Ch 7: Essay Writing for 12th Grade Lesson Plans

1. How to Write a Great Essay Quickly

Many tests will require you to write a timed essay. You may feel panicked at the idea of having to produce a high-quality essay under a tight time constraint. But you can relax: this video shows you four basic steps to follow so that you can write a great essay quickly.

2. Practicing Essay Writing to Get Better at Writing

It can be tough to practice your essay-writing skills on your own without a teacher's feedback. With some time and practice (and by using this game plan), you'll be on your way to practicing, evaluating and improving your writing.

3. Writing for Your Audience

By understanding some fundamental characteristics about your audience, you can write more effectively and be in better control of how well your writing is received by that audience. This video explains the basic points that you should consider in order to provide more informative and more persuasive essays for your readers.

4. How to Edit and Improve Essay Content

Going back through an essay that you've written in order to make substantive content improvements can be a daunting task. Fortunately, there are some basic principles that you can apply to whip your essay into shape.

5. How to Proofread an Essay for Spelling and Grammar

Proofreading is the last step in revising an essay - don't skip it! A single typo can sometimes ruin the hard work of an entire paper. This lesson will help you find the right proofreading strategy for you.

6. What are Logical Fallacies? - Define, Identify and Avoid Them

Logical fallacies are flaws in reasoning that can throw your argument off track and confuse your reader. This video explains how to identify a few common logical fallacies and how to steer clear of them.

7. Audience Opposition: Anticipating and Refuting Opposing Views in Your Essays

In addition to planning the major argumentative points you'll make when writing a persuasive paper, you should also think about potential opposing views. This video gives you tips for determining how to effectively anticipate and refute opposing views as you write your argument.

8. How to Focus Your Essay and Respond to the Essay Prompt

In this video, learn how to ensure that your writing responds directly to your assignment. Then find out how to spot where you may have strayed from the paper's point and how to get back on track.

9. How to Write a Persuasive Essay and Use Several Sources

In a persuasive essay in which you cite multiple sources, it's important to strike the right balance and use your sources to support your points without depending on them too much. In this lesson, we'll cover how to use multiple sources effectively to support your argument while still fully developing your own ideas in a persuasive essay.

10. Get the Gist of an Essay & Improve Reading Comprehension

In this lesson, we learn quick rules of getting the 'gist' or point of a sentence, paragraph and essay. This skill will improve your reading speed and help you become a more effective and efficient reader and writer.

11. How to Determine the Best Audience or Readers for an Essay

Who should be reading this? Not every essay can be enjoyed by everyone equally. How do you know who is the best target for an essay? This lesson will help you figure that out.

12. Peer Editing: How to Edit Essays By Other Writers

Alfred Sheinwold once said, 'Learn all you can from the mistakes of others.' A great way to improve your own writing is by editing the writing of others - especially when you have to find the not so obvious mistakes. That is what we will be learning in this lesson - how to edit the work of other writers. The biggest benefit will be in helping you avoid those same mistakes in your own writing.