3 Mini-Lessons to Help Your Students Finally Understand and Effectively Use Formal Writing.
Today I am going to tell you about formal writing! Of course, I write this opening line in jest. When I think about how many times my secondary students have written that exact initial phrase as part of their first line to an essay, a strong Hulk-like desire to rip papers into shreds comes over me. I assure you that I have never actually ripped up a student essay, but I think we can all agree that reading the following sentences turns us all a little Hulk green:
“After you read this, you will agree that…”
“Today I will prove to you that…”
“I am writing about…”
“I think…”
“I feel…”
AGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
These sentence frames are taught to students as they learn to write. They serve students well in elementary school as they help students frame their thinking, develop those ideas, and begin the overwhelming process of sharing these thoughts with the page. We know how challenging writing is for our youngest students, so we, as secondary teachers, can understand why these phrases are introduced to young writers. BUT, we, as secondary teachers, will spend years trying to break students of the habit that has been established in using these sentence starters.
So, how do we help students move beyond this elementary, informal style of writing? It is a challenging task, indeed. Today I will share with you a few tips to help you with this (do you see what I did there?)
Mini-Lesson 1: Different Types of Language
I start out this mini-unit by having real discussions with students about slang, texting language, and conversational language. We brainstorm together what these words mean and work together to create examples of each. They really enjoy this conversation, especially when they can stump the teacher with common slang and texting language, though this is not all that difficult to do these days. Most importantly, we discuss when, where, and with whom each type of language is appropriate. I ask students when and where it is appropriate to use texting language—the answer to this is, of course, is ONLY WHEN YOU ARE TEXTING! I’ll ask, “with whom is it appropriate to use common slang?” When is conversational language appropriate? When is it NOT appropriate? These conversations are so important in helping students see that there is a time and a place for different types of language; that we truly change how we speak based on situation, the people we are talking to, and the medium we are using to communicate.
Mini-Lesson 2: Writing About Your Writing
It drives me bananas when students write about their writing. “Today I will write about…” “In this essay, you will learn that…”
I share with students three important reasons that we cannot write about our writing:
1. We are not having a conversation with our reader. I remind students that they don’t know the person on the other side of their research paper or argumentative essay, so they cannot converse with them. There is not a back and forth- so it cannot be a conversation. I use the example of an argumentative essay that is persuading people not to smoke. If students write, “you should stop smoking” in that essay, people who do not smoke are either offended or uninterested.
2. It weakens your argument. I ask students to think about two similar statements, one starting with the phrase, “I think.” I say the first sentence with a strong powerful voice: The legal age required to purchase cigarettes should be raised to twenty-one. Then, I say the second statement with a weak tone: I think that the legal age required to purchase cigarettes should be raised to twenty-one. When we use the word I in an argumentative essay, we remind the reader that this is just one person’s opinion on a topic. We weaken our stance when we remind the reader that it is just “I” that thinks this way on a topic. When we state the opinion like a fact, we assert the opinion powerfully.
3. People are busy and have short attention spans. Students and I chat about how busy their lives are, how much is on their to-do list, and how overwhelming that can be. We chat about adults and their busy lives as well. Then we discuss how many different types of media messages we all receive on a constant basis. I explain that this is more than ever before in history. At one time, people had to go in search of new information. They needed to seek out a newspaper or go to the library. Now, we can open a social media app on our phone and get multiple sources of news information and numerous advertisements within moments. Our brains need to take in all of this information in addition to our busy lives. We need that information to be a succinct as possible.
I explain that the phrase: “‘Today I am going to tell you about’ is just extra words that we don’t need. We will know this is true when we read your paragraph. This takes extra time to read, and people will lose interest!
Mini-Lesson 3: Formal Language- The Where, The Why, The How.
Click on the image to grab these class posters for your formal writing unit!
Finally, I get to the nuts and bolts of formal writing; what to avoid and what should be done in formal writing.
Avoid: any and all personal pronouns.
Avoid: contractions
Avoid: the words, “there is” and “there are” as these create sentences that contain extra, unnecessary fluff language.
Avoid: conversational, casual language
Do: State your opinion like a fact.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Arguably the most important part of this mini-unit is to provide practice in writing formally as well as practice in changing informal writing to formal writing. I ask my students to begin by taking informal sentences and changing them so that they are written in a formal style. They are tasked with spotting those ‘writing practices to avoid’ and rewriting with those practices we want them to show in formal writing. We do several together as a class before students set off on their own to practice with the activities I provide. I continue to practice these skills throughout the year with bell ringer activities, impromptu writing tasks, and, of course, the actual essays they must write.
Overall, with this mini-lesson set-up, I am happy to report that the angry Hulk-like reading of formal essays is a thing of the past. Students will still make the occasional informal writing mistake, but with the practice above, they now know how to fix it on their own (or with minimal support.)
If you would like to learn more about my formal vs informal writing unit, click on the image below!
About the Author
Liz is the founder of Teach BeTween the Lines. She has been teaching for over ten years; she has loved growing young minds through literature and the art of crafting the written word. She is currently working on her doctorate in Education from the University of Minnesota, and holds an M.A. in Education from St. Mary’s University, Minnesota. She loves to write short stories in her free time, especially in those cold Minnesota winters. She is supported by a wonderful family made better by the addition of her two beautiful children.