English in the Time of Coronavirus
Schools are closing across the U.S. in an attempt to stem the tide of coronavirus infections. ELA Academy is a good source of free instructional videos for English language arts.
essay
Essay Basics Pt. 10 – Conclusions
Finally, the last Essay Basics video – how to write a good conclusion! Ahh, it feels so good to complete this series. 🙂 I’ll definitely keep making videos about writing, but I’m ready to talk about something else for a while. HELPFUL RESOURCES Conclusions Writing a developed and detailed conclusion (Purdue OWL): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/2/60/ Ending the essay: … Read more
Essay Basics Pt. 8: Developing Argumentative Paragraphs
Check out my new demonstration video on argumentative writing: Download the ENTIRE essay about video games here: Sample Argumentative Essay – video games And here are links to other helpful information about argumentative (a.k.a. persuasive) writing: General advice on argumentation Argumentative essays (Purdue OWL): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/05/ Writing strong argument papers (Clark College): http://web.clark.edu/martpe/writing_strong_argument_papers.htm The Toulmin method of argumentation Toulmin … Read more
Essay Basics Pt. 7: Developing Expository Paragraphs
Check out my new demonstration video for writing expository body paragraphs: And as promised, click here to download the COMPLETE expository essay: Sample Expository Essay – Risks Helpful links: Expository essays (Purdue OWL): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/02/ 10 tips for developing expository writing skills (New York Times): http://www.nytimes.com/learning/issues_in_depth/10WritingSkillsIdeas.html A collection of expository writing resources (Varsity Tutors): http://www.varsitytutors.com/englishteacher/expwriting.html Click here to support ELA … Read more
Essay Basics 6: Developing Descriptive Paragraphs
Here’s the second demo video for the Essay Basics series: developing descriptive body paragraphs! Click below to watch the video: And here’s a blank copy of the brainstorming table, if you’re interested:Developing a Descriptive Body Paragraph – BLANK Helpful links: Writing Descriptive Essays (Purdue OWL): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/03/ Descriptive Essays (Roane State OWL): http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/describe.html Writing a Descriptive Essay (Butte … Read more
Essay Basics 5: Developing Narrative Body Paragraphs
I hope you’ve watched Part 4 and are now ready for demonstrations! Click here to watch as I go through the process of writing a solid narrative paragraph: Here is a blank brainstorming table, if you’re interested: Developing a Narrative Body Paragraph – BLANK And then here are some other links you might find helpful: How … Read more
Essay Basics Pt. 4: Developing Body Paragraphs
Here comes Essay Basics Part 4: Developing Body Paragraphs! In this video, I go over the various components you might need to have in each paragraph. This one’s sort of a note-taking video, so if you’d like a little help with that, click here to download a set of guided Cornell notes: Guided notes – Development … Read more
Essay Basics Pt. 3 – Generating Ideas
Do you or your students sit down to an essay prompt and discover that you have no ideas? Watch this video for some ways to prepare ideas ahead of time: Click here to download the Essay Oasis handout: Essay Oasis Click here to download the Essay Oasis Development handout: Essay Oasis Development I can’t recommend these books … Read more
Essay Basics Pt. 2 – Essay Structure
Do you struggle with how to organize your essay? Then check out Essay Basics Part 2: Essay Structure. With permission from the author, I’m explaining some of Gretchen Bernabei’s instructional methods for text structures and kernel essays (if you HATE writing outlines with Roman numerals and all those letters and numbers, you’ll LOVE kernel essays!) … Read more
Essay Basics Pt. 1 – Modes of Writing
Welcome to a new series on essay writing! In this video, I go over the modes of writing – expository, descriptive, narrative, and argumentative – and how they can work together in an essay. For further reading on each mode, check out the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) website: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/01/ Click here to support ELA Academy on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ELAAcademy