Is Your Teen Struggling with Writing?

I've worked with a wide range of writing students, from those who simply want me to read over their work before they submit to those who have a hard time transferring their ideas into writing using complete sentences. Over the years, I've implemented certain strategies to develop writing skills in students (mostly middle school and high school students, but also college students on occasion), regardless of their writing level, and I'd like to share some of them with you today.

5 Ways to Help Your Teen Become a Stronger Writer

1. Encourage regular reading (and model it too!)

Reading is fundamental to becoming a good writer because it teaches teens what good writing looks like. Whether your teen is reading a novel, a blog post, or a newspaper article, reading is a great way to expose them to proper grammar, good sentence structure, and new vocabulary. It's also important to practice what you preach, so if you encourage your teen to read on a regular basis, make sure you're reading on a regular basis yourself!

2. Identify a real audience

Students have a tendency to complete their writing assignments as though they're writing their assignments for their teacher. While that's true, of course, it's important to shape their mindset to believe their reader could be anyone. This teaches them to write both clearly and concisely, to address their invisible reader as if they are unaware of the topic of the assignment.

3. Teach research skills

Research papers are common assignments among middle school and high school students and are some of the most challenging writing assignments to complete, in my opinion. While writing a research paper is something teens are expected to learn how to do in school, it doesn't hurt to give them additional support in this area at home. Show them the difference between a good source (such as a scientific journal) and a bad one (such as Wikipedia), and explain why plagiarism is considered a terrible offense and how to avoid it.

4. Emphasize the importance of editing

I can't tell you how many times a student works on a writing assignment during their lesson with me and forgets to read it over before saying they've finished! Editing is an extremely important part of the writing process, and we need to teach teens to review their work each and every time they write something. After all, there's a reason a rough draft is typically less polished than a final draft.

5. Celebrate their efforts and successes

Don't forget to encourage your teen when you see them putting in the effort, and certainly don't forget to applaud them for visible improvements! Their efforts should always be recognized, especially when you see the positive effects of those efforts, such as a higher score on an assignment or positive feedback from a teacher. It will not only make them feel good, but it will also make them feel more confident about their overall writing capabilities.

Need Additional Support?

If you think your teen might need additional support with their writing, I would be happy to help! Send me a text or an email, and let's discuss how we can help your teen become a stronger and more confident writer today.