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Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers

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P LANNING, PARAGRAPHING AND POLISHING: FINE-TUNING THE PERFECT ESSAY

Essay writing is an essential skill for every student. Whether writing a particular academic essay (such as persuasive, narrative, descriptive, or expository) or a timed exam essay, the key to getting good at writing is to write. Creating opportunities for our students to engage in extended writing activities will go a long way to helping them improve their skills as scribes.

But, putting the hours in alone will not be enough to attain the highest levels in essay writing. Practice must be meaningful. Once students have a broad overview of how to structure the various types of essays, they are ready to narrow in on the minor details that will enable them to fine-tune their work as a lean vehicle of their thoughts and ideas.

Visual Writing

In this article, we will drill down to some aspects that will assist students in taking their essay writing skills up a notch. Many ideas and activities can be integrated into broader lesson plans based on essay writing. Often, though, they will work effectively in isolation – just as athletes isolate physical movements to drill that are relevant to their sport. When these movements become second nature, they can be repeated naturally in the context of the game or in our case, the writing of the essay.

THE ULTIMATE NONFICTION WRITING TEACHING RESOURCE

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  • 270  pages of the most effective teaching strategies
  • 50+   digital tools  ready right out of the box
  • 75   editable resources  for student   differentiation  
  • Loads of   tricks and tips  to add to your teaching tool bag
  • All explanations are reinforced with  concrete examples.
  • Links to  high-quality video  tutorials
  • Clear objectives  easy to match to the demands of your curriculum

Planning an essay

essay writing | how to prepare for an essay | Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers | literacyideas.com

The Boys Scouts’ motto is famously ‘Be Prepared’. It’s a solid motto that can be applied to most aspects of life; essay writing is no different. Given the purpose of an essay is generally to present a logical and reasoned argument, investing time in organising arguments, ideas, and structure would seem to be time well spent.

Given that essays can take a wide range of forms and that we all have our own individual approaches to writing, it stands to reason that there will be no single best approach to the planning stage of essay writing. That said, there are several helpful hints and techniques we can share with our students to help them wrestle their ideas into a writable form. Let’s take a look at a few of the best of these:

BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN: UNDERSTAND YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.

Whether students are tackling an assignment that you have set for them in class or responding to an essay prompt in an exam situation, they should get into the habit of analyzing the nature of the task. To do this, they should unravel the question’s meaning or prompt. Students can practice this in class by responding to various essay titles, questions, and prompts, thereby gaining valuable experience breaking these down.

Have students work in groups to underline and dissect the keywords and phrases and discuss what exactly is being asked of them in the task. Are they being asked to discuss, describe, persuade, or explain? Understanding the exact nature of the task is crucial before going any further in the planning process, never mind the writing process .

BRAINSTORM AND MIND MAP WHAT YOU KNOW:

Once students have understood what the essay task asks them, they should consider what they know about the topic and, often, how they feel about it. When teaching essay writing, we so often emphasize that it is about expressing our opinions on things, but for our younger students what they think about something isn’t always obvious, even to themselves.

Brainstorming and mind-mapping what they know about a topic offers them an opportunity to uncover not just what they already know about a topic, but also gives them a chance to reveal to themselves what they think about the topic. This will help guide them in structuring their research and, later, the essay they will write . When writing an essay in an exam context, this may be the only ‘research’ the student can undertake before the writing, so practicing this will be even more important.

RESEARCH YOUR ESSAY

The previous step above should reveal to students the general direction their research will take. With the ubiquitousness of the internet, gone are the days of students relying on a single well-thumbed encyclopaedia from the school library as their sole authoritative source in their essay. If anything, the real problem for our students today is narrowing down their sources to a manageable number. Students should use the information from the previous step to help here. At this stage, it is important that they:

●      Ensure the research material is directly relevant to the essay task

●      Record in detail the sources of the information that they will use in their essay

●      Engage with the material personally by asking questions and challenging their own biases

●      Identify the key points that will be made in their essay

●      Group ideas, counterarguments, and opinions together

●      Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay.

Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a logical order.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY

There are a number of ways for students to organize their points in preparation for writing. They can use graphic organizers , post-it notes, or any number of available writing apps. The important thing for them to consider here is that their points should follow a logical progression. This progression of their argument will be expressed in the form of body paragraphs that will inform the structure of their finished essay.

The number of paragraphs contained in an essay will depend on a number of factors such as word limits, time limits, the complexity of the question etc. Regardless of the essay’s length, students should ensure their essay follows the Rule of Three in that every essay they write contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Generally speaking, essay paragraphs will focus on one main idea that is usually expressed in a topic sentence that is followed by a series of supporting sentences that bolster that main idea. The first and final sentences are of the most significance here with the first sentence of a paragraph making the point to the reader and the final sentence of the paragraph making the overall relevance to the essay’s argument crystal clear. 

Though students will most likely be familiar with the broad generic structure of essays, it is worth investing time to ensure they have a clear conception of how each part of the essay works, that is, of the exact nature of the task it performs. Let’s review:

Common Essay Structure

Introduction: Provides the reader with context for the essay. It states the broad argument that the essay will make and informs the reader of the writer’s general perspective and approach to the question.

Body Paragraphs: These are the ‘meat’ of the essay and lay out the argument stated in the introduction point by point with supporting evidence.

Conclusion: Usually, the conclusion will restate the central argument while summarising the essay’s main supporting reasons before linking everything back to the original question.

ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS

essay writing | 1 How to write paragraphs | Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers | literacyideas.com

●      Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea

●      Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence

●      Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line

●      Transition words and phrases such as alternatively , consequently , in contrast should be used to give flow and provide a bridge between paragraphs.

HOW TO EDIT AN ESSAY

essay writing | essay editing tips | Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers | literacyideas.com

Students shouldn’t expect their essays to emerge from the writing process perfectly formed. Except in exam situations and the like, thorough editing is an essential aspect in the writing process. 

Often, students struggle with this aspect of the process the most. After spending hours of effort on planning, research, and writing the first draft, students can be reluctant to go back over the same terrain they have so recently travelled. It is important at this point to give them some helpful guidelines to help them to know what to look out for. The following tips will provide just such help: 

One Piece at a Time: There is a lot to look out for in the editing process and often students overlook aspects as they try to juggle too many balls during the process. One effective strategy to combat this is for students to perform a number of rounds of editing with each focusing on a different aspect. For example, the first round could focus on content, the second round on looking out for word repetition (use a thesaurus to help here), with the third attending to spelling and grammar.

Sum It Up: When reviewing the paragraphs they have written, a good starting point is for students to read each paragraph and attempt to sum up its main point in a single line. If this is not possible, their readers will most likely have difficulty following their train of thought too and the paragraph needs to be overhauled.

Let It Breathe: When possible, encourage students to allow some time for their essay to ‘breathe’ before returning to it for editing purposes. This may require some skilful time management on the part of the student, for example, a student rush-writing the night before the deadline does not lend itself to effective editing. Fresh eyes are one of the sharpest tools in the writer’s toolbox.

Read It Aloud: This time-tested editing method is a great way for students to identify mistakes and typos in their work. We tend to read things more slowly when reading aloud giving us the time to spot errors. Also, when we read silently our minds can often fill in the gaps or gloss over the mistakes that will become apparent when we read out loud.

Phone a Friend: Peer editing is another great way to identify errors that our brains may miss when reading our own work. Encourage students to partner up for a little ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’.

Use Tech Tools: We need to ensure our students have the mental tools to edit their own work and for this they will need a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation. However, there are also a wealth of tech tools such as spellcheck and grammar checks that can offer a great once-over option to catch anything students may have missed in earlier editing rounds.

essay writing | Perfect essay writing for students | Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers | literacyideas.com

Putting the Jewels on Display: While some struggle to edit, others struggle to let go. There comes a point when it is time for students to release their work to the reader. They must learn to relinquish control after the creation is complete. This will be much easier to achieve if the student feels that they have done everything in their control to ensure their essay is representative of the best of their abilities and if they have followed the advice here, they should be confident they have done so.

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ESSAY WRITING video tutorials

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Can You Convince Me? Developing Persuasive Writing

essay writing powerpoint for middle school

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Persuasive writing is an important skill that can seem intimidating to elementary students. This lesson encourages students to use skills and knowledge they may not realize they already have. A classroom game introduces students to the basic concepts of lobbying for something that is important to them (or that they want) and making persuasive arguments. Students then choose their own persuasive piece to analyze and learn some of the definitions associated with persuasive writing. Once students become aware of the techniques used in oral arguments, they then apply them to independent persuasive writing activities and analyze the work of others to see if it contains effective persuasive techniques.

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From theory to practice.

  • Students can discover for themselves how much they already know about constructing persuasive arguments by participating in an exercise that is not intimidating.  
  • Progressing from spoken to written arguments will help students become better readers of persuasive texts.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

  • 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
  • 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

Materials and Technology

  • Computers with Internet access  
  • PowerPoint  
  • LCD projector (optional)  
  • Chart paper or chalkboard  
  • Sticky notes  
  • Persuasive Strategy Presentation
  • Persuasion Is All Around You  
  • Persuasive Strategy Definitions  
  • Check the Strategies  
  • Check the Strategy  
  • Observations and Notes  
  • Persuasive Writing Assessment

Preparation

Student objectives.

Students will

  • Work in cooperative groups to brainstorm ideas and organize them into a cohesive argument to be presented to the class  
  • Gain knowledge of the different strategies that are used in effective persuasive writing  
  • Use a graphic organizer to help them begin organizing their ideas into written form  
  • Apply what they have learned to write a persuasive piece that expresses their stance and reasoning in a clear, logical sequence  
  • Develop oral presentation skills by presenting their persuasive writing pieces to the class  
  • Analyze the work of others to see if it contains effective persuasive techniques

Session 1: The Game of Persuasion

Home/School Connection: Distribute Persuasion Is All Around You . Students are to find an example of a persuasive piece from the newspaper, television, radio, magazine, or billboards around town and be ready to report back to class during Session 2. Provide a selection of magazines or newspapers with advertisements for students who may not have materials at home. For English-language learners (ELLs), it may be helpful to show examples of advertisements and articles in newspapers and magazines.

Session 2: Analysis of an Argument

Home/School Connection: Ask students to revisit their persuasive piece from Persuasion Is All Around You . This time they will use Check the Strategies to look for the persuasive strategies that the creator of the piece incorporated. Check for understanding with your ELLs and any special needs students. It may be helpful for them to talk through their persuasive piece with you or a peer before taking it home for homework. Arrange a time for any student who may not have the opportunity to complete assignments outside of school to work with you, a volunteer, or another adult at school on the assignment.

Session 3: Persuasive Writing

Session 4: presenting the persuasive writing.

  • Endangered Species: Persuasive Writing offers a way to integrate science with persuasive writing. Have students pretend that they are reporters and have to convince people to think the way they do. Have them pick issues related to endangered species, use the Persuasion Map as a prewriting exercise, and write essays trying to convince others of their points of view. In addition, the lesson “Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues” can be adapted for your students as part of this exercise.  
  • Have students write persuasive arguments for a special class event, such as an educational field trip or an in-class educational movie. Reward the class by arranging for the class event suggested in one of the essays.

Student Assessment / Reflections

  • Compare your Observations and Notes from Session 4 and Session 1 to see if students understand the persuasive strategies, use any new persuasive strategies, seem to be overusing a strategy, or need more practice refining the use of a strategy. Offer them guidance and practice as needed.  
  • Collect both homework assignments and the Check the Strategy sheets and assess how well students understand the different elements of persuasive writing and how they are applied.  
  • Collect students’ Persuasion Maps and use them and your discussions during conferences to see how well students understand how to use the persuasive strategies and are able to plan their essays. You want to look also at how well they are able to make changes from the map to their finished essays.  
  • Use the Persuasive Writing Assessment to evaluate the essays students wrote during Session 3.
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The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

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essay writing powerpoint for middle school

Argumentative Writing PowerPoint and Notes for Middle School ELA

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Argumentative writing will be a lot easier to teach with this step-by-step interactive PowerPoint presentation and guided notes resource for middle school students. It tackles the challenges of argument writing and breaks everything down, making it a lot easier for kids to understand.

Now, when I tell my students we’re working on this unit, they cheer! Kids LOVE to “argue,” and when they learn the right way to present their findings, their essays can really pack a punch.

Use the PowerPoint presentation to teach, while your students take notes on the guided notes pages. The unit is totally interactive. Your students will be actively engaged, writing and sharing information verbally, the entire time.

This unit can be used with the following unit:  Argumentative Essay Writing  for middle school students. Or it can be used independently.

Included are the following: ★ Instructions for use ★ PowerPoint show & presentation ★ Student notes ★ Argumentative writing terminology ★ Sample passages ★ Real-life argument example (designed for kids/teens) ★ Writing an introductory paragraph ★ Six types of lead or “hook” ★ Writing the thesis/claim ★ Writing and organizing the main body paragraphs ★ Writing a counterargument and turn-back ★ Writing a concluding paragraph ★ Using transition and text reference words and phrases ★ Organization templates And More!

You might like these other writing units: ♦  Argumentative, Narrative, and Informational Writing Workshop Bundle {CCSS} ♦  Informational Essay Writing ♦  Narrative Writing Workshop ♦  Poetry: Close Reading Posters, Handouts, and Bookmarks Pack ♦  Poetry: Close Reading Step by Step Strategies for Success ♦  Book Report and Craftivity for Fiction: The Exploding Box ♦  Close Reading Strategy for ALL Subjects: ELA, Social Studies, Science, and More ♦  How to Write an Essay Requiring Text Based Details

Thank you and enjoy! Darlene

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Argumentative Writing Slideshow & Notes Middle School ELA PRINT & DIGITAL

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What educators are saying

Description.

Argument writing will be a lot easier to teach with this step-by-step interactive PowerPoint and/or Google Slides presentation with guided notes. Created specifically for middle school students, it tackles the challenges of the argumentative essay by breaking everything down. The kid-friendly explanations and actionable steps making it a lot easier for kids to understand.

Now, when I tell my students we're working on this unit, they cheer! Kids LOVE to “argue,” and when they learn the right way to present their findings, their essays can really pack a punch.

Update 8/20: This unit now includes links to a digital replica in Google Drive, so it is simple and convenient to use with remote learning.

I so appreciate the wonderful teachers who have left kind feedback!

  • "The PowerPoint, when used in conjunction with the student closed notes, were perfect for my argument writing unit! They matched perfectly to the CCSS for ELA and didn't require any prep on my part, and taught my students step by step how to write an argument essay."
  • "AMAZING resource!! No, really! I can't even begin to tell you how impressed I am by this purchase!! I used it with my kiddos for the last district performance task that we had and my colleagues were blown away by what the kids produced! We are so impressed that we are going to see if you have any others. Very clear and laid out in a way that made much more sense to the kids (and with mentor texts and examples relate-able to the students). Seriously, can not brag about this one enough!!"
  • "This was just the most amazing and thorough presentation of the argumentative essay--I came right back to see if you had similar products available and will be eagerly waiting any more! Thank you for helping all my students be successful!"

Use the PowerPoint presentation to teach, while your students take notes on the guided notes pages. The unit is totally interactive. Your students will be actively engaged, writing and sharing information verbally, the entire time.

This unit can be used with the following unit: Argumentative Essay Writing for middle school students. Or it can be used independently.

Included are the following:

★ Instructions for use

★ PowerPoint show & presentation

★ Student notes

★ Argumentative writing terminology

★ Sample passages

★ Real-life argument example (designed for kids/teens)

★ Writing an introductory paragraph

★ Six types of lead or "hook”

★ Writing the thesis/claim

★ Writing and organizing the main body paragraphs

★ Writing a counterargument and turn-back

★ Writing a concluding paragraph

★ Using transition and text reference words and phrases

★ Organization templates

You might like these other writing units:

♦ Argumentative, Narrative, and Informational Writing Workshop Bundle {CCSS}

♦ Informational Essay Writing

♦ Narrative Writing Workshop

♦ Poetry: Close Reading Posters, Handouts, and Bookmarks Pack

♦ Poetry: Close Reading Step by Step Strategies for Success

♦ Book Report and Craftivity for Fiction: The Exploding Box

♦ Close Reading Strategy for ALL Subjects: ELA, Social Studies, Science, and More

♦ How to Write an Essay Requiring Text Based Details

Thank you and enjoy!

Questions & Answers

Darlene anne - middle school ela.

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essay writing powerpoint for middle school

Bell Ringers

Teaching argumentative writing in middle school ela: part one.

If you teach middle school, you know that teenagers have a lot of opinions! Luckily, you can use that to your advantage when teaching students how to write an argumentative essay. The key is to help students learn to craft well-written arguments with evidence (not just arguing for the sake of it, which middle schoolers can be prone to). 

While learning to craft argumentative essays will help students in school, being able to craft and defend an argument is also an important skill for the real world. Writing an argumentative essay or having a debate requires critical thinking skills and the ability to take a stance and back it up. 

essay writing powerpoint for middle school

What is Argumentative Writing?

In order for students to understand how to write an argumentative essay, they need to understand what argumentative writing is.

Argumentative essays usually require that students do some investigation or research on a topic and then choose a clear stance. When writing, students will spend the body of the essay explaining points and providing evidence that supports their stance. A counterargument is also typically given as a way to counteract how “nay-sayers” would disagree with the writer. At the end of the essay, students will restate their argument and summarize their evidence.

How to Introduce Argumentative Writing: The Debate

Now that we know what to expect from argumentative writing, we can get into how to write an argumentative essay. You’ll want to start by introducing argumentative writing, which I liked to do through debates. Just like in an essay, to successfully debate a topic, students must do some investigation, choose a stance, and then argue their point in a meaningful way. Holding a class debate is a great place to start when introducing argumentative writing. Debating a topic verbally can actually be used as a brainstorming session before students ever even put pen to paper. For students new to argumentative writing, this takes some of the pressure off of jumping right into the writing process and helps them generate ideas.

There are a few ways you can use debates. For instance, you can choose a topic you’d like students to debate or let them choose a topic they’re already passionate about. 

I liked to give students a few minutes to think through the topic and prep on their own, and then I partner them up. They can either debate the topic with their partner, or they can work together with their partner to debate another pair. 

Depending on your class size, you could also split the class in half and make it a whole group debate. As long as students are researching or investigating in some way, choosing a stance, and finding reasons to back up their position, there is no wrong way to hold a debate in your class – and you can try out a few different formats to see what works best.

After the debates, it’s a great idea to debrief. This is a good time to bring in some key vocabulary and reinforce how to write an argumentative essay. For example, you can look over some of the evidence presented and ask students to rate the “strength” of the argument. You can also brainstorm a counterargument together.

essay writing powerpoint for middle school

How to Introduce Argumentative Writing: The Flash Draft

After students debate, they move on to the flash draft. A flash draft is essentially a giant brain dump. Students do not have to worry about spelling, grammar, organization, or even structure. They will simply be taking their thoughts from the debate and getting them down on paper. 

One benefit to the flash draft is it removes the barrier of intimidation for a lot of students. For many kids, the actual work of starting to write can be daunting. A flash draft removes that intimidation of perfection and just requires something to be on the page. Again, the flash draft portion can be completely tailored to best suit your students and classroom. You can set a timer for a specific amount of time, you can provide students with an outline or guiding questions, or you can give them sentence stems to start. 

If you have access to technology in your classroom, you can even let students verbalize their flash draft and use transcription technology to get it on paper. 

Expanding Knowledge of Argumentative Writing

By now, you might be wondering when you’ll actually dive deeper into how to write an argumentative essay. That will start with a mini-lesson. These mini-lessons should cover the key parts of argumentative essays, like how to take a stance, ways to support your position, how to transition between thoughts, and even how to craft a counterargument. 

You could have a mini-lesson before each flash draft to focus on a particular skill, or you can hold the mini-lesson after the flash draft and let students focus on that skill during revisions. During mini-lessons, I highly suggest using mentor texts, guided examples, or other reference materials. When it comes to writing, many students need to see the process in action, so modeling and having a place for them to reference will be super key to their success.

essay writing powerpoint for middle school

Argumentative Writing Unit for Middle School 

Want support putting together your argumentative essay unit? My done-for-you Argumentative Writing Unit scaffolds how to write an argumentative essay for you and your students.

The unit includes 23 full lesson plans, slide presentations, notebook pages for students, teacher keys and examples, student references pages, and more for a well-rounded unit.

Plus, this unit goes through the exact process I talked about in the blog, using debate, flash drafts, and mini-lessons to scaffold students through the writing process.

essay writing powerpoint for middle school

  • Read more about: Middle School Writing

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by Michelle Boyd Waters, M.Ed.  

A Plethora Of Writing Examples For Middle School (& High School)

October 14, 2014 in  Pedagogy

Middle School Writing Samples

When I started my first job as a professional newspaper reporter (This job also served as an internship during my junior year in college — I just didn’t leave for about 6 years.), I quickly realized that all my experience, and all my years of journalism education had not been enough to help me write stories about drug busts, fatal car accidents and tornadoes. All the theoretical work I’d done, and all of the nifty little scholastic and collegiate stories I had done, did not prepare me for real world writing.

At that point, I had to find a solution quickly. After all, I had a deadline to meet, and it was only a few hours away.

One of my colleagues, who also served as a mentor, had the solution. She introduced me to the newspaper’s “morgue.” This was a room filled with filing cabinets in which we kept old — dead — stories arranged by reporter. Whenever I wasn’t’ sure how to write a story, all I had to do was check the morgue for similar stories. If I needed to write a story about a local drug bust, for example, I’d find another story on a similar incident, study its structure, and mentally create a formula in which to plugin the information I’d gathered.

Once I’d gained more experience, and had internalized the formula for that particular type of story, I felt free to branch out as the situation — and my training — warranted.

I do the same thing when I want to write a type of letter, brochure, or report that I’ve never written before.

This is what writing looks like in the real world.

Of course, if you’re a new teacher like me, there is one problem with providing mentor texts to my students: I have a dearth of middle school level writing sitting around in my file cabinets.

Fortunately, the Internet is full of sources, so I scoured the bowels of Google to find examples. I know how busy you are, so I’m sharing.

Expository writing examples for middle school

Below are several sources of expository writing samples for middle school students.

  • The Write Source Expository Writing Samples
  • Holt, Rinehart, Winston Expository Essay Models

Finally, here is an article in the New York Times that will help you teach your students  real-world expository writing skills .

Descriptive writing examples for middle school

  • Descriptive Writing Samples from Novels
  • Milwaukee Public Schools Descriptive Essay Samples (p. 137)
  • Holt, Rinehart, Winston Descriptive Essay Models

Narrative writing examples for middle school

  • Writing Samples by Steve Peha (PDF)
  • The Write Source Narrative Writing Samples
  • Oregon Department of Education Scored Writing Samples (Ideas and Organization)
  • Oregon Department of Education Scored Writing Samples (Sentence Fluency and Conventions)
  • Oregon Department of Education Scored Writing Samples (Voice and Word Choice)
  • Oregon Department of Education High School Scored Narrative and Argumentative Writing Samples
  • Holt, Rinehart, Winston Narrative Essay Models

Argumentative/persuasive writing examples for middle school

  • The Write Source Persuasive Writing Samples
  • Holt, Rinehart, Winston Persuasive Essay Models

Reflective writing examples for middle school

  • Reflective essay examples from Lake Washington Girls Middle School

If you know of any other online writing example sources, please feel free to share them in the comments below.

Related topics: Argumentative Writing , Informative Writing , Mentor Texts , Narrative Writing

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About the author 

Michelle Boyd Waters, M.Ed.

I am a secondary English Language Arts teacher, a University of Oklahoma student working on my doctorate in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum with an concentration in English Education and co-Editor of the Oklahoma English Journal. I am constantly seeking ways to amplify students' voices and choices.

This is very, very helpful. Thank you for sharing!

As a new middle school teacher (coming from elementary) this was very helpful and encouraging.

Thank you very much for letting me know. I’m glad that I was able to help you!

Thank you! I’m glad I can help.

Your welcome

This is super helpful. Thank you!

These links are a fantastic help. Thank you!

This helped me BUNCHES! Thanks so much!

thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD

These links are now dead 🙁

Thank you for notifying me! I have updated the post to include new (live!) links. Some of them are geared towards high school, but I think we can still use them as exemplars of what we want our students to aim for.

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Narrative Essay: Powerpoint on How to Write a Narrative Essay

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  1. 5 paragraph essay powerpoint middle school

    essay writing powerpoint for middle school

  2. 5 Paragraph Essay Powerpoint Middle School

    essay writing powerpoint for middle school

  3. 5 Paragraph Essay Powerpoint Middle School

    essay writing powerpoint for middle school

  4. 5 Paragraph Essay Powerpoint Middle School

    essay writing powerpoint for middle school

  5. 5 paragraph essay powerpoint middle school

    essay writing powerpoint for middle school

  6. High School and Middle School Narrative Essay Writing PowerPoint by Mr

    essay writing powerpoint for middle school

VIDEO

  1. How to Write Outline For English Essay

  2. Improve Student Writing With Bold Beginnings, Mighty Middles and Excellent Endings

  3. How to write Essay on MS word For beginners

  4. How to Produce a Video Essay using PowerPoint

  5. Create a Fun Writing Experience with Visual Essays

  6. How to Write Sample Essays for Middle School Students- Don't!

COMMENTS

  1. Expository Essay Presentation

    What is Expository Writing? Expository writing is defined as presenting reasons, explanations, or steps in a process. Informational writing. An expository essay should follow a logical sequence and have three different main points. Logic and coherence is the main focus of an expository essay.

  2. Argumentative Essay Toolbox

    Argumentative Essay PowerPoint. Argument-PPT-for-Notes-Argumentative Outline. Argument Outline; Freeganism Essay: Prompt and Texts ... Manage your time carefully so that you can plan your argument and do some pre-writing. Be sure to: - use information from both passages. - avoid over relying on one passage. ... Blackman Middle School 3945 Blaze ...

  3. Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers

    ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS. Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea. Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence. Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line.

  4. PDF Argumentative Writing PowerPoint and Notes for Middle School

    1. Argumentative Writing PowerPoint and Notes. INSTRUCTIONS. This interactive argumentative unit is engaging and humorous. It will surely keep your students' attention, while they learn the intricacies of argument writing. The guided notes correspond with the PowerPoint show that is included in the zip file. As you go through the presentation ...

  5. How to Write an Essay Powerpoint

    Middle School; High School; Higher Education; Adult Education ... Subject English Language Arts — Writing • Social Studies. Grade Level Grades 6-12. Resource Type Presentation. License. About Resources Reviews Related. About This Lesson. This powerpoint explains how to write an essay in very basic terms including how to write an ...

  6. A Quick Guide to Teaching Any Middle School Academic Essay

    Ideas- The main idea, supporting details, evidence, and explanation. Ideas are the heart of any good paper. This is where you get the argument, the main idea, or the details that really bring the paper to life. Ideas should be the first thing discussed and brainstormed in the writing process.

  7. Can You Convince Me? Developing Persuasive Writing

    Persuasion Map: Students can use this online interactive tool to map out an argument for their persuasive essay.: Persuasive Strategy Presentation: This handy PowerPoint presentation helps students master the definition of each strategy used in persuasive writing.: Check the Strategies: Students can apply what they know about persuasive writing strategies by evaluating a persuasive piece and ...

  8. Argumentative Essays PowerPoint Presentation

    In this presentation, your students will look at writing examples to examine the necessary characteristics of an argumentative essay, including: The purpose for writing argumentative text. How to establish a claim based on facts. How to justify your text's claim with supportive reasoning. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to ...

  9. How to Teach Argument Writing Step-By-Step

    I teach students how to write a step-by-step 5 paragraph argumentative essay consisting of the following: Introduction: Includes a lead/hook, background information about the topic, and a thesis statement that includes the claim. Body Paragraph #1: Introduces the first reason that the claim is valid. Supports that reason with facts, examples ...

  10. Middle School Narrative Writing Made Simple

    Essentially, narratives are stories. What makes narrative writing so exciting for students is the opportunity to create a detailed story. Whether the story is fiction or nonfiction, the space to add imagery, details, and imagination are huge perks for more creative students. The downside is that many students can get lost in narratives.

  11. Argumentative Writing PowerPoint and Notes for Middle School ELA

    Use the PowerPoint presentation to teach, while your students take notes on the guided notes pages. The unit is totally interactive. Your students will be actively engaged, writing and sharing information verbally, the entire time. This unit can be used with the following unit: Argumentative Essay Writing for middle school students. Or it can ...

  12. Argumentative Writing Slideshow & Notes Middle School ELA PRINT ...

    Description. Argument writing will be a lot easier to teach with this step-by-step interactive PowerPoint and/or Google Slides presentation with guided notes. Created specifically for middle school students, it tackles the challenges of the argumentative essay by breaking everything down. The kid-friendly explanations and actionable steps ...

  13. ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY POWERPOINT

    3. point or statement that supports one's ideas and/or thesis. 4. point or statement in opposition to the argument being made in a written document or speech. 5. the process of discrediting the arguments that oppose your thesis statement. 6. someone who argues in favor of something; advocate. 2.

  14. PDF The Basic Five Paragraph Essay: Format and Outline Worksheet

    There is an Outline worksheet on the back of this page to help you start planning the content, order and organization of your essay. Paragraph 1: Introduction -- If possible, open with an attention-getting device to interest the reader (perhaps a quote or question). Introduce the topic of your essay in general, and present some context for this ...

  15. Teaching Argumentative Writing in Middle School ELA: Part One

    My done-for-you Argumentative Writing Unit scaffolds how to write an argumentative essay for you and your students. The unit includes 23 full lesson plans, slide presentations, notebook pages for students, teacher keys and examples, student references pages, and more for a well-rounded unit. Plus, this unit goes through the exact process I ...

  16. A Plethora Of Writing Examples For Middle School (& High School)

    Descriptive writing examples for middle school. Descriptive Writing Samples from Novels; Milwaukee Public Schools Descriptive Essay Samples (p. 137) Holt, Rinehart, Winston Descriptive Essay Models; Narrative writing examples for middle school. Writing Samples by Steve Peha (PDF) The Write Source Narrative Writing Samples

  17. PDF MLA Style Guide for Middle School

    Harding Middle School Librarian Table of Contents 1. MLA Style Guide Basics 2. Plagiarism—What is it? How can I avoid it? 3. Works Cited Page 4. Parenthetical Citation 5. Examples of Common Forms of Sources for Citation 6. On­line Tools and Resources for Writing Citations In MLA Format 7. Glossary

  18. Essay-writing

    1. Essay-writing Essay The word Essay is defined in "The Concise Oxford Dictionary" as "a literary composition (usually prose and short) on any subject." It is a written composition giving expression to one's own personal ideas or opinions on some topic; but the term usually covers also any written composition, whether it expresses personal opinions, or gives information on any given subject ...

  19. Writing Powerpoint Templates and Google Slides Themes

    Take your writing to the next level with a writing PowerPoint template. Whether you're a student, teacher, or aspiring author, these templates will help you showcase your ideas and creativity in a visually captivating way. With a range of customizable slides, you can easily manage your writing projects, present your research, or deliver ...

  20. Essay writing power_point 1

    Essay writing power_point 1. 1. Mr. Baumgartner's 10th Grade English Littlerock High School [email_address] .org. 2. Every essay has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In a five-paragraph essay, the first paragraph is called the introduction . The next three paragraphs consist of the body of the essay .

  21. Narrative Essay: Powerpoint on How to Write a Narrative Essay

    To print or download this file, click the link below: narrativeessay**-1.ppt — application/vnd.ms-powerpoint, 93 KB (95232 bytes)

  22. PDF Persuasive writing

    Make sure to support your position. 3 body paragraphs with innovative ideas (an example) Thesis: Uniform policies are beneficial in schools, and should be implemented nationwide. Reason 1: Allows for less bullying based on wardrobe. Reason 2: Students will concentrate more on the educational process and less on attire.

  23. 29 Essay English ESL powerpoints

    This is a PowerPoint. 480 uses. marcosoin. Essay Writing Hambur. Presenting essay wri. 1950 uses. kathrynleavitt. Five Paragraph Essay ... 754 uses. fromhandtohand. Writing Essay Paper . Please, convert the . 317 uses. Eslenglishneeds. FCE Essay Writing Pr. A thorough presentat. 41 uses. amazingMarKow. Quick guide on Opini. Please check out my ...