their brainstorming ideas to add several points under the main items in their outline, as well.
3. Simply start writing
At this point, your child is ready to begin the rough draft, and he must do that. It is important to encourage them to start writing even if they do not know exactly how they want to phrase their ideas right away. They MUST begin writing.
As a side note here, I have found, when writing an introduction that quotations, statistics, fun facts, and stories can be a great way to begin a paper. For example, saying, “George Washington once said…” or “In the year 2020, it was documented that the state of Maine has a population of…” statements such as these can act as attention grabbers for the reader of a paper and can also help your child settle into their creative flows.
I have found, when writing an introduction that quotations, statistics, fun facts, and stories can be a great way to begin a paper.
4. Write the whole rough draft in one sitting.
The most effective way to overcome writer’s block in your homeschool is to encourage your child to go ahead and write most if not all of their rough draft in one sitting. Even if it is much too short or if there are many missing pieces of research/information, having a somewhat complete rough draft is so much better than having an incomplete draft.
Be sure to remind your child to not worry about perfection in this writing session. Imperfection is what makes it a “rough draft.” It is supposed to be rough, and that is the beauty of the rough draft. Your child must learn to create a draft of a paper that is not perfect before they can learn to perfect their papers.
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And that is how to teach your child to write an effective rough draft! I sincerely hope that these tips have been helpful and that you and your child are able to find which elements of this process work best for you within your homeschooling.
Do you have any additional tips that have helped you and your children with writing a rough draft?
Feel free to let me know in the comments below! I would love to hear from you:)
Until next time
