Starting the writing process is one of the more difficult tasks for eighth-grade students.
Writing an essay can be an intimidating task for many students -- especially middle school students. These kids are still in the process of learning complete an essay. Eighth grade students on the verge of making the transition to high school should be writing more complex essays than students at the sixth grade level, but they should also be focused on the fundamentals of the writing process.
Instructions
1. Brainstorm to get ideas for your essay. If the topic is already assigned by the teacher, you should still brainstorm, so that you come up with several different ideas on the broader topic. Take out a sheet of paper and write down everything you can think of about your topic in five-minutes.
2. Choose one of your ideas as the focus of your essay. You can use the other topics also, but do so in relation to the main topic. The topic you choose should be something broad enough that you feel comfortable writing a few pages on it. If you think you can only write one paragraph on the idea, then you may need to find a different topic.
3. Research your topic. Conduct research in the library and on the Internet, to learn more about your topic. For instance, if your essay is about your summer vacation, find a statistic that tells the reader what percentage of students go on vacation during the summer break.
4. Create an outline for your paper. An outline can consist of an introduction, body and conclusion, as the paper will also. The introduction should contain a thesis statement or an introduction to what your essay will be about. A thesis statement is nothing more than a statement about what you hope to accomplish in writing your essay. For example, if you are writing a persuasive essay about why stealing is wrong, your thesis statement could read: "Stealing is wrong and should be punished severely." It should be direct and to-the-point.
5. Compose your essay based on your outline. Start with your thesis statement and then use the body of the essay to elaborate on your main topic. If the subject is your summer break, the body of the essay should talk about your activities while on vacation, or why your vacation also proved to be an educational experience. The body of the essay should be three to five paragraphs.
6. Conclude your essay with a summary of what you've already said. The conclusion is a concise restatement of the rest of your essay.
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