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We learn to talk by hearing others talk and to paint from seeing how others paint. Good writers learn to write by observing good writing and practicing on their own. At first their writing may look a lot like the writer they are learning from but gradually, as they begin to understand the parts, how they fit together, and how they can be arranged for the best effect, new writers become more independent and their own "writing voice" begins to show through.
"Writing from a model", is one of the best ways to incorporate great writing techniques into your own writing. It is a learning strategy that can be used with any form of writing. When we write from a model, we can focus on a single aspect such as word forms or a more complex aspect such as the structure of an essay.
When writing from a model, our first task is to find writing that is worth patterning our own after. This begins with a question: What do I want to learn? When we know what we want to learn, we can target those skills and meet our goals in an efficient manner.
The model that we pattern our writing after can be as short as a single word or it may be as long as an entire story. It may be a a line or phrase from a great author, or a really great paragraph or a poem.
Writing from a model is an effective tool at any age for learning any writing skill. Just as we can use Scripture to renew our minds no matter how old we are, so we can use writing from a model to renew our writing skills ... no matter our age. Writing from a model can be used to introduce any of the writing examples listed in this entire collection.
Words, Phrases, and Sentences
For example, if you are studying modifiers and you would like your children to use great modifiers, go beyond telling them what great modifiers are. Go beyond telling them to use great modifiers. Take the next step. Together search out examples. Listen for them as you read together. Scripture, children's books, and worthy literature are mighty resources.
Let's continue with our "modifiers" example. We will focus on modifiers and limit our model to a phrase that includes them. The following examples were collected from Corrie Ten Boom by Sam Wellman. (When your young scholars know what to listen for, they will be the ones to say, "That's a good one! Write it down for our pattern writing."
- the pasty-faced man
- red-rimmed eyes
- rubbery legs
- a tall, thin man in a crisp gray and black uniform
In its simplest form, writing from a model uses a one-on-one correspondence. For each word in the sample, we use another corresponding word that has the same grammatical function and usage as the first. Our words must be of the same interest level as those given.
Sounds hard? It can be if you don't use a thesaurus. My favorite free online thesaurus is The Sage. I also regularly use a paper-back sized thesaurus. Children's thesauri are a nice idea but tend to leave even young children frustrated due to their limited listings. A high school or college level thesaurus works best and until a child can use it themselves, just sit alongside and help them find whatever they need.
Let's have a look at one of our examples. We'll select a short one that even a beginning writer can work with. (Your young one doesn't write well? Do this verbally and/or scribe for them.) Notice that at this level, writing from the model focuses on individual words.
What are we talking about? legs
What kind of legs?
What else could we talk about? hair
What kind of hair?
What other things could we talk about?
rubbery legs
slimy fins
glistening hair
coarse laughter (an advanced concept since it isn't concrete; if we can say "the" in front of a word, it can be our subject)
What do we do if a student selects a ho-hum, boring, over-used word? We can say something like, "This is a pretty ordinary word. Let's go to the Thesaurus and see what we can find to liven it up." There is no need to identify their choice as "good" or "bad". Simply model going to a thesaurus to find a better one.
An example for a more advanced student... (I have spaced the original to highlight the one-to-one correspondence)
a tall, thin man in a crisp gray and black uniform
a stubby, haggard beggar in a baggy green and yellow coat
Notice that each noun is replaced by a noun, each preposition is replaced by a preposition, and each adjective is replaced by an adjective. Young students, especially, can learn to look carefully at models and pattern their own phrases after what they see without knowing the proper grammatical terms. Use the terms if you know them but don't worry too much if you don't. Words can function just fine without grammatical names. (Did David know he was making an imperative statement when he said, "Awake, harp and lyre!"? See Psalm 108:2 I think not.)
For the most part, patterning our writing from a model can be done using very basic vocabulary.
- subject word (what we are talking about)
- subject phrase (a group of words that tell what we are talking about)
- action word (verb: what happened? or state of being)
- action phrase (a group of words that tell what happened or what state of being)
- describing word (adds information to a noun or verb)
- describing phrase (a group of words that add information to a noun or verb)
Once you have selected your model, before you begin your own patterning, be sure that students understand how the words and phrases are functioning in the model. The whole exercise will be lost if the student doesn't understand what they are working with and know what they are looking for. (Imagine being told to "get one just like" and not knowing what "it" was)
This example focuses on individual words in the context of a sentence. (The astute student will also notice the analogy "as ___ as___". Let your teacher know when you use that one.)
"Sharing God's love was as natural to her as smiling." from Corrie Ten Boom by Sam Wellman
Picking Gran's apples was as easy for him as laughing.
Hitting Aaron's pitch was as hard for Beth as reading.
Note: Sharing God's love is a good example of "a group of words that tell what we are talking about". Technically this is a gerund phrase. If you had been told to write a gerund phrase, could you have done it? Were you able to do it using a model? Were you able to do it even though you didn't know the technical name? That is what makes pattern writing so powerful.
Paragraph, Essay
Finding a model for a paragraph is much the same as finding a model for words, phrases, and/or sentences. A good place to start is in something that you enjoy reading.
Modeling from a paragraph can be approached in two ways. First, one-on-one word correspondence. This is actually a very challenging feat, especially in a more complex paragraph. Second, feature-by-feature correspondence. This is much less difficult and possibly more valuable.
In the latter, the paragraph can be looked at structurally. Your paragraph may mimic an essay, be a narrative, or simply be descriptive. There is nothing like analyzing a model to "see how it works" to help you gain valuable understanding. Like the one who takes apart and engine and puts it back together, or the other who disassembles a piece of clothing in order to make a pattern, the one who takes a paragraph apart and puts it back together will have gained great insight.
Understand how your paragraph works, know its purpose, and then use it as a model to write one of your own. You may model its over-all intent or to really challenge yourself, model its sentence arrangement as well.
Paragraph writing is often taught using the essay model: present topic, support with details, concluding summary
Though this is a useful model, it is not the most common model. Pick up any book, select a paragraph and you will see that it isn't likely a "traditional" paragraph. If it isn't a "topic sentence" paragraph, then what is it? That is for you to discover. Is it a descriptive, narrative, how to, why, because.... paragraph? Asking good questions will lead you to a good answer.
Notice also, that modeling a paragraph and find a paragraph model are not the same thing. The two are best used together but each has a different focus. A great model is something to look at. It is a concrete example. Modeling a paragraph is the act of "thinking out loud" as you create a paragraph. It is one of the best ways to demonstrate the writing process.
- find a model
- analyze and discuss its parts
- together, model writing a paragraph (you may need to do this many time before the next step)
- independently write a paragraph using the same model
Lois Laase notes, "When you model paragraph writing, you give children a standard to aim for in their work. You give them something well written that motivates them to write well. You can't overreach this writing process. Students need to see us craft a topic sentence and supporting sentences many times before they can truly understand how to do it themselves." (Follow the link to see the examples she presents.)
See Essay for information on the structure of an essay.
See also:
- The Sandwich Paragraph Writing Strategy
- Paragraphs at pppst.com
- Basic Paragraph Structure
Let your teacher know when you know that you are using a model as your pattern.