Category Archives: English Writing Instruction

Many teachers ask their students to write in journals daily for a few minutes. Often it is at the start of the writing lesson, while the teacher readies herself for the lesson.

But journal writing needn’t be restricted to the classroom. Journal writing during homework time can achieve many of the same results as writing during the school day.

• Students can improve the mechanics of their writing. Capitalization, punctuation, use of apostrophes, use of quotation marks—all can improve through regular journal writing. When the child has completed her five or ten minutes of journal writing, the parent can remind the child to check if her sentences begin with capitals or if she has remembered to spell there/their/they’re correctly. This reminder can be given for a week, and then the next week the reminder can be about another aspect of writing which the child is learning.

• By writing daily in a journal, the child can gain confidence using certain kinds of writing, such as dialog, extended sentences, or prepositional phrases. Before the child begins her journal writing homework, the parent could say that she wants the child to begin each sentence with a prepositional phrase or to include dialog in her writing. Later, the parent could ask the child to check that the end-of-sentence period is inside the quotation marks.

• If the child allows the parent to read the journal, the child could be encouraged to write a question mark or even a question to the parent asking about something she has tried to write. For example, the child might have tried to use a new vocabulary word, and might want to know if she used it correctly or spelled it correctly. The parent could write a note in the journal to let her know if she succeeded, establishing a dialog between a beginning writer and a more experienced writer.

• In her journal, the child might relate a private thought which she might not have the confidence to say aloud. She might write about a bullying situation or a curse word used by a classmate. Journals can open discussions about sensitive issues.

• Sometimes the parent might suggest an open-ended sentence to write about. “If I saw my brother doing something unsafe, like ________, I would. . .” or “The reason I don’t like ________  is because . . .”

To encourage a child to write in a journal, the parent might say that she is going to write in a journal at the same time. The parent might read aloud her journal entry or might say, “Not tonight,” providing the child with permission not to share her writing. Or the parent might give the child her journal entry to read aloud or privately.

In English, we have three types of sentences: simple, compound and complex. Each is better used in particular situations.

A compound sentence is one which contains two or more independent clauses joined with either a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.

Coordinating conjunctions can be remembered by using the first letter of the words FAN BOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. In writing a compound sentence, the first clause ends with a comma, followed by the conjunction and the second clause. Many students become confused where the comma goes and put it immediately before or after the conjunction. Another problem most children have is limiting themselves to only three of those conjunctions: “and,” “but” and “so.”

Coordinating conjunctions express certain kinds of relationships.

• “And” expresses similarity, addition or sequence.

• “But,” ”or,” “nor” and “yet” express difference, contrast or an exception.

• “So” and “for” express a cause and effect relationship.

Correlative conjunctions (words working in pairs) are another kind of conjunction showing equality of ideas. “Either. . .or,” “Neither. . .nor,” “Not only. . .but also,” “just as. . .so,” “if. . .then,” and “Both. . .and” express the same kind of relationships as coordinating conjunctions, but are more sophisticated expressions of equality.

Certain adverbs join ideas much like coordinating conjunctions. Since they are not conjunctions, they must be accompanied by a semicolon if the ideas are in two independent clauses in the same sentence. The adverb “however” is the most used, but others include “consequently,” “furthermore,” “moreover,” “nevertheless,” “similarly” and “therefore.” Usually, these adverbs come after the semicolon and are followed by a comma. Using these adverbs adds a feeling of formality to writing. If an informal tone is required, stick to the FAN BOYS conjunctions. If a formal or well educated tone is required, use some semicolons.

When should compound sentences be used?

• Use compound sentences to join tiny, choppy or repetitive sentences into a more sophisticated sentence.

• Use compound sentences to show equality of ideas or a pattern of equality.

• Use compound sentences using correlative conjunctions to force the reader to note the relationship between the ideas expressed.

• Use a semicolon instead of a conjunction to add sophistication and variety to writing.

• Use compound sentences to add variety to the mix of sentences.

Little children start writing by using tiny, simple sentences. Then they “graduate” to using compound sentences. Many children eventually write almost every sentence as a compound sentence joined by the word “and.” It’s important to point out the overuse of the word “and” if that is a problem in a student’s writing.

Really good writers strive to write more complicated simple sentences and complex sentences than compound sentences because the former sentences sound more sophisticated and can show various kinds of unequal relationships. If students count the number of simple, compound and complex sentences they use in a given piece of writing, and if the number of compound sentences equals or exceeds either of the other kinds of sentences, that student should rewrite some of his compound sentences.

Even so, compound sentences are used by every good writer some of the time.