Entries Tagged 'College Prep' ↓

Words Matter Week: Day 2

Words matter. And not just the words themselves, but also the grammar, spelling, and punctuation that make those words easier and more pleasant to read and understand.

In truth, no one particularly notices when a piece of writing is structurally sound and fairly free of errors. When the reader isn’t distracted by gross misspellings or misplaced apostrophes, he’s able to take in the words and thoughts in a simple, straightforward manner. That’s one reason it’s so important that we write with care—and teach our kiddos to do the same.

Does Casual Writing Have Its Place?

This isn’t to say that everything we write needs to be pressed through the “grammar sieve” to strain out every wayward punctuation mark or imprecise word. I’m all for casual writing in the appropriate context, such as a quick note left on the kitchen table or a slapdash email to a friend. And I truly understand typing errors we all make when our flying fingers transpose a couple of letters or we miss the “shift” key. 

But when a piece of writing–even a casual email or comment on a discussion board–contains pervasive errors, keyboard accidents can no longer be blamed. As an example, here’s a simple snippet from a blog comment I came across some time ago:

now i know its been WAY to long!! the only one I can reckonsie is Alvin and thats because hes a boy! I so need to come a visit ya’ll this summer and see the family, its been to meny years

Oh, dear.

Judging a Book by Its Cover

Our writing can reveal certain things about us. For example, what conclusions do you draw about this particular writer based on her one little writing sample? Is she kind? Friendly? Most likely. Educated? Careful? Attentive to detail? Probably not.

Granted, careless grammar doesn’t bother everyone. People who don’t use proper grammar and spelling themselves won’t know (or for that matter, care) whether you or your children use proper grammar and spelling.

But many people are pretty picky about such things—college admissions folks and employers among them. Your student’s writing may be judged and perhaps even rejected simply for failing to stick to conventions. Why?

• Valid arguments lose their credibility and impact when the text is riddled with typos and grammatical errors.
• Spelling errors and poor grammar can suggest that a job or college applicant is sloppy at best and ignorant or uneducated at worst.
• If an employee is not attentive to detail in emails, reports, or memos, the promotion may go to someone who is. 

Conventions? What Conventions?

OK, I admit it. It’s hard for me to write anything—even an e-mail—without editing and revising it a dozen times. I’m sure part of that comes from being a writer and an author of a writing curriculum. I feel like my writing is always under the microscope, even when it’s not.

This doesn’t mean everyone has to be that way. A quickie email to a good friend can have a bunch of sentence fragments and a misspelled word—and in that context, who really cares? But when writing is up for public scrutiny—even on a discussion board—and you hope to be taken seriously, you’ll want to give as much attention to convention as to content.

Find the Errors

Just for kicks, scroll back up to the writing sample and see how many errors you can find before you read my list below. There are a lot! Even better, ask your children to edit it. It would make a great lesson.

Here are the mistakes I found.

• now – should be Now (as in: Now, children, a sentence always begins with a capital.)
• i – should be I
• its – missing apostrophe (it’s)
• to – should be too
• !! – never use more than one exclamation point
• the – see #1
• reckonsie – should be recognize (as in: I almost didn’t recognize that word.)
• thats – missing apostrophe (see #2)
• hes – missing apostrophe (notice a pattern here?)
• a visit – and visit? for a visit?
• y’all – I’ll give her this one since it’s a casual note.
• comma splice – …see the family; it’s been too many years; or …see the family. It’s been too many years; or …see the family because it’s been too many years.
• its, to – see #2 and #3
• meny = should be spelled many (as in: Goodness! I’ve found so many mistakes.)

So . . . how’d you do? Did I miss anything?

The “Final Draft”

Here’s the gussied-up version—with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation:

Now I know it’s been WAY too long! The only one I can recognize is Alvin, and that’s because he’s a boy! I so need to come visit y’all this summer and see the family; it’s been too many years.

The friendly sentiments shine through, don’t they? It’s like cleaning soot from a window. Instead of zeroing in on the grimy, dirty pane, we can focus on the cheerful scene beyond the glass.

Just as cleaning up grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors greatly enhanced the message above, editing and polishing our own writing can clear the way for our message too. So make it a point to teach your children proper writing conventions, because words—and the way we write them—matter.

. . . . .

Don’t forget to enter our Words Matter Week haiku contest. Deadline is Sunday, March 7, 2010.

We parents give an awful lot of thought to what our children will do once we’re done homeschooling. Will they go to college or university? Take a vocational track? Enter the ministry? Will they become scientists or mortgage lenders? Clerical workers or nurses? Entrepreneurs or educators?

One thing seems clear: No matter the profession, studies show it’s more important than ever that your teen develop good writing skills if he or she hopes to get—and keep—a job.

Writing: A Ticket to Work . . . or a Ticket Out

According to a 2004 survey polling 120 American corporations (whose payrolls include nearly 8 million people), an employee’s writing skills can either hinder or advance him in the company.

The survey may be a few years old, but its ramifications remain relevant in 2010. Here are some of the survey’s findings:

• People who cannot write and communicate clearly will not be hired and are unlikely to last long enough to be considered for promotion.
• Two-thirds of salaried employees in large American companies have some writing responsibility. “All employees must have writing ability,” said one human resource director.
• Eighty percent or more of the companies in the service and finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) sectors, the corporations with the greatest employment growth potential, assess writing during hiring. “Applicants who provide poorly written letters wouldn’t likely get an interview,” commented one insurance executive.
• Half of all companies take writing into account when making promotion decisions.
• More than 40 percent of responding firms offer or require training for salaried employees with writing deficiencies. Based on the survey responses, it appears that remedying deficiencies in writing may cost American firms as much as $3.1 billion annually. “We’re likely to send out 200–300 people annually for skills-upgrade courses like ‘business writing’ or ‘technical writing,’” said one respondent.

You can read the entire report here.

Focus on Key Writing Skills

What does this mean for your child? Simply, it doesn’t matter whether or not she’s college-bound. If she expects to succeed in the workplace, she’ll need to demonstrate better-than-average writing skills.

So make sure you’re focusing on basic but key writing skills throughout junior high and high school to adequately prepare her. Minimally, by the time your teen graduates from high school, she should know how to:

• Write a clear, well-organized essay.
• Write a business letter.
• Use correct grammar.
• Use proper punctuation, such as correct use of quotation marks and apostrophes.
• Use good sentence structure, including avoiding run-on sentences and sentence fragments.
• Avoid using slang and shortcuts common to texting and instant messaging.
• Properly site sources (avoiding plagiarism).
• Self-edit and proofread her own writing.

Helpful Resources

If you’re looking for a place to start or need a few supplemental resources, check out some of these links and products:

• WriteShop - Solid composition and essay skills for junior high & high school
• How to Write a Business Letter
• Editor in Chief  – Practice with editing and proofreading skills
• OWL at Purdue - Proofreading and self-editing tips
• The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation - Practice, reinforce, or teach grammar and punctuation skills
• How to Cite Your Sources - A great resource!

Discovering interesting topics is a critical component of the essay-planning process. However, a good topic is not enough to guarantee a successful paper. The goal of the initial prewriting stage is not to come up with a subject or a topic, per se, but to identify a controlling idea that will help guide and shape the student’s essay and direct her brainstorming efforts.

Why Write a Thesis Statement?

An essay focuses on a particular concept, idea, or scenario and tries to say something unique about it. It shouldn’t be a sprawling report of all possible facts and details. Instead, essay writing is about choosing and analyzing the most important elements necessary for advancing a particular position. Therefore, the thesis statement for an essay represents a condensed and carefully thought-out argument that will define, guide, and set the tone for the entirety of your student’s paper.

What Is a Thesis Statement?

A thesis statement presents, in one or two sentences, the central, controlling argument of an essay. It explicitly identifies the purpose of the paper and/or previews its main ideas. Everything your student writes throughout the essay should in some way reinforce this primary claim. A good thesis statement should:

1. Concisely present the central idea of the essay.
2. Guide the direction of the paper and establish priorities
3. Take a definitive stand that justifies the case your student is about to make.
4. Articulate a specific, arguable point with which people could logically disagree. It helps to ask what is new, interesting, contestable, or controversial about the topic. If the student is presenting a claim or statement that no one would argue against, then he’s not saying anything worth reading. 
   • Uncontestable claim: The world would be a better place without war.
   • Contestable claim: Christians should not participate violently in war.
   • Uncontestable claim: Domestic terrorism is on the rise in the United States.
   • Contestable claim: The rise of domestic terrorism reflects an increased disillusionment with the United States government.
5. Effectively answer the prompt or question (if given).
6. Be thoughtfully and deliberately worded.
7. Avoid vague generalizations.
8. Use clear and concrete language.
9. Pass the “So what?” test of significance. A good thesis should be substantial and important, so ask, “Who cares?” or “What difference does it make?” 
   • Insubstantial claim: Students at ABC University have school spirit.
   • Substantial claim: The strong sense of community at ABC University is evident in its students’ commitment to campus functions and organizations. This challenges the prevailing characterization of Generation X as apathetic, uninvolved, and lazy.

Could you imagine a student telling his professor: “Can I have another week? My sister was hogging the computer.” or “Sorry I missed the test yesterday—I was too tired—but I can make it up later this afternoon.” We can all laugh at how ridiculous this sounds, but chances are, you yourselves have caved to these very requests!

But We’re Homeschooling!

For homeschoolers, it’s easy to let deadlines slide. The sense of urgency just doesn’t exist at home as it does in the public or private school setting. Homeschooling brings with it a false sense of security that says, “We have time…what’s the rush…he’s only 14…that’s why we’re homeschooling,” and so on. As a result, many homeschooling parents either don’t give due dates at all, don’t adhere to them if they do, or don’t impose consequences for late assignments.

Do you want your student to succeed in college? Of course you do! Then you need to realize that in the real world, such permissiveness will never fly.

Create a System for Keeping Track

You need a system for posting and keeping track of deadlines. The best method is to post a large monthly calendar in a prominent spot (in your school area, on the fridge). Even if you use a lesson plan book and give your student daily assignments, it is so helpful to be able to step back and see—at a glance—clearly marked essay or project deadlines and test dates.

A calendar of this nature gives your teen a quick daily review of the panorama of impending deadlines. This prevents the dreaded “due date creep,” where it suddenly dawns on a procrastinating student that he has a test, an essay, and a science project all due in the next day or two.

It also encourages the student to pace himself more carefully when working on big projects, including spreading out the work over several days or weeks, and starting the project early enough to finish without having to pull an all-nighter. A college-course syllabus is sure to include one or more long-term assignments, so developing the habit of scheduling and pacing will prepare him well for handling multiple deadlines that typify college work.

.  .  .  .  .

College prep 101: Learning to meet deadlines

College prep 101: Creating a quiet workspace

College prep 101: Limiting social networking

College prep 101: Teaching responsible study habits

Mrs. Smith teaches a weekly composition class. One evening she gets an email from one of her students.

Student: Is it okay for me to cite Wikipedia as a resource when I write my paper?
Mrs. Smith: May I ask why you waited until 6:45 p.m. to begin an essay that’s due tomorrow?

Sound familiar? You assign a report on Aztec culture, and you ask your teen to turn it in to you three weeks from now. But when will he typically start working on it? That’s right—a day or two before it’s due!

Squelching a Myth

We’ve heard it. Perhaps we’ve even said it: I work better under pressure.

But actually, studies have shown that pressure and procrastination cause myriad problems.

“Psychologists have focused on procrastination among students because the problem is rampant in academic settings; some 70 percent of college students report problems with overdue papers and delayed studying,” according to Joseph Ferrari, associate professor of psychology at Chicago’s DePaul University. 
. . .
“Procrastinators generally don’t do well under pressure,” says Ferrari. The idea that time pressure improves performance is perhaps the most common myth among procrastinators.
. . .
[A study by Tim Pychyl, Ph.D.] found that procrastination is detrimental to physical health. College students who procrastinate have higher levels of drinking, smoking, insomnia, stomach problems, colds and flu (Psychology Today).

Obviously, there’s more than just a deadline at stake here. So what can you as a parent do to help your teen develop consistency and routine before he heads off to college?

Teach Responsibility

Weave responsible study habits into your expectations for your student’s academic performance. Make it clear that his all-nighters or similar day-before heroics do not amuse or impress you. As adults, we know what it’s like to work under pressure, and though many of us say we function better that way, in reality it is VERY stressful and counterproductive, and our families usually bear the brunt of our short tempers and long hours—even when the end result is worthwhile. Instead, tell your teen that you expect him to schedule his work in advance and tackle it with his full attention.

Divide and Conquer

Start out by breaking longer assignments into chunks and establishing mini due dates along the way. If it’s a research paper, for example, set deadlines for topic selection, brainstorming, thesis statement, note-taking and research, outlining, bibliography, and rough and final drafts. Put these on a master calendar (more about that next week). That way, he can pace himself not only with this project, but with everything else vying for his time.

If, during the same two weeks, he is working on his paper, performing at the community playhouse, taking a biology test at the homeschool co-op, and going to winter camp with the youth group, he needs to plan well—and early—so he doesn’t end up with the proverbial freeway pileup when everything comes due at once.

Secret to Success

What is the most consistent difference between the college student who is snowed under and the one who is calm, happy, and academically successful? It’s the successful student’s ability to use organization and study techniques to simplify his life, whereas the stressed-out student tends to fly by the seat of her pants—hoping she lives through the semester, one anxious assignment at a time. Building an early—and strong—association between good habits and school work will pay off in the long run.

.  .  .  .  .

College prep 101: Learning to meet deadlines

College prep 101: Creating a quiet workspace

College prep 101: Limiting social networking

Your teen lives in the modern world. Between phone calls, texting, email, instant messages, Facebook, and any other number of social networking opportunities that distract her, she has to learn to establish boundaries for herself in order to get any work done at all.

Do Not Disturb

When she’s hammering out a paper or other project, there should be none of this electronic interruption until she’s finished, and for good reason. Setting aside these distractions is sort of like hanging an e-version of the “do not disturb” sign. And now I’m going to become very unpopular with your teen—and so will you, if you take my advice!

Unplug the Internet cable during her computer time and turn off her cell phone, if she has one.

Yes, unplug. This will make it impossible to go online or get interrupted by a text message while she’s working on an essay or report. If she needs to do research online, have her separate the research process from the writing process. Let her work online . . . and then simply unplug the cable when her research is complete.

What’s the Big Deal?

When your student tries to work at the computer while chatting with friends via instant message and e-mail, she loses the ability to focus and concentrate. As a result, the quality of her work suffers. In addition, she’ll require more time to finish the project. For one, the interruptions themselves take time. But more importantly, these breaks—no matter how short in duration—require her to keep refocusing when she finally returns to the task at hand.

I regularly experience this myself. I have two tasks open on the desktop, my email open on the laptop, and a barrage of projects stacked on my work surface. When I flit back and forth among them like a restless butterfly, I often close out my day feeling like I got absolutely nothing accomplished. Instead, I end up with myriad loose ends dangling everywhere and just as much on my to-do list as when I woke up.

But when I commit myself to one project at a time, visit my inbox a few times a day instead of several times an hour, and steer clear of both Facebook and the phone during those designated working hours, I am so much more productive as I pick off a whole bunch of little tasks (or take a nice chunk out of a bigger project). The sense of accomplishment is huge for me—and your teen can experience this too.

Goodbye to Multitasking

Making electronic access difficult (or impossible) forces your student to pour all her concentration and effort into her writing. This ability to separate work from play is of the utmost importance at college where she won’t have your help making such wise choices. In your “home training center,” once your teen figures out how much easier it is to write a paper in an uninterrupted chunk of time, she’ll may never go back to multi-tasking again!

That’s it for now—I’m off to take a dose of my own medicine.

Please do not disturb.

.  .  .  .  .

College prep 101: Learning to meet deadlines

College prep 101: Creating a quiet workspace

If you think your teen is easily sidetracked now, just wait! When she heads off to college, she’ll have to deal with new distractions of noisy dorms and the siren’s call of “Oh, c’mon . . . you can study later! Let’s go out for coffee!”

High schoolers need to learn that there’s both a time and a place for school work and study. In College prep 101: Learning to Meet Deadlines, we looked at the element of time. Today, let’s talk about place.

Studying in front of the TV or trying to work at the kitchen table while the family plays and talks nearby will doom your student’s productivity. He needs a quiet spot for studying—a place set apart for school work alone.

I know this can be a challenge if you have a small house. Our daughter and her husband currently live in a two-bedroom house with four children, so I understand that this isn’t always possible. But if you can swing it, designate a workspace that’s separated from the family room, kitchen, or other busy, distracting, high-traffic locations.

Frequent interruptions do not belong in your teen’s study environment. By setting aside an isolated area used only for school work, you’re helping him make a healthy distinction between work and rest or play. A designated workspace promotes concentration during study times, which in turn will produce better academic results. Furthermore, a quiet area improves concentration, which means the student can get more done in less time. This adds up to more hours in which to enjoy his favorite pastimes—a worthwhile bonus.

5 Steps Toward Creating a Quiet Workspace

1. Establish and maintain a clutter-free zone. Visual clutter is highly distracting, but a clean, orderly work surface greatly improves productivity.
2. Eliminate other distractions. Make this an electronics-free zone as well, with the exception of a computer and printer. If there’s a TV nearby, turn it off along with the phone. And if there’s just no such thing as a quiet nook in your home, consider investing in a set of noise-cancelling headphones that your teen can wear to block out peripheral noise.
3. Keep necessary supplies at hand. Jumping up every five minutes to hunt down paper, sharp pencils, scissors, calculator, or a new ink cartridge eats up time and breaks concentration. Store school/office supplies in a handy drawer, basket, shelf, or tray and don’t allow them to be moved to other parts of the house.
4. Make the work area conducive to studying. Your teen’s bed is not such a place. His body will identify the bed with sleeping, and his productivity will fade as he is overtaken by the temptation to nap.
5. Establish a comfortable studying environment. Provide a reasonably sized work surface and a comfortable chair, and face the chair toward a window or wall so other household activity doesn’t compete for your teen’s attention. Warm or stale air can contribute to sleepiness, so keep a small fan handy. Finally, don’t forget to offer adequate lighting.

Next time I’ll share some ideas that, though necessary for good study habits, will be unpopular with your teen. I’m talking about limiting social networking.

For high schoolers, there’s more to planning for college than simply getting accepted. Unless your student has experienced a more rigorous course of study and has learned some good study habits, he’ll be overwhelmed to arrive on campus and discover the mountains of reading, writing, and studying that await.

Parents can do a lot to prepare their students, and in doing so, will help deter the stress and erratic grades that separate the unequipped college freshman from the equipped. Train your child during high school—or even junior high—by encouraging good study habits that will serve him well in college.

Today we’ll begin a series that will help your teen prepare for college. Over the next few weeks, I’d like to offer several guidelines to help you move in that direction.

Train Your Teen to Meet Deadlines

In many households, homeschoolers are notorious for working “whenever.” As long as it all gets done, no one seems to care whether the kids work in the morning, afternoon, or well into the evening. When giving a history or science test, the student keeps at it till he’s finished, with no attention paid to the clock. Mom asks for a report on photosynthesis, to be turned in by next Friday. It’s not ready yet? Oh, well. Just get it to me as soon as you can.

We like to think that this is our privilege. After all, we’re homeschooling. We don’t need to bow to artificial rules and schedules. But if this speaks to you, you may want to rethink the idea of scheduling—even if it’s not strict hour-by-hour scheduling. Because if your teenager is used to having all the time in the world, he’ll be in for a rude awakening when college hits, along with scheduled classes, syllabuses filled with deadlines . . . and no one watching over his shoulder to remind him.

First, by taking a moment each day to survey how much work needs to be done and how much time is available, your teen will learn to avoid the panic-filled late-night study sessions that plague many high schoolers and college students. He will also appreciate the reduced stress that comes from following a plan—and he’ll enjoy his free time all the more. Good habits of scheduling assignments and planning out longer projects will prove indispensable when he faces the additional demands of college course work.

Second, start to attach a time limit to any tests you give at home. A test associated with a textbook is generally designed to administer in a 50- to 60-minute class period. Essay questions given as tests should also have a cap. Depending on what your goal is, the essay could be 20, 50, or 90 minutes. That’s the real world.

So if you’ve been less than consistent about deadlines, and the fruit of your casual flexibility is an unprepared student, it’s time to start tightening up your schedule to better equip your son or daughter for the demands of college life.

Next time, we’ll take a look at Creating a Quiet Workspace.

If your bookshelf looks anything like mine did when we were homeschooling, it holds an assortment of curriculum you’ve stopped and started at various times along the way. Some we just couldn’t get into for various reasons, and we ended up finding alternatives. But there were others that we fully intended to use—we just never got around to them.

For example, we were supposed to get through a foreign language to meet my son’s college admissions requirements. Time and again, it seems, we’d start fresh and then stop. Spanish kept sliding to the back burner because of everything else that vied for his time. Then one day I nearly had a stroke when I realized he would never be able to finish the course in time for graduation. He paid for my lack of perseverance by having to spend some of his college electives on a foreign language.
 
Do you find that writing is one of those subjects you keep starting and stopping? Does your child drag his feet, fail to finish assignments, or complain night and day? Or are you the one who has trouble following through with lesson planning or editing? Whatever the reason, it’s important that you start afresh, make a plan, stick to your guns, and don’t let your student whine, wheedle, cajole, or otherwise manipulate you into letting him lapse!

Start Fresh

Writing is one of those non-negotiable subjects that forms a basis for academic success. So make a commitment to see your writing program through. If you’re not using a formal writing curriculum, you must still commit to assigning writing on a regular basis.

Has time been the culprit? You may need to give up another subject or extracurricular activity in order to have the time to devote to writing. Your child will not survive in college without writing skills. 

Make a Plan

WriteShop’s convenient scheduling options can help parents stay on track. With older high schoolers, time is running out. So if you’re concerned about the SAT essay, for example, your student will need to complete the essay portion of WriteShop II well in advance of the test because he’ll need time to practice writing timed essays. But no matter what, arm yourself with a plan—and stick to it—or your student will slip into old habits of not completing his work. This means:

• Choosing a schedule to follow;
• Sticking with the schedule;
• Supervising your student’s work to make sure he’s doing it; and
• Editing and returning papers to him on time so he doesn’t fall behind in his writing assignments.

If your student can finish WriteShop II by (or before) 10th grade, you can devote the rest of high school to more advanced writing, such as longer essays, literary analysis, and a couple of research papers.

Stick to Your Guns

Now for the hard part! Help your child develop self-discipline. See that he follows the schedule. If he’s used to giving excuses for why he didn’t get around to doing his writing assignment, make him write first thing each day. Hold him accountable and don’t let him off the hook!

Likewise, if follow-through hasn’t been your strong suit in the past, recommit yourself to helping prepare your student for college by teaching and overseeing the lessons and adhering to deadlines. If your student knows you won’t check up on him, he’ll continue to fritter away his time. But if he realizes that you’re going to hold his feet to the fire and impose consequences for incomplete work, he’ll perform better for you.

You’ll both be much happier in the end, and just imagine the pride at being able to say that you reached your goal!