Contains plans for five lessons that use Amy Tan's essay "Mother Tongue" to teach about nonfiction and fiction as well as engage the issue of language and identity. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan...

This seven-page essay provides an example of a literary analysis essay (using "Things Fall Apart"). Clicking on the "Writer's Guide" link in the upper right-hand corner of the page enables the user to get tips, directions, and...

[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, you will learn strategies for evaluating the quality of the sentences in an essay and making changes to achieve greater sentence variety and effectiveness.

Lists of transitional words or phrases broken into categories based on their purposes. Can be downloaded in PDF format. There is also a short discussion of their important role in essay writing. W.11-12.2c Transition/Cohesion

This lesson involves research on scientists whose accomplishments have impacted areas of nutrition, sanitation, or health care. Students will research an area of their choice, record information on a graphic organizer, and use the...

Harriet Tubman was a leading figure in the Underground Railroad movement. In this lesson, young scholars research information about her using informative resources and look at impressionistic artwork depicting her life. Comparing...

Two slideshows and a screencast on organizational patterns used when writing essays and speeches. The first is a 20-slide presentation explaining the seven most common organizational patterns used in writing: time sequence, spatial,...

Students publish final work to express their understanding of The Joy Luck Club.

This resource discusses the steps in planning the structure of a student's argumentative essay. Page 4 of this article focuses on Thesis statement.

This lesson focuses on the writing in high school. Whether you write expository and persuasive essays or short stories, your first steps are to determine and define your audience. After that, you will begin to generate ideas and...

This tutorial focuses on the introduction for an expository essay or research paper. It states the purpose of an introduction, what should be included, and ways to begin.

This five-page essay provides an example of a Progress Report. Clicking on the "Writer's Guide" link in the upper right-hand corner of the page enables the user to get tips, directions, and explanations on the essay.

Written by a college professor, this site discusses five areas for students to work on to improve their writing. The areas are Thesis, Research, Close Reading, Style, and Mechanics. The author is clear and concise in his advice, and...

Students read the article "The Sixth Extinction" by Niles Eldredge on past mass extinctions and the current rate of loss of species. There is a choice of student activities which includes having students respond to discussion and...

This slideshow tutorial focuses on organizing an analytical paper; it defines analysis and outlines the basic five- paragraph essay format. It discusses what goes into the introduction, the body paragraphs, and the conclusion. It...

This seven-page essay provides an example of a literary analysis essay. Clicking on the "Writer's Guide" link in the upper right-hand corner of the page enables the user to get tips, directions, and explanations on the essay.

This three-page essay provides an example of an book review. Clicking on the "Writer's Guide" link in the upper right-hand corner of the page enables the user to get tips, directions, and explanations on the essay.

This six-page essay provides an example of an research report. Clicking on the "Writer's Guide" link in the upper right-hand corner of the page enables the user to get tips, directions, and explanations on the essay.

This resource from Kim's Korner for Teacher Talk defines various patterns of text organization and provides a brief essay example of each pattern.

The example report of information provided at this site is six pages long. Clicking on the "Writer's Guide" link in the upper right-hand corner of the page enables the user to get tips, directions, and explanations on the essay.

Analyze and annotate a model essay focusing on style and tone.

Read about the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature, Octavio Paz. This Nobel E-Museum website includes a biography, poetry, Paz's Nobel lecture entitled "In Search of the Present," and many other resources.

Learn about myths from around the world in this self-guided unit while also learning how to construct a compare and contrast essay. Included are characteristics of creation myths, videos about Chinese and Egyptian myths, and a step by...

This five-page essay provides an example of a nonfiction book review. Clicking on the "Writer's Guide" link in the upper right-hand corner of the page enables the user to get tips, directions, and explanations on the essay.