By Richa Sharma
What is academic writing?
I’ve seen many students with impeccable language skills who are able to produce great narratives in writing but struggle to write non-fictional or academic texts. Although they understand concepts clearly, they are unable to produce answers or explanations in the language required for Math, Science or Social Sciences. For example, they would solve a mathematical problem correctly but will not be able to support their answers with appropriate sentences. They would be able to explain the functioning of the digestive system informally but when writing a paragraph, will not know how to use subject-specific vocabulary. Food is ‘assimilated’ or ‘absorbed’ and not ‘taken-up’ by the body. Similarly, ‘the sun rises in the east’ and in casual language, ‘the sun comes up from the right direction’.
Academic writing requires communication of complex or abstract ideas in an evaluative manner, using formal language, supported by evidences and reasoning. Children who struggle in academic writing usually lose out when attempting subject-specific writing tasks. So a few skills that children need to learn are:
- how to summarise and paraphrase
- how to define and explain concepts
- how to describe things or processes
- how to compare and contrast
- how to provide explanations supported by examples
- how to describe images and diagrams
- how to write using paragraphing and connecting ideas and sentences
Reinforce academic vocabulary
My 5-year-old learned about sea creatures at school and was trying to explain the features of an octopus to me. He said that an octopus has ten hands and I immediately corrected him saying they are ‘tentacles’. He quickly recalled that this word had been spoken by his teacher too.
It is important that children are taught academic vocabulary from the beginning. Although writing these terms may be difficult for early years but starting grade 1 onwards, children are able to learn and retain essential terms, with repetition and reinforcement at home. Word games such as scrabble and crosswords are great for revising academic vocabulary.
Create real-life opportunities for writing
Provide children with opportunities to write letters, journals, emails, etc. Let them write a letter, for example, to their favourite author and then take a trip to the post office to show how letters are sent and received. Allow them to read emails written for various purposes so they can see how different types of emails require formal or informal language. Let them sit with you when you are writing to inquire about something from their school, when sending congratulatory or thank you emails, when inquiring about a hotel stay for a family vacation, making bookings, registering complaints, etc. If a child wants you to buy something, allow him to write a letter or an email to you!
Reading
Of course reading is important, but reading a variety of genres is also essential. Reading non-fiction, such as magazines, newspapers, biographies, historical recounts, etc. helps in developing academic language. If your child is interested in dinosaurs or cars, you can buy books about the same topics. Encyclopaedias for children are made specifically to attract young readers’ attention as they contain big pictures and images. I have been pleasantly surprised to see some 1-2 graders speaking about difficult concepts when talking about fossils or space.
Connect their interests
As mentioned above, if learning is connected to their interests, children learn faster. My 5 year old likes watching and reading about the human body. So I sometimes ask him to draw and explain concepts to check his understanding. Though it’s funny how he demonstrates and explains about the structure of the ear at this age, I hope he gradually gets better at explaining concepts.
Helping students in higher grades
Writing outcomes become extremely important as children go into higher grades and start exploring opportunities outside of their school. They need to know how to write extended essays, research papers, theses, etc. Many Top CBSE Schools in Gurgaon are opting for alternate methods of teaching so that students are exposed to these types of academic writings which help them in their lives after school. Essays are an important part of the selection process in many universities across the world.
Here are some ways that older children can be helped at home:
- Brainstorm ideas with your children.
- Assign smaller writing tasks.
- Have them create a visual of their writing process where they can add and edit ideas, create graphic organisers, have a list of important words and phrases, and monitor their progress and timelines.
- Have them seek guidance from their seniors or experts outside of the school so they understand different points of view.
- Have children connect with experts from various fields in order to raise their awareness of opportunities available to them. This also helps them increase their general knowledge.
- Provide encouragement and explain that writing is hard work.
- Engage with the child’s teachers to understand the exact areas of improvement.
- Provide a variety of reading resources, maybe invest in a library subscription.
Writing is an essential real-life 21st century skill and with practice and support at home, children can become confident and impressive writers. It is a long process of learning, and when parents join their children in this journey, the outcomes are extremely rewarding.