From drafting, editing, and publishing to organizational strategies to the variety of forms and purposes of writing, teach your middle schoolers the strong fundamentals of writing.

Intermediate Writing introduces students to writing narrative accounts, autobiographical compositions, business letters, technical compositions, and a response to literature. The video is divided into the following segments:

Ready to Write The first step in writing is to brainstorm ideas you might want to write about. Then, you can research your topic and make an outline.

Writing & Revising As a writer it is important to check your work for grammar and punctuation errors, clarity of meaning, descriptive details, and sentence variety.

Editing and Publishing Editing your work before publishing it allows readers to focus on your ideas instead of your errors.

Constructive Criticism When giving criticism you should read with a set of criteria, or standards, in mind. When you receive criticism from others, remember that the comments are intended to improve your writing.

Consider Your Audience It’s helpful to consider your audience when you write and change the writing style and language you use accordingly.

Consider Your Purpose Before you begin writing it is helpful to identify your purpose. You may be writing to inform, to persuade, or even to entertain your readers.

Expository Writing Expository writing informs your readers. Everyday examples of this kind of writing can be found in newspapers and in nonfiction books and magazines.

A Titanic Short Story Narrative accounts tell a story and have plots that are driven by some sort of conflict and resolution.

Writing an Autobiography An autobiography is a biography in which the author writes about his or her own life. This type of story is told from the first person point of view.

Writing a Biography When you write a biography it should include a description of the person, background information about their life, and specific actions that person took, as well as quotes.

Persuasive Ideas Persuasive writing tries to influence a person to think a certain way or take a certain action.

Problems and Solutions Writers follow certain steps in order to address solutions to problems in their writing. First, they define the problem. Then, they offer possible solutions. Finally, writers present logical reasoning to explain the benefits of these solutions.

Responding to Edgar Allan Poe When you respond to and analyze literature you need to take a position on how a writer did something or made you feel. Then you make a case to support your position based on things you pull from the story.

Taking Care of Business Letters Writing a business letter involves following a certain form. The body of the letter should begin with the writer’s purpose and stay focused.

The Writing’s on the Wall Technical writing explains specific information in understandable terms. This kind of writing may be instructional, list materials and equipment that is to be used, and should be formatted in a logical order.



Available in DVD format.

Running time: 30 minutes

Ideal for grades: 6 - 8