Scholastic
Scholastic: Writing Workshop: Persuasive Writing
This site has a great unit that leads students all the way through the writing process while composing a persuasive paper. Includes a teacher guide, mini-lessons, assessment rubric, and worksheets to help out at each step of the way.
Joe Landsberger
Study Guides and Strategies: Expository Essays
This page has eight basic steps for writing expository essays: select topic, write the thesis, choose a method of development, organize, write topic sentences for body paragraph, write the body paragraphs, write an introduction, and...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Success Skills: Writing in College
Although this lesson focuses on college writing, it fits perfectly into the high school curriculum without being too difficult to understand. It provides types of essay writing assignments and how to handle each, strategies for writing...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Introducing the Essay: Twain, Douglass and American Non Fiction
This lesson plan serves as an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing and focuses primarily on teaching some basic approaches to recognizing rhetorical strategies adopted for persuasive effect in essays and non-fiction. The...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: 3.1: Expository Essay
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Learn to write an expository essay by providing evidence that supports a thesis, articulating concepts and information correctly and concisely, understanding the...
University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina: Writing Center: Handouts: Evidence
What kinds of evidence best support the points you make in a paper? Where can you find the evidence you need? This handout answers all these questions and more, including the difference between primary and secondary sources. You'll also...
Harvard University
Harvard University: Beginning the Academic Essay
This resource explains how to write an essay. Provides information regarding length, order, and opening strategies. W.9-10.1a claims/intro/org
Tom Richey
Tom richey.net: Historical Writing: Writing Resources for Students
Resources for helping students to write historical essays. Includes a movie trailer to demonstrate the traits of a good introduction, tips for writing a paragraph, tips for formal writing, and guidelines for citing sources.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Let's Eat: An Expository Slideshow Presentation
Students will write a three-paragraph essay explaining the steps necessary to follow a recipe and then present and serve the recipe to their classmates.
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Writing Across the Curriculum Lesson: This I Believe: History
This writing assignments asks students to assume the voice of a person from history they have researched. Focusing on a topic or belief the person showed passion about as history unfolded, the students write an essay modeled after NPR's...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: A r.a.f.t. Writing Prompt: This I Believe
This writing assignments asks students to assume the voice of a character from a novel they are reading. Focusing on a topic or belief the character shows passion about in the novel, the students write an essay modeled after NPR's "This...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Patterns for Making Meaning
Students read the book The Way Life Works: The Science Lover's Illustrated Guide to How Life Grows, Develops, Reproduces, and Gets Along by Mahlon Hoagland to examine the sixteen patterns of life presented in the book. As students study...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: This I Believe About Science
Students listen to NPR weekly podcasts of "This I Believe" and "Science Friday." Then students will be asked to choose a scientific topic in which they believe they can make a difference. Finally, students will write an essay following...
University of Victoria (Canada)
The U Vic Writer's Guide: Writing Essays: Narrowing Your Essay Topic
What steps can you take to narrow an essay topic? Delve into this awesome site to learn how.
University of Victoria (Canada)
The U Vic Writer's Guide: Writing Essays: Structure of an Introduction
A general overview of what goes into the introduction of an essay. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Organizing Your Paper
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,...
New Zealand Ministry of Education
Nz Ministry of Education: The Bell Jar
This lesson discusses Sylvia Plath's works including The Bell Jar. It has students look at biographic information and commentaries about Plath. As students read the novel, they complete response logs and write essays. They debate topics...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Argument Papers
A series of six screencast lessons explaining the process of argumentative writing. The first [4 min. 22 sec.] focuses on overall structure and purpose. The second [6 mins, 18 secs] explains how to state a claim. The third [6 min. 3...
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts: The Big Read: Wolff: Old School
Guide to Tobias Wolff's Old School, with historical information, author biographies, discussion questions, and a ten-lesson unit of study including activities, writing exercises, project ideas, and essay topics. A radio show, with...