Is there a point of diminishing return when working on essays? Join Susan Knoppow of the WOW Writing workshop to learn how to help students in the writing process, and how to keep your sanity too! Streamline your essay review skills to save time and aggravation. We’ll discuss: · Polishing essays without going too far. · How to prepare students to respectfully deal with well-meaning English teachers, parents and other adults. · How to use these tips to help your students Wow Writing Workshop’s CEO Susan Knoppow will share what she has learned during 25 years of teaching writing to students of all types and abilities. Participants will leave the session with tips and tools, plus access to simple worksheets to help apply what they’ve learned.

1. When Is It
Good
Enough?
Letting Go of
the Imperfect
Essay
Susan Knoppow
susan@wowwritingworkshop.com
Webinar Resources:
wowwritingworkshop.com/CyndyMcDonald
W RI T I N G W O RK SH O P
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2. Overview
• Managing Time & Expectations
• Content, Structure and Polish
• Common Issues
• A New Approach
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3. Three Stages
Content Structure Polish
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4. Pre-Draft Review
During brainstorming, solidify themeSolidify
Confirm theme before draftConfirm
Return to theme during reviewsReturn
Make sure students know WHY they chose a topicKnow Why
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5. Time Savers
• Think like a reviewer, not an editor
• Template responses to common problems
• Set a timer
• Think big picture, not sentence by sentence
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6. Technique
Read once
Read again, mark a few things
Respond
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7. Content Review
Does the essay answer the
prompt?
Can you tell why the writer
chose this topic?
Is the essay about the
student, or is it really about
the place, person or
experience featured in the
essay?
Does it illustrate a trait your
student wants to share with
colleges?
Does it tell colleges
something meaningful about
the writer that they could
not find out from the rest of
the application package?
Does the story sound like a
teenage writer?
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8. Content Review (Narrative Review)
General observations – concepts, intention, focus
Questions
Writing exercises
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9. Structure Review
Does the first paragraph make you want to
keep reading?
Does the essay move smoothly from
beginning to end?
Is the essay ever redundant?
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10. Structure Review (Comment Review)
Notes in margins (Google doc comments or Word Review mode)
Specific observations – lines, paragraphs, sections
Writing exercises
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11. Polish Review
Does the essay include the same verb tense throughout?
Has the student avoided sentence fragments and run-on sentences?
Is the punctuation correct and consistent?
Is every word spelled correctly?
Does the writer feel confident and proud of the work?
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12. Polish Review (Editorial Review)
Minor line edits
Punctuation, grammar, etc.
Balance willingness & ability
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13. Awareness and Change
Differentiate between content, structure and polishDifferentiate
Read before diving in with commentsRead
Think like a reviewer, not an editorThink
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14. Who Owns the Essay?
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15. Guidelines
for
Reviewers
How long should it take?
• Never spend more than an hour.
• Rarely spend more than 30 minutes.
• If you do more with content development
up front, you will spend less time
reviewing during the polish phase.
How to improve:
• Keep track of your time.
• Pay attention to common sticky spots.
What bothers you? Where do you get
stuck?
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16. Resources
• Webinar Slides
• Professional Resources: Essay Review Guidelines
• Parent Article: How to Help without Taking Over
• Parent Article: Is an “A” English Paper a College Essay?
• Info about training and more
wowwritingworkshop.com/CyndyMcDonald
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17. When Is It
Good
Enough?
Letting Go of
the Imperfect
Essay
Susan Knoppow
susan@wowwritingworkshop.com
Webinar Resources:
wowwritingworkshop.com/CyndyMcDonald
W RI T I N G W O RK SH O P
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