Writing Exercises

Structure

There are nine units in the IEW program. Each unit represents a structural model, or type of writing assignment.

Writing Units
Unit 1: Note Making and Outlines This is the only non-writing unit, in which students study and practice note taking practices to create an outline of a single paragraph. Students use this method of outlining to plan their pieces throughout the rest of the program.
Unit 2: Writing from Notes Students use their outlines to re-create a paragraph in their own words.
Unit 3: Retelling Narrative Stories In this early creative writing unit, students craft 3-paragraph stories that contain the key story elements (characters, setting, conflict, climax, resolution).
Unit 4: Summarizing a Reference Here, students work from one provided source text to craft their own paragraph about a given topic.
Unit 5: Writing from Pictures We return to creative writing as students study given images and practice asking questions to generate ideas for an engaging event description.
Unit 6: Summarizing Multiple References In this unit, students draw on what they learned in Unit 4, but now they pull facts from multiple sources to compile their first research report.
Unit 7: Inventive Writing Students complete fiction and non-fiction pieces by drawing on information from the brain and organizing it on paper.
Unit 8: Formal Essay Models Unit 8 requires students to take what they have learned and then add their own opinion to it.
Unit 9: Formal Critique Unit 9 tasks students with summarizing a novel, movie, poem, or play, arguing whether it is good or not, and providing a compelling explanation of why.

Style

Students are taught stylistic techniques to employ in their own writing. Once they are introduced to a technique, they practice it in every assignment they write. The goal is to achieve mastery.