Writing Writing is an integral part of school and every day life. Unfortunately for many students, writing is a huge challenge. Even the smartest students struggle to put their thoughts on paper in a cohesive manner. I have taught writing at the middle school, high school, and college level.
For my middle school students, I used the methods of RAFTS and TEXAS to assist in the writing process. I did not create these methods, but as I implemented them in my classroom, I saw significant gains in my students' writing. As an English tutor for college athletes at the University of Memphis, I spent the majority of my time helping students brainstorm and decode the prompts. Most students had a poor experience with writing starting in elementary or secondary school which led them to hate it by the time they reached college. I worked with students to help them understand what should be included in their writing to create cohesive essays. |
RAFTSR: Role
A: Audience F: Format T: Task S: Strong Key Words This acronym is used to deconstruct a prompt. I taught my students that the very first thing when writing an essay is to read the prompt and then use R.A.F.T.S. I used a PowerPoint presentation to introduce the acronym and gave students multiple opportunities to practice. By teaching this at the very beginning of a writing unit, RAFTS became an automatic process for students by the time of the state standardized writing assessment. |
TEXAST: Topic sentence
E: Explain X: eXample A: Analysis S: Summary This acronym is for body paragraphs. For my middle school students, I require a body paragraph to be 6-9 sentences. This means at least one sentence per letter with the remaining sentences used to expand on analysis and provide additional examples. I used a PowerPoint when presenting this method to students. Students used the prompt from the RAFTS lesson to create one body paragraph. I focused on students creating quality writing--not the quantity of paragraphs. The "X" covers the Common Core Standard about citing textual evidence which is increasingly important. Students struggle the most with the analysis (A). |
BraINstormMiddle School: Different brainstorming methods work for different students. Depending on students' previous teachers, the students may have only been exposed to one type of brainstorm. To teach a variety of methods, I used a jigsaw activity for students to learn 4 brainstorm methods: free write, web, list, and outline. Students looked up their method in expert groups using the Internet. Then, they returned to their home groups to share how to use this method and give an example of what it looks like. Students then practiced using all the methods for a writing prompt to determine their favorite.
College: For the student-athletes, their biggest blockade in writing was their writing process. Most of my students skipped brainstorming and attempted to just start writing. As I tutored freshmen level English, I spent the majority of my time helping students understand the prompt and brainstorm. I utilized lists, webs, and outlines to assist them in this process. Then, the students would pick which topic would be the easiest for them to write, and the students then created their thesis. After the tutoring session, students felt much more confident about where to start in writing. |
High SchooL |
For my high school students in Bulgaria, I worked with them on both personal statements for applications as well as original oratories for speech competitions. The biggest challenge with personal statements is providing concise, concrete examples about persona strengths without getting lost in flowery vocabulary. With original oratory, I worked with students to add structure to the speech and focus on a clear, central thesis.