Hey guys, it’s REVISION TIME!
Hang on a sec while I find myself some fortification.
This stage makes me want to break out in cliché quotes, like the opening lines from A Tale of Two Cities. With added cuss words
This is where the magic happens. It’s also where bad voodoo can happen.
I love it. And I hate it.
The good news (other than this is the last section in the guide, hallelujah!) is I learned to rein in my red pen monster and better handle this stage. I’ve written before about my revision process. And I made teacher notes so you guys can avoid my mistakes.
The notes have lot of information, possibly skirting information overload. So I won’t take up space here with a long summary. But my main focus at this age and stage is achieving clarity of thought. That’s the area I found needed the most work during freshman and sophomore years. Early high school teens are expected to present more complex information than before, so they’re learning how to do it in a way that’s clear to a reader. It takes time and teacher support to learn that. Lots of support.
So keep that in mind! Clarity of thought. It’s like the One Thing principle for essays.
Most of the information offers different ways to achieve that clarity of thought. Don’t try to do them all; pick and choose just a few. Also, don’t try to fix everything in each essay.
I also lean into One Thing by tackling revision one paragraph at a time. At least for the most part. Maybe the intro and conclusion get done on the same day. Maybe not. I gauge it by how hard or easy the particular essay has been to write overall.
There are both student and teacher notes for this stage. I apologize in advance because your teacher notes are six pages long. But! It has lots of referenced tips and resources all organized so all you need to do is flip to the page. As always, if you have a question, just click on the contact page and send me a message.
And that’s it, you guys! That’s my complete post-Help for High School teen essay guide. Whew! I hope it helps the process of repeating the essay skills learned in H4HS easier for you.
I do have a little bonus for my Type A Brave Writer sisters out there. I typed up my scheduling notes too. I’ll put up one last essay series post with the pacing schedule.
Heather
Series Recap!
- Why I’m creating a Teen Essay Writing Guide for my two high schoolers.
- It’s based on the assumption you own and finished Brave Writer’s Help for High School curriculum. Lots of its pages are referenced throughout my guide. If you haven’t used H4HS, it won’t make sense.
- This was my answer to what to do after Help for High School.
- Post #1: Topic Selection
- Post #2: Brainstorming
- Post #3: Freewriting
- Post #4: Working Thesis & Outline
- Post #5: Research
- Post #6: Refined Thesis Statement
- Post #7: Drafting