08 February

Weaving: Moving Beyond the Structure One Student at a Time

  • Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
  • Categories AP®/IB, Blog, Formulaic Writing, JSWP Advanced
  • Comments 0 comment

Dear Dr. Louis, How do I teach weaving? Scott Dear Scott: “Weaving” is Jane Schaffer’s integral step of blending concrete details (CDs) and commentary (CM).  When a student demonstrates his/her ability to identify and understand CDs and CMs and when …

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13 November

Applying the Jane Schaffer Structure

  • Posted by Alejandra Correa
  • Categories Blog, Formulaic Writing, JSWP Methodology, Modes, Planning and Preparation, Ratios, The Chunk

Good morning Dr. Louis, I am having my students complete outside reading before they come to class and as a way to support their comprehension and prepare them for a quick reading quiz, I am going to have them write …

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14 January

Word Counts: Don’t Count on Them!

  • Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
  • Categories Blog, Formulaic Writing, JSWP Methodology, Prompt Writing, Schafferisms

Dear Dr. D, I have students stating that they struggle to reach the minimum word count while following the Jane Schaffer structure. For example, if the essay is to be 600-800 words, they may have only 450 words but state …

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15 April

Formulaic Writing: A Cup of Clarity and a Pinch of Pedagogy

  • Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
  • Categories Blog, Formulaic Writing, Pet Peeves
  • Comments 0 comment

Dear Dr. D’, What do I say to people who say that the Jane Schaffer® methodology is formulaic. Elizabeth Dear Elizabeth: Wouldn’t the world be wonderful if all students felt comfortable and fluid in writing academic essays? The simple truth is that …

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09 April

JSWP AND CHUNKING

  • Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
  • Categories Blog, Formulaic Writing, The Chunk
  • Comments 0 comment

Dear Dr. D’, In the past, as 7th grade teachers we have stuck with the one, two, or three-chunk JS single paragraphs.  Last year as our students completed the SBAC, they were confused with questions that required them to compose a …

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13 March

The “What” and the “Why” of Writing

  • Posted by Dr. Deborah E. Louis
  • Categories Blog, Commentary, Concrete Details, Formulaic Writing, Ratios
  • Comments 0 comment

Dear Dr. Louis, I recently gave my students the following prompt:  “Write an essay explaining why hard work is necessary to be successful.”   My District Coordinator told me that [the students’ responses] were not showing the “hard work”  required in the …

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