In the last blog post, Writing Strategies Series #1, I discussed my Become a Writing Expert Guide that transformed my students’ writing. You can download the FREE Become a Writing Expert Guide from my TPT store.
In today’s blog post, I am going to focus a bit more on the second step in this pre-writing strategy. Teaching students how to analyze writing samples and identify the characteristics of writing in the samples is key to creating stronger writers. Students who know what strong writing looks like are not only able to create stronger writing responses, but they are also able to easily self-assess their own compositions.
Analyzing Writing Samples: Where to Begin?
Are you unsure where to begin when it comes to teaching students how to analyze writing? No worries – I’ve got you covered with a simple NO PREP activity that you can use to introduce this writing strategy and allow your students to practice these important skills before their next writing activity.
Whether it’s the start of the school year or a mid-year refresher, this activity is a fantastic way to foster critical thinking and improve how students interact with writing. Students will work with a partner or a small group to analyze a short writing sample that answers the question, “What is the central idea of this nonfiction article? Be sure to use supporting details from the text to help support your response.”
I’ve included the nonfiction text article, “Texting erodes kids’ grammar skills, study says”, so that students can see the text that was used to create the writing samples they will be analyzing. You could also use this article to do a central idea mini-lesson with your students after they have completed their writing analysis activity.
How does this Analyzing Writing Samples Activity Work?
Step 1: Group Your Students for the Collaborative Analysis Activity
In this first step, you’ll want to group your students into pairs or small groups of three. The reason for this collaborative approach is to encourage discussion and shared insights during the writing samples analysis. This not only fosters critical thinking but also allows students to benefit from each other’s perspectives. When students work together, they can identify different aspects of the writing sample that they might have overlooked on their own.
Dividing students into pairs or small groups ensures that they can bounce ideas off one another, ask questions, and clarify any points of confusion. This collaborative effort helps to create a more engaging and interactive learning environment, making the process of analyzing writing samples more enjoyable and effective for students.
Step 2: Model and Guide
After students are grouped, it’s time to introduce them to the process of analyzing writing samples. You can use the Teacher Model Writing Sample that I have included for this purpose. The key element in this step is the THINK ALOUD. Here, you’ll model the thinking process required to analyze a writing sample effectively.
While performing the THINK ALOUD, you’ll verbalize your thought process as you analyze the writing sample. This demonstration allows students to see how you approach the task, what aspects you focus on, and how you make connections between different parts of the text.
Additionally, it’s a good idea to ask your students to identify the steps you used during the THINK ALOUD. This promotes active engagement and helps students understand the analytical process better.
You can also create a list of guiding questions or steps that students can refer to during their own analysis. These questions might include prompts like:
- What is the central idea that is identified in this writing sample?
- How does the author support this idea with evidence?
- Does the author expand and explain the text evidence that they have included?
- What is missing from the writing sample?
Teacher Tip: Creating a visual representation of these steps on the board or an anchor chart is also beneficial. This visual aid serves as a reference point for students, allowing them to revisit and reinforce their understanding of the process as needed.
Step 3: Analyze and Rate
Now that your students have the foundation of how to analyze writing samples, it’s time to put it into practice. Give your students between 15-20 minutes to read and analyze their assigned writing sample thoroughly. During this time, they should analyze the sample and determine whether it falls into the categories of STRONG, MEDIUM, or WEAK.
You can offer students the choice of using either a handout with a rubric or a color-coded system for their analysis. This flexibility accommodates different learning preferences and styles. You could even combine the two systems for lower-level students who may need the color-coded visual to help them identify the components of the writing sample and the details of the rubric to give them focused criteria.
During the analysis activity, students should:
A. Read the writing sample with their partner or group, discussing and sharing their observations and insights.
B. Identify the characteristics present in the writing sample or those that are missing. These characteristics could relate to the central idea, the use of supporting evidence, the author’s writing style, or any other relevant aspects. Students can refer to the rubric or color-coded system handout to aid in this process.
C. Write a short response that categorizes the writing sample as STRONG, MEDIUM, or WEAK. They should support their ranking by referencing the characteristics they identified during their analysis. This step encourages critical thinking and effective communication of their findings.
By following these three steps, students gain practical experience in analyzing writing samples, which helps them develop a deeper understanding of the elements that contribute to strong or weak writing. This skill not only enhances their comprehension of texts but also empowers them to become more effective writers themselves.
The Analysis is Complete: What’s the Next Steps?
Building on Student Analysis
After your students have completed their analysis of the writing samples, it’s essential to capitalize on the skills and insights they’ve developed. This is a critical moment in the learning process, where you can encourage critical thinking, effective communication, and peer learning. Here are a couple of valuable suggestions to consider as you guide your class forward:
Option #1: Student Presentations
One method to strengthen those newly developed analytical skills is to have your students present their findings to the entire class. This activity not only strengthens their public speaking abilities but also deepens their grasp of the writing samples.
During these presentations, students should not only share their scores (whether it’s STRONG, MEDIUM, or WEAK) but also explain their reasoning. This step encourages students to express their thoughts, consider diverse viewpoints, and engage in meaningful discussions about the writing samples. It’s an excellent opportunity for them to demonstrate their new learning, while the class benefits from various perspectives on the same text.
Option #2: Gallery Walk Activity
Another engaging option is to create a gallery walk activity, which allows students to review and offer constructive feedback on their peers’ writing samples. The gallery walk is an interactive, visual approach to peer review, fostering collaboration and enhancing analytical thinking. Here’s how you can set it up:
A. Distribute a piece of chart paper to each student, instructing them to attach their writing sample and the accompanying analysis composition.
B. Display these posters around the classroom, ensuring that each writing sample is prominently visible.
C. Have students stay in their groups as they visit each poster.
D. At each station, students will carefully read through the writing sample and the analysis provided by their classmates. They can express their thoughts by either jotting down feedback on sticky notes and attaching them to the chart paper or by writing directly onto the chart paper.
E. Students repeat this process at each station, ensuring that they visit each of their classmates’ posters.
This interactive activity not only allows students to gain insights and feedback from their peers but also fosters a deeper understanding of the writing samples and analytical skills. It encourages them to think critically about different writing styles and structures, while also improving their ability to express constructive feedback. This collaborative process enhances the learning experience and reinforces the importance of effective communication and analysis in their writing endeavors.
What Can You Expect Next in The Writing Strategies Series?
In the next blog post of The Writing Strategies Series, I will be discussing another pre-writing strategy, the PEEL Writing Strategy. While you may have heard or even used PEEL before with your students, I will be discussing how I modified this writing strategy and found tremendous success with improving my students’ writing responses.
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