A Plethora Of Writing Examples For Middle School ( High School)

posted on October 14, 2014 When I started my first job as a professional newspaper reporter (This job  also served as an internship during my junior year in college — I just didn’t leave for about 6 years.), I quickly realized that all my experience, and all my years of journalism education had not been enough to help me write stories about drug busts, fatal car accidents and tornadoes. All the theoretical work I’d done, and all of the nifty little scholastic and collegiate stories I had done, did not prepare me for real world writing. At that point, I had to find a solution quickly. After all, I had a deadline to meet, and it was only a few hours away. One of my colleagues, who also served as a mentor, had the solution. She introduced me to the newspaper’s â€Å"morgue.† This was a room filled with filing cabinets in which we kept old — dead — stories arranged by reporter. Whenever I wasn’t’ sure how to write a story, all I had to do was check the morgue for similar stories.  If I needed to write a story about a local drug bust, for example, I’d find another story on a similar incident, study its structure, and mentally create a formula in which to plugin the  information I’d gathered. Once I’d gained more experience, and had internalized the formula for that particular type of story, I felt free to branch out as the situation — and my training — warranted. I do the same thing when I want to write a type of letter, brochure, or report that I’ve never written before. This is what writing looks like in the real world. Research by â€Å"Write Like This† author  Kelly Gallagher indicates  that  if we want students to grow as writers, we need to provide them with  good writing to read, study, and emulate. My personal experience backs this up, as does the old adage â€Å"all writing is rewriting,† oft quoted by everyone from LA screenwriters to New York Times bestselling authors. Of course, if you’re a new teacher like me, there is one problem with providing mentor texts to my students: I have a dearth of middle school level writing sitting around in my file cabinets. Fortunately, the Internet is full of sources, so I scoured the bowels of Google to find examples. I know how busy you are, so I’m sharing. Expository writing examples for middle school Below are several sources of expository writing samples for middle school students. The Write Source Expository Writing Samples Holt, Rinehart, Winston Expository  Essay Models Finally, here is an article in the New York Times that will help you teach your students  real-world expository writing skills. Descriptive writing examples for middle school Descriptive Writing Samples from Novels Milwaukee Public Schools Descriptive Essay Samples (p. 137) Holt, Rinehart, Winston Descriptive Essay Models Narrative writing examples for middle school Writing Samples by Steve Peha (PDF) The Write Source Narrative Writing Samples Oregon Department of Education Scored Writing Samples (Ideas and Organization) Oregon Department of Education Scored Writing Samples (Sentence Fluency and Conventions) Oregon Department of Education Scored Writing Samples (Voice and Word Choice) Oregon Department of Education High School Scored Narrative and Argumentative Writing Samples Holt, Rinehart, Winston Narrative Essay Models Argumentative/persuasive writing examples for middle school The Write Source Persuasive  Writing Samples Oregon Department of Education High School Scored Narrative and Argumentative Writing Samples Holt, Rinehart, Winston Persuasive Essay Models Reflective writing examples for middle school Reflective essay examples from Lake Washington Girls Middle School If you know of any other online writing example sources, please feel free to share them in the comments below.    Michelle WatersI am a secondary English Language Arts teacher, a University of Oklahoma student working on my Master’s of Education in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum with an concentration in English Education, and a NBPTS candidate. I am constantly seeking ways to amplify my students’ voices and choices.