Ch 7: Essay Writing for 12th Grade Lesson Plans

1. How to Write a Great Essay Quickly

Sometimes academic exams and other situations, such as job interviews, require you to write a timed essay. Learn the four steps that will enable you to write a great essay quickly while under pressure, including understand the question, outline major points, write the introduction and conclusion last, and edit your essay.

2. Practicing Essay Writing to Get Better at Writing

Practicing essay-writing with a clear plan can improve your writing skills. Learn how to practice essay-writing and get better at writing by knowing your weaknesses, focusing on essay structure, and learning how to evaluate your writing.

3. Writing for Your Audience

To be effective, essays and other documents should be written to appeal to their target audience. Learn how to write for an audience by considering fundamental characteristics such as positions, perspectives, and knowledge of the most likely readers.

4. How to Edit and Improve Essay Content

Sometimes essays need to be revised. Learn some key points and principles that can help you evaluate your essay content and determine how to edit and improve it. Explore how to ensure your essay's purpose is clear, with an effective thesis statement supported by well-organized and well-supported main points.

5. How to Proofread an Essay for Spelling and Grammar

Essay revision should include proofreading for spelling and grammar. Explore what proofreading is and why it is important in essay writing and discover various proofreading strategies.

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

Argumentative writing must be as logical as possible, while faulty reasoning can lead to flawed arguments. Learn how to define, identify, and avoid logical fallacies like broad generalizations and non-sequiturs.

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

Regardless of how well an essay is written, some members of an audience likely will oppose the author's arguments. Learn how to write essays that have strong arguments, anticipate audience opposition, and address and refute opposing views.

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

Some essays, such as academic papers, are written in response to an essay prompt. Learn how to identify an essay prompt's key terms and prepare an organized outline of an essay focused to appropriately respond to the essay prompt and explore techniques for refocusing an essay veering off-topic while writing it.

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

Persuasive essays often require multiple sources to support the essay's arguments. Explore how to research and review sources, prepare an outline of key points, and incorporate several sources to make an essay more persuasive.

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

Getting the gist, or point, of a written document is a skill. Learn the guidelines that help readers quickly grasp the gist of an essay and use this skill to improve reading comprehension and writing, too.

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

Determining the best audience for an essay is important so that the writing can target the right readers. Learn why it's so important to determine the audience and how to do so by considering the word choices, the length of the piece, and the overall look and design.

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

Peer review is an important tool that helps assure quality in writing. Learn about the process of peer editing and explore ways to evaluate content, mechanics, and intent when editing essays prepared by other writers.