In an age when AI can write convincing papers, your teen may wonder why developing writing skills matters. It’s simple: Learning to write well will help your teen strengthen thinking and communication skills—which are essential for academic and career success.
Review this five-step writing process with your teen:
- Brainstorm. Spend 10 minutes writing down all known facts about the topic.
- Research. Gather credible sources (a librarian can help) to acquire in-depth knowledge of the topic and find facts, quotes, and other details that support the points your teen wants to make.
- Outline. Teens often dislike this step, but it helps to organize ideas and evidence into logical order. The traditional numbers-and-letters format works for some teens. Others prefer a series of connected circles.
- Write multiple drafts. The first draft is for getting ideas down, without worrying about being perfect. After a break, look at it with fresh eyes and decide how to clarify and improve the next draft.
- Proofread. Look over the final draft carefully and correct spelling and grammatical errors.
Source: S. Graham and K. Sandmel, “The Process Writing Approach: A Meta-analysis,” The Journal of
Educational Research, Taylor & Francis.
