A lovely images that graphs out the structure of a sentence
Grammar learning:
A lovely images that graphs out the structure of a sentence
Grammar learning:
By encouraging creative writing from an early age, language learning is developed and boosted, from aspects like lexical richness, to knowledge of structure and forms that constitute a particular language. It also promotes a passion for reading and also for authors and literary genres.
Apart from the cognitive enhancement it triggers, creative writing also improves attention, memory, comprehension, creativity, concentration, imagination, team work and so on.
Organizing a creative writing workshop for children and teenagers is a rewarding optional school subject. Whether it takes place in school or outside it (at the library, cultural center, youth center, in a book shop…), what you need first and foremost is a room with a table and chairs, and stationery.
The recommended time for starting this activity is around age 8 or 9, when students can already express themselves correctly in writing. When forming workshop groups depending on age, a good option is to put together boys and girls between 8 and 12 years of age, and form another group for children who are 13 or more. As for the number of students for each group, between 4 and 8 students would be ideal, to take full advantage of each class. Note that once writing exercises have been done, each student needs to show his work to the others, and also to share commentaries and constructive criticism that will help everyone improve their work. The frequency of the workshop meetings is another aspect to take into account: it is best to gather once a week, or, as often happens, once every fortnight, in order to prevent the young from losing interest and commitment.
Of course that the workshop coordinator is the one who will decide upon these aspects, and who will also choose the subjects and exercises, always keeping in mind the kind of students that will accompany him/her in the creative adventure, and, later on, their preferences and tastes. If a certain group is more attracted to a particular genre, such as horror, mystery or fantasy, it would be great to take advantage of their enthusiasm.
Ideas for the start
There are various elements that prove essential when it comes to literary creation, and all of them have to find their place throughout the workshop: plot, characters, narrative voice, setting, dialogue, etc.
However, a good way to break the ice and initiate the young writers consists in making suggestions that will arouse their imagination and their desire to express themselves.
Examples of activities
Further, we will describe other literary creation exercises and games to use as the workshop advances.
When you travel to a city you don’t know, it is recommendable to have a good map or plan of the city. Otherwise, you risk to get lost easily. The same occurs when it comes to writing an essay. Sitting down in front of the computer and starting to write without knowing where you’re going is the surest way of losing the course and obtaining a mediocre work. In the following, we present the three main steps that you have to follow, in order to write a good essay.
This is probably the most important stage. Here, you formulate the thesis and design the general structure of the essay.
Remember that you cannot cover everything in a single essay. You need to start from a general topic and reduce it rapidly. What aspect of the chosen topic do you find most interesting or intriguing? What aspect is disturbing for you? Which one would you like to find out more about? In this stage, it is best to try different approaches to analyze the chosen subject.
A topic is not a thesis, albeit the former is shorter than the latter. The thesis is something that you (and you alone) want to say about this particular topic. It is your idea and point of view that you are bringing argument for and proving throughout the essay. Basically, your thesis has to provoke a reaction a debate. To achieve this, it is best to formulate as a problem – like an issue that needs to be clarified or like something that requires a solution.
Once you formulate the thesis, you need a list of arguments to confirm it. Make sure you present two or three arguments – one in each paragraph – which clearly demonstrate that you are right. Moreover, you need to support your arguments with at least two proofs or examples.
Armed with a thesis, with the arguments that prove it and the examples and evidence that confirm each of your examples, you can start developing the rhetorical structure of your essay. The rhetorical structure is the map or the frame of your piece of writing: thanks to it, you can compose a solid, convincing text without risking to get lost on the way.