Encourage the sixth-grader to read for pleasure. Reading helps shape good writers, since it allows students to internalize sentence structure and grammar while becoming familiar with writing techniques such as the development of tone. Sixth-graders who read can transfer the skills they observe to their own writing.
Explain several options of essay structure, such as the classic five-paragraph essay, but make it clear that these structures are suggestions and that as soon as the student masters writing a convincing essay, she may explore other structures and incorporate creativity. Students can feel confined to write within a format, which makes writing feel like a chore and can yield lower quality results. If sixth-graders understand that the rules of writing are guidelines and once mastered they can be broken, writing will seem like a more exciting activity.
Provide writing prompts that the sixth-grader finds interesting. Many adults remember struggling as a student when assigned to write on a subject that one found boring. Stimulate a sixth-grader's imagination by allowing him to choose his own writing topic and he is likely to produce his best work while enjoying the task.
Ask the sixth-grader to read his writing out loud, as this will allow him to better hear his own words and spot errors that may have been hidden previously. Hearing words rather than reading them gives students a different perspective on their writing and can help sixth-graders learn to edit their own work for clarity and correctness.