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Article
Georgetown University

Georgetown University: News Values

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Learn the essential elements of every good news story from Gerald Lanson and Mitchell Stephens, authors of Writing and Reporting The News, who emphasize eleven judgments that journalism students should make when evaluating newsworthiness.
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Unit Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Introducing the Essay: Twain, Douglass and American Non Fiction

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This lesson plan serves as an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing and focuses primarily on teaching some basic approaches to recognizing rhetorical strategies adopted for persuasive effect in essays and non-fiction. The...
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Lesson Plan
Writing Fix

Writing Fix: Teaching Students to Compose a Power Essay [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
The Power Essay, like the power paragraph, focuses on helping students understand the structure of a piece of expository writing. The "power" concept teaches students to organize their ideas according to levels of specificity and to...
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Article
Harold D. Underdown

Derailed by Details

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A helpful site for writers which gives the proper perspective in assessing the detail involved in your writing. Provides examples of how to include exciting, relevant details when writing fiction.
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Handout
Lumen Learning

Lumen: Boundless Communications: Introduction

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
In this section of a textbook, students learn different techniques for writing an introduction. It provides links to information on the following topics: the role of an introduction, getting attention and interest, establishing...
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Handout
Lumen Learning

Lumen: Boundless Communications: Conclusion

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
In this section of a textbook, students learn how to develop and facilitate an effective closing to a speech. It includes links to the following topics: the role of a conclusion, summarizing ideas, and signaling the end of the speech and...
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Unit Plan
E Reading Worksheets

E Reading Worksheets: Persuasive Essay Worksheets

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
A collection of assignments related to persuasive writing are provided on this site. Scaffolded assignments related to writing an effective introduction and identifying both sides of an issue are included. Exemplar persuasive essays with...
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Activity
E Reading Worksheets

E Reading Worksheets: Writing Persuasive Essays

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Persuasive writing is the topic of this article. Students will learn the parts of the persuasive essay and how to write an effective persuasive essay.
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Activity
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School

Cambridge Rindge & Latin School: Focusing a Research Topic

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This clear and easy to understand explanation of how to focus your topic for effective research will be helpful to many. There are plenty of examples, and two alternate methods are offered as well.
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Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Teaching History: Teaching Guides: Stating Your Case: Writing Thesis Statements

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Lesson plan on writing thesis statements specifically addresses writing essays on historical subjects and themes, particularly essays written in response to document-based questions (DBQs). Walks students through identifying clear thesis...
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Handout
University of Sydney (Australia)

The Write Site: Constructing a Working Thesis

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Students will find a thorough definition of a thesis. Non-examples of thesis statements are also provided.
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Website
Other

Persuasive/argumentative Essay vs. Opinion Writing

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This lesson plan teaches students that writing a persuasive or argumentative essay for class is the same as writing an opinion article for their local newspaper. The lesson plan includes showing students examples of opinion writings and...
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Handout
Other

Speaking Effectively: Beginning and Ending the Talk

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Prepare each part of your speech or presentation according to these guidelines. This page walks you through several different kinds of speeches.
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Handout
Grammarly

Grammarly Handbook: Topic

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Tips for choosing a research topic.
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Graphic
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Persuasion Rubric

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
A printable four-point rubric to use when assessing a persuasive piece with a focus on organization, a goal or thesis, reasons/support, audience, word choice, visuals/delivery, and grammar/usage/mechanics. Directions on how to use this...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Modeling Academic Writing

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Young scholars prepare an already published scholarly article for presentation, with an emphasis on identification of the author's thesis and argument structure.
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Lesson Plan
New Zealand Ministry of Education

Nz Ministry of Education: As Far as the Eye Can See

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
View a variety of television advertisements analyzing visual and verbal features and how these are combined to communicate ideas. Write a coherent essay which expresses and argues a viewpoint about a chosen marketing strategy, linking...
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Handout
City University of New York

College of Staten Island Library: How to Write an Essay

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Resource defines what an essay is, the parts of an essay and their functions, and also discusses the editing process and how important it is to check a draft for completeness and high quality. Includes a link to an online guide to citing...
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Handout
Other

Odessa College: Three Part Format: Definition

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This interesting site provides information about definition essays with example formats and a model essay.
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Article
Other

News Lab: Elements of Great Storytelling

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is a great site for broadcast journalists; it focuses on the elements that make a story great. You can find tips on writing from some of the top people in the industry.
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Website
Other

Grays Harbor College: Writing Essays: Four Tips

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This resource explores four tips for writers: "Center Your Thinking," "Organize Your Thinking," "Specify Your Thoughts," and "Present Your Thoughts Clearly." The information is presented in an easy-to-follow outline with examples given...
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Handout
University of Victoria (Canada)

The U Vic Writer's Guide: Writing Essays: The Statement of Your Thesis

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Brief explanation of the thesis statement, followed by examples of faulty and improved thesis statements.
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Activity
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Writer's Model: Persuasive Paper

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Click on the Print Version to see the four-page essay that provides an example of a Persuasive Paper. Clicking on the "Writer's Guide" link in the upper right-hand corner of the page enables the user to get tips, directions, and...
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Handout
Tom Richey

Tom richey.net: Historical Writing: Writing Resources for Students

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Resources for helping students to write historical essays. Includes a movie trailer to demonstrate the traits of a good introduction, tips for writing a paragraph, tips for formal writing, and guidelines for citing sources.