Curated OER
Prized Photos
Learners study World Press Photo prize-winning photos in small groups and compare them with memorable personal photos.
Curated OER
Making Connections
Students reflect on their experiences and interest in volunteer service. They develop service plans for communities in need around the world and connect them to virtual volunteers.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Writing Tips and Techniques for Your College Essay
This article gives the reader writing tips and techniques for your college essay.
Other
Monash University: What Makes a Good Essay?
Read this example essay with its highlighted comments and labeled parts to get a good grasp of what an effective essay does. United States students should note that the documentation style is slightly different in this example. For more...
W. W. Norton
W. W. Norton & Company: Lit Web: The Research Essay
Information about writing a research essay including: generating a topic, generating a thesis, research, and more.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Success Skills: Writing in College
Although this lesson plan 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...
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: The Narrative Essay
Need help picking out the elements of a narrative? Check this site out from Capital Community College, and you'll see some background information, a sample essay, and directed questions to ask yourself about a text. W.9-10.3 Narrative,...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: College Bound: Moving Out!
Lesson plan for students exploring aspects of preparation for college, including writing an application essay, applying for financial aid, understanding a lease, and evaluating credit cards. Website research is combined with various...
Rutgers University
Rutgers University: Getting an a on an English Paper
Written by a college professor, this site discusses five areas for students to work on to improve their writing. The areas are Thesis, Research, Close Reading, Style, and Mechanics. The author is clear and concise in his advice, and...
Other
Odessa College: Three Part Format: Definition
This interesting site provides information about definition essays with example formats and a model essay.
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Developing a Definition
Not sure what a definition paper is? This is a great site from the Capital Community College to help you with developing a definition. Includes a sample essay and guiding questions.
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...
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Principles of Composition
If you are a teacher OR a student looking for a well-informed website on elements of the writing process, you are in luck! This site from the Capital Community College is very comprehensive and easy-to-navigate. From grammar basics to...
Harvard University
Harvard College Writing Center: Developing a Thesis
Superbly written explanation of thesis development. Use the links on the right to work through the writing process.
Other
Tidewater Community College: Book or Article Review or Critique Guidelines
Many students are not sure what type of information to include in a book or article review. This site provides some general guidelines. It covers not only the type of content to be included but also the format.
Michigan State University
Michigan State University: Introduction to Synthesis
Learn what synthesis is, why you might write a synthesis essay, and techniques for developing several types of synthesis essays. While this site is written for a college writing course, it is both useful and accessible for high school...
Harvard University
Harvard Univ.: Harvard College Writing Center: Ending the Essay: Conclusions
This resource teaches how to write a conclusion for an essay. Also includes a few pointers on how not to end one.
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Principles of a Composition
Writing a Paper? Here at the Capital Community College is everything you could ever ask for while preparing your essay. This site includes the writing process, structure, thesis statement, transitions, the computer as a writing...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: I Am What I Learn Video Scholarship Essay Contest
This lesson provides students with the opportunity to explore a variety of available scholarships to determine which scholarships may be sources of funding for college. Students will create a video essay which will be used to apply for a...
City University of New York
College of Staten Island Library: How to Write an Essay
Resource defines what an essay is, the parts of an essay and their functions, and also discusses the editing process and how important it is to check a draft for completeness and high quality. Includes a link to an online guide to citing...
Quia
Quia: Santa Barbara City College: Structure of a Personal Narrative Essay [Pdf]
This site provides two graphic organizers. The first graphic organizer provides all parts of a personal essay, of a college essay. The second graphic organizer serves as a planning tool for a student's personal essay. W.9-10.3,3a...
W. W. Norton
W. W. Norton & Company: Lit Web: Types and Functions of Secondary Sources
Information about secondary sources as they are used when writing a research essay.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: A Significant Influence: Describing an Important Teacher
In this project, young scholars write tributes to teachers who have made a profound difference in their lives then publish their work in a class collection.
SUNY Empire State College
Empire State College: Thesis and Shaping Information
This tutorial on writing essays contains several sections pertaining to the thesis. These include thesis definition, characteristics, analysis of thesis to gather and shape information, and topic sentences. Many examples given. W.9-10.2...