A well written essay, letter, or poem can help students throughout their lives. Essay writing---whether descriptive, informative, or any other type---gives them the ability to succeed in many classes, not just English. A persuasive letter can help them retrieve their security deposit from a stingy landlord or, in the case of a letter to the editor, allow them to be heard on an important issue. Poetry builds vocabulary, gives students a forum for emotional honesty and helps them woo potential boyfriends or girlfriends.
Adolescents and young adults bore easily, especially in this age of instant communication and entertainment. However, if the students are asked to write about something that pertains to their lives, the ink is much more likely to flow. For example, if the students need to write on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," don't throw them in the deep end by asking, "Describe how the conflict between the Montegues and Capulets affected the actions of Romeo and Juliet." Instead, try this first: "Write about a time when you have been so much in love that you were willing to overcome any obstacle and travel through any nightmare to be with that special someone." You can use their own experiences as a hook to bring them into more difficult literary criticism.
Give students some time to just write. Fear of criticism freezes up the writer's hand. "Am I spelling this word right?" "Does the comma go there?" "Is this a complete sentence?" Allow them to produce a worry-free draft first. They can go back to it later and repair what needs to be fixed. The science-fiction author Ray Bradbury made this point when he said, "the history of each story, then, should read almost like a weather report: Hot today, cool tomorrow." The first draft is hot, while the revision cools it off.
Here are some suggested free-writing topics. A) Write a letter to someone you love. Tell them how you feel. No one but the teacher will read it. B) Solve a friend's problem for them by writing it down. It can be how to fix their car, how to improve their love life, or even how to deal with their annoying little brother. C) Discuss one place you love to be and one place you hate to be. D) Write about one thing that you can do to help another person in the next 24 hours. Then, write about one thing that someone else can do to help you in the next 24 hours. E) Pretend you are interviewing your favorite movie star or musician. What would you ask that person? You might want to start with the basic questions asked by reporters: Who? What? When? Where? How? And why? Remember, if you start your students off writing about topics with which they feel comfortable, more structured, possibly uncomfortable assignments should be less of a shock because they will have gained some basic confidence in their writing process.