7 Ways to Help Students Master The Writing Process

The writing process is a challenging process for anyone. What scaffolds and supports do you have in place to help students during the writing process?

1. AnswerGarden - perhaps you have a class writing assignment and you need a list of key terms. Why not begin with a brainstorm of keywords? AnswerGarden helps you create a class word cloud of terms that may be associated with the writing assignment.

2. Wolfram | Alpha - is an excellent source for finding information about a topic. It does not show you popular websites like Google and Bing, but gives you the facts and other types of information that you need. Do you need a definition, synonym or other interesting facts? Then this search engine is for you!

3. Google Voice Typing is a great tool for students to use if they have a physical disability or just need to get the words from their head to paper. Use this free tool while using the Chrome Browser and Google Docs. If you are using an iPad, simply use the voice typing features.

4. Grammarly - is an excellent tool to help students with proofreading, spelling, and grammar. How many times have your students turned in something that was not proofread?

5. PaperRater - is another proofreading tool for students to use; however, I like how it also serves as a coaching tool. PaperRater gives students scores for sentence structure, use of transitional phrases, and even an overall score. Although this is not entirely accurate, it can be helpful for developing a higher quality paper.

6. Have a checklist of tasks to do before they turn in a paper! Create a document that has 3 - 5 things that they must do prior to turning in their paper. For example, you may want to have students read their document aloud, use Grammarly to check grammar, etc.

7. Give feedback BEFORE students turn in their assignments! Why not try to give students feedback during the writing process, so they can actually make corrections and learn from their mistakes? Why not give them an opportunity to take a risk with their writing without the fear of a bad grade? Commenting tools in Word, Docs, and other word processing tools make it easy to give real-time feedback!


November is Clicks for a Cause Month! 

Addison Jacobs was born on 1/13/15, one month prematurely with unknown underlying medical issues. At nine months old, she was diagnosed with Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS), a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, bone marrow dysfunction, leukemia predisposition, and skeletal abnormalities. Addison requires a lot of care with all of her complex medical issues. All of her medical necessities trips to Philly for her care and time off work creates an enormous financial strain for her family.  
During the month of November, I need your help to make a difference for Addison and her family! Here is how!

  • Visit and share blog posts - I will be personally donating 1 cent to her family’s medical fund for every blog visit for the entire month of November.

  • Make a donation - for the price of coffee or lunch, make a donation to Addison’s fund via credit card, debit card, check, or cash. Sign up to make a donation using this Google Form. I will send you an invoice via PayPal. At the end of the month, I will make a donation directly to the family.



Clicks for a Cause has been helping children in need since 2013! For more information, check out my Clicks for a Cause Page!

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