One way that writers of all kinds begin a piece of writing is by creating a contrast between what has happened in the past and what is happening now. When writers do this, they aren’t trying to write about history, but rather they are beginning by creating context for the ideas they are about to reveal. This little history-corner-moment provides a dynamic beginning in any content area -- from art to economics to ecology!

A story with all action and not enough reflection sounds childish and lacks depth. But a story that is all reflective thoughts and emotions can bore a reader and run the risk of not teling a story at all. Today’s mini move will help us think about the see-sawing effect of balancing actions with thoughts and emotions so that our story has the perfect amount of both!

In elementary school, someone may have taught you to “hook a reader” by starting an essay with a definition. This has become pretty cliched and not engaging. But readers do need to have things defined for them. And while definitions may not help us start a piece of writing, they can help us structure a writing by bridging the introduction and the body. In this video, You’ll learn a move writers in all genre use -- the definition hinge structure -- to provide crucial context for readers while moving them from the introduction into the main ideas of your writing.

When we need to quickly summarize an event, idea, or text, a 101-level synopsis won’t always do the trick. Sometimes the text is more complicated -- it contains a central tension or conflict that needs to be addressed. In that case, a Pivot Synopsis will do the trick. It’s the more nuanced cousin of Synopsis 101 that allows a writer to say something more sophisticated while still summarizing quickly.

Mentor Texts:
“The question of humanness troubles the clones, as well as sympathetic individuals like the guardians. On Hailsham’s mission, one of the guardians Miss Emily proclaims, “Most importantly, we demonstrated to the world that if students were reared in humane, cultivated environments, it was possible for them to grow to be as sensitive and intelligent as any ordinary human being.” The liberal-minded guardians invested in the students’ cultural education not only with the aim of improving their quality of living, but also to establish that their lives were worth saving. Working against the rationalization of science, the guardians looked to the students’ creativity as the truer measure of their being human.” -Mimi Wong, “Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is a Masterpiece of Racial Metaphor”, Electric Lit

Successful personal essays connect with the reader through detail and specificity -- by zooming in on single moments and then exploding them with meaning. In this video, we’ll talk about exactly why and how writers explode moments into statements of deep significance in personal narratives.

Often the difference between a drab, lifeless personal narrative and an engaging, lively one is the use of concrete details. In this video, we will learn about how concrete details help us take the guesswork out of reading our narrative while showing our unique voice and perspective.

Direct quotes are the first thing that comes to mind when we think about text evidence. But more often than not, writer paraphrase their evidence -- putting it in their own words. In this video, we’ll look at cross-curricular examples of authors paraphrasing text, looks for patterns, and learn a method for paraphrasing ourselves.

Punctuating different kinds of titles is super back-to-basics, but it’s something student writers often mistake. In this video, we’ll talk about why we punctuate titles the way we do, consider broader rules that govern title punctuation, and learn the basics. This video is perfect for assigning to small groups or individual students who need some refreshing!

Writing complete sentences is harder than you might think, and it’s a fundamental writing skill that’s worthy of review. In this video, you’ll learn about what makes a complete sentence, tips for making sure your sentences are complete, and circumstances in which writers break this rule effectively.

When we need to quickly summarize an event, idea, or text, a 101-level synopsis won’t always do the trick. Sometimes the text is more complicated -- it contains a central tension or conflict that needs to be addressed. In that case, a Pivot Synopsis will do the trick. It’s the more nuanced cousin of Synopsis 101 that allows a writer to say something more sophisticated while still summarizing quickly.

In our first series of the 2022-2023 school year, we're getting back to the basics. Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll release a new video that reviews a core writing move or strategy.

Marshfield Dreams by Ralph Fletcher is the perfect, bite-sized mentor text for narrative writing!

The Fourth State of Matter by Jo Ann Beard is a personal essay/history about a day in the author's life that changed her forever.

"Why You're Never Too Old to Build Castles in the Air" by Miles Howard is a charming blend of persuasion and narrative with a dash of research. It's approachable and accessible in every way-- from the conversational writing style tot the topic of adult Legos. Bring this one into an argument unit or a personal essay unit!

One of our goals at Mini Moves for Writers is to teach you multiple ways to hack a writing skill. In this video, we'll build on the standard way you've probably been taught to weave text evidence into your writing in both English and social studies classes.

Writing dialogue in a narrative is both an art and a science. Dialogue needs to accomplish something in the story, but it also needs to be written conventionally so that a reader can easily understand who is speaking and when. In this video, you’ll learn the two purposes for dialogue (a great self-check when you’re tempted to add dialogue to a story!) and five tips for writing it conventionally!

In this video, learn three fundamental paragraph types that will help any writer meaningfully organize their writing. Paragraphs -- even basic ones -- help both the reader and the writer make sense of and build connections between ideas in a piece of writing. This video features:
1 Idea, 1 Paragraph
Single-Sentence Paragraph
1 Idea, Multiple Paragraphs (+ Transition)

As we’ve talked about in Paraphrasing Text Evidence (• How to Paraphrase Text Evidence , professional writers paraphrase more often than they directly quote. So, how do we decide when a direct quote is the best way to support an idea? In this video, Rebekah shares three times writers choose to use a direct quote instead of paraphrasing and gives two important tips for how to quote with sophistication like the pros.

In this video, learn two ways to summarize an event. Summarizing events is a core component of storytelling and essential to any form of writing. Being able to summarize an event shows not only an understanding of the event itself, but also chronological reasoning and analysis. This video features:
Observation + Cause-Effect Sandwich
Observation + Explanation + Analysis