A guide to writing better essays by National Hall of Fame Teacher Alan Haskvitz

1. Handy Rules for Organizing Your
Essay
Why?

2. Presented by Alan Haskvitz
Featured in Time, Newsweek, Kappan, CNN, NPR, by Charles Kuralt, and textbooks. Created ReachEveryChild, on the web since 1997,
National Teachers Hall of Fame Inductee, USA Today First Team All American Teacher, Chosen 100 Most Influential Educators,
Reader's Digest Hero in Education, Learning Magazine's Professional Best, National Middle Level Teacher of the Year
Winner of three Golden Bell Awards, Selected one of the five Most Creative Technology Teachers in nation, National Bicentennial
Teaching Award, Nation's Featured Social Studies Program, NMSA, NBC Spirit of Education Award, NCSS Exemplary Program,
Presidential Award for Environmental Education, Los Angeles Laker Teacher of the Month, California Middle School Finalist,
Environmental Teaching Award, NBS Spirit of Education Crystal Apple Award, Finalist, Internet Teacher of the Year, Disney Civic Achievement
Regional Award, National Wildlife Association Teaching Award, Economics America Award, National Environmental Award,
National Winner, Respecteen, Daughters of the American Colonies Teacher award, National Highway and Safety Commission national award,
Leavey Economics National Award, Freedom Foundation's George Washington Medal for Teaching, California Agriculture Teacher of the Year,
California Water District Teacher of the Year, Perryman Foundation Award, California Excemplary Program Award, Christa McAuliffe Award
California State University 50th Anniversary Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, California Community College Distinguished Alumnus, Chaffey
High School Outstanding Alumnus, Chaffey College Outstanding Alumnus, Pomona Valley Outstanding Educator Award, Audubon Society
Outstanding Program Award, California winner Project Citizen, Center for Civic Education ,San Bernardino County award for fiction writing,
photography. Coached provincial and world championship girls' basketball teams, taught Canadian Art Champions. Senior Olympic Champion.
Students won competitions that resulted in trips to Sea World, Disneyland, Orlando, CNN, Washington DC,
United Nations and Rome. Highest test scores in state.

3. But First
The most important rule is
Who are you writing for?

4. Never communicate with strangers
● But
● That isn't the case for essays
● Because that is who is reading your work
● And they don’t know you are a great person
● They just know you from what you wrote

5. So
Select a topic of interest
● No, make that several topics
● Evaluate them all by asking yourself
● What would a stranger learn from this?
● Is it informative?
● It is insightful?
● What will the reader think of me?

6. Write with passion
Writing is a craft
● You have to create a need to read
● Use language to express your passion
SO
● Look at each word and ask,
“Is this the best word for my task?

7. Outlining
● Is just a hanger for ideas.
● An outline can be changed.
● It is simply a frame to build upon. You can alter
it.
● But without your essay can collapse.
● So start with your talking points. Those feelings
you want the reader to know, feel, appreciate

8. Take Your Time
● Brainstorm or maybe just storm
● Make cards for thoughts you want to share
● Place cards in order based on the type of essay
you are going to write
For Example
● Chronological
● Spatial (from place to place)
● Cause and Effect

9. First Person or Third
If the topic is “The Most Important Person”
●
It does not have to be first person.
●
● It can be written by someone who is observing
and making comments to prove your point.
●

10. Outlining Format
Use recommended one. Don't be afraid of this format:
● Main point follows a Roman numeral.
● A. Minor points follow behind capital letters.
● B. Each minor point must refer to or be a part of the major point above
● 1. If there are subpoints below the minor point, use Arabic numerals.
● 2. Notice that each point is indented from according to its importance.
● 3. Each subpoint must be related to or a part of the minor point it follows.
● a. If there are points below subpoints, they use lower case letters.
● b. They are indented below the subpoint and are related to the subpoint or part of the
● subpoint above it.
● 1.) Sometimes, there are even smaller subdivisions,
● 2.) And these use Arabic numerals with a parenthesis.
● C. The next minor point below the major point
It is designed to help you organize your thoughts

11. Use the KISS Outline First
Keep It Simple Stupid
● Use your cards to organize your ideas and
thoughts.
● When you are done, place them in the order
you want your essay to follow
● Now write your essay based on your cards
● Always use cards.
● Easy to move as your ideas change

12. Look for Opps
When you are done using your cards to outline
● Does it flow?
● Have you discovered holes such as “ We went
to Disneyland,” and not explain the
Who, Why, What, When, Where, How
That give life to your work

13. 5 Ws and H
The reader needs to know the 5Ws and H
But you need to make them interesting by
● Crafting your essay makes it real to the reader
“The trip to Disneyland was so boring I ran out
of computer games to play.”
This tells the reader a little about you and
enables them to use their imagination. (see
spoiled kid.)

14. Working on Rough Draft
Once you have your cards in order and your
first outline done and checked.
Start writing the first or rough draft.
● Let it sit for a while
● Read it again looking for ways you could make
it more interesting.
“ We went to Disneyland.”

15. Look at Word Use
Over 200 words for went that provide more
insights.
● Examples: inched, scurried, barreled, marched,
slithered, decamped, plodded, galloped,
traveled, zoomed, high tailed, meandered,
ambled, skedaddled, progressed…
Even: “ We argued to Disneyland.”
http://tinyurl.com/cy8rhbj

16. After rough draft
After making any changes in wording
Look at your outline again.
● Were your main points supported?
● Were they interesting?
● Is your essay compelling?
● Does your essay flow
And

17. Is it engaging to readers?
The outline should be like a stairway.
● When you write it you are telling the reader
there is something interesting at the top of the
stairs.
● Each stair adds to the story and gives the
reader a reason to get to the top.
● When readers finish they should be able to see
how each step helped build to the ending.

18. You're not done
● Take a look at your cards again.
● Did you leave out anything important.
● Look at your last draft. Read the essay
backwards looking for errors (Don't depend on
Spell Checkers.)
● Let the essay sit for a day or two and re-read it.
● Ask a friend to critique it. When done ask them
to describe what they learned.
● Let them live.

19. Beware of the No
● No, I don’t need to outline.
● No, I have an idea in my head (or wherever)
● No, I really like it and don't care what others
think?
● No, I'll just write it and be done with it.
● No, it is just another essay.
● No, I won’t show it to you.

20. To review
● Outlining helps you organize your thoughts
● Stops careless errors in the progress of the
essay
● Gives you a chance to add new thinking as the
essay takes shape
● Provides a roadmap of the journey you want
the reader to take

21. And Knowing How to Outline
● Helps you understand how life works
(sometimes)
● Gives you an understanding of the importance
of process to learning
● And, finally, teaches inductive reasoning

22. References
● Types of outlines and word definitions such as
thesis statement:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/03
● Seven types of outlines
http://youngwritersproject.org/node/244
● Sample Outlines
http://omnilearn.net/outlines/page2/page2.html