Lumen Learning
Lumen: Boundless Communications: Contextual Factors to Consider
This lesson focuses on contextual factors to consider when analyzing your audience including physical contexts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and needs, audience opinion of you and your topic, and audience knowledge of your topic.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Boundless Communications: Finding and Selecting a Topic
This instructional activity focuses on selecting a speech topic including the importance of choosing a good topic by considering your areas of expertise and areas of interest, brainstorming, tips for choosing a topic, and narrowing the...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Boundless Communications: Gathering Evidence: An Overview
This lesson plan focuses on the importance of gathering information that provides evidence for your topic that is credible, current, and relevant. It also discusses how to find and evaluate sources. SL.9-10.1a Prepared/Discuss
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Writing Process: Selecting a Topic
This lesson focuses on selecting a writing topic including your approach to the assignment, understanding the assignment, purpose of the assignment, strategies for finding a topic, and how to narrow a topic to fit the scope and purpose...
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
Purdue University Owl: Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions
This handout focuses on what an exploratory or inquiry paper is and how to write the introduction including the questions you need to answer and setting the context, stating why the main idea is important, and stating your research...
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
Purdue University Owl: Academic Writing: Essay Writing
An overview of essay writing in general with additional pages discussing descriptive, narrative, expository, and argumentative essays.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Using Sources: Quotation
This lesson focuses on integrating source material using direct quotations including examples and a chart of when to use them.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Introduction to Writing About Literature
This is an introduction to writing about literature; it includes a list of learning objectives for writing about literature including finding and using historical sources to discuss the historical context, finding and using literary...
W. W. Norton
W. W. Norton & Company: Writing About Literature: Effective Quotation
Information about rules and useful strategies for effective use of quotations.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Analysis of Relative Values of Specific Data, Facts, and Ideas
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson we will talk about reviewing the facts and data you use to support your arguments and assessing the reliability of the sources you use.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Analyze Literary Essays' Inclusion of Personal Opinions and Facts
In this lesson, you will learn how to identify and discuss the use of facts, personal examples, and ideas and how they are woven into a literary essay.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Boundless Communications: Finding and Selecting a Topic
This site provides five links to help students select a topic: The importance of choosing a good topic, your areas of expertise, your areas of interest, brainstorming, and scoping your topic.
Leaf Group
E How: How to Write a Briefing Paper
This article by Jody Hanson explains how to write a briefing paper, a concise communication to keep people up to date on the status of a project and any changes.
Other
Ivcc: Integrating and Using Quotations Properly
Written for a college composition course, the ideas in this article are valid for journalists as well. The article gives examples of each of the 4 ways to use quotations in writing. W.9-10.2b Strong Support, L.9-10.2b Colons
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Writing About Issues in the Media
In this lesson students analyze media coverage of current issues and present their findings in a formal research paper and class presentation.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Writing a Persuasive Essay
In this lesson young scholars research opposing viewpoints on controversial issues and develop their own position papers. Though primarily for English classes, this lesson could be easily adapted for an interdisciplinary unit with social...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Writer's Guide: Persuasive Essay
Follow the framework on this page to construct a persuasive essay on any topic. Click on Writer's Model in the upper right to see a Shockwave presentation highlighting how to use the suggestions. W.9-10.10 Write Routinely
The Write Place
Literacy Education Online: Definition Essay
This site provides guidelines for writing definition essays. It also explores various types of definition writing and provides a few short examples.
Steven Kreis, PhD
The History Guide: Finding a Topic
Basic research suggestions are given here to help you select a history research topic.
Robin L. Simmons
Grammar Bytes: Subject
Clear information about sentence subject, including definition, explanation of how to find subject, distinction between complete subject and simple subject, and other helpful points.
Other
Ten Rhetoric of War Writing Projects
Created by a teacher responding to the events in Kosovo, this list is a great start for a media literacy class project. Good discussion-starting questions are included with each item on the list. Requires some independent research to...
Other
Beginning Reporting: The Rest of the News Story
Just because much attention is paid to the lead of a story, it doesn't mean the middle and the end aren't important too. Here you can get tips on how to make the whole story effective, from a professional reporter.
PBS
Pbs News Hour: Vanishing Verbs
Ever noticed how tv news reporting sounds so different from conversation and from academic writing? Explore this topic with your learners using the resources and plans at this site. Handouts, discussion questions and vocabulary practice...
Other
Bowling Green State U: Informative Speech Topic Ideas
This site offers a brief list of potential informative speech topics. Though the list is brief, use the suggestions as inspiration. Also includes helpful reminders and common topics to avoid.