Bit & Rudder

Homeschool Writing Made Easy

homeschool high school

Episode #16 Thesis Statements

· ·

Click to Share

Episode 16 Thesis Statements

Today’s topic is thesis statements. I know. Not the most glamorous of topics, but an important one since thesis statements are the workhorses of the essay world. Exciting? Probably not. Essential? Absolutely. A strong thesis statement is often what makes an essay shine, and in this episode I share with you the method I use in my classroom to teach this important skill.

In this episode, I discuss 

  • the characteristics of a strong thesis statement
  • how to transform a broad and general thesis statement (which is not what you want) into a clear and specific one (yes!)
  • whether it is necessary for your thesis statement to be a single sentence 
  • what it means for a thesis statement to be “arguable” and why this is an absolute must
  • a simple strategy for having students practice writing a thesis statement without having to write an entire essay.


I think that learning to write a strong thesis statement is one of the best things students can do to improve their writing and create shining essays.

Email me at ruth@bitandrudder.com

Links Mentioned
OWL (Online Writing Lab at Purdue)

Episode 11 To AP or Not to AP? 

Click to Share

Ep #13 Research Papers Part 1

· ·

Click to Share

Ep #13 Research Papers Part 1

As a homeschool parent teaching your high school student to write, what would you say is your top concern? If you said anything related to writing a research paper, then I have some good news for you. 

First, you are not alone: research writing makes the “Top Ten” list of concerns that homeschool parents have about writing (this is based on a list compiled by ChatGPT).

And second, this week’s episode was created with you in mind as I’m answering all your questions, or at least a lot of them, about how to teach a research paper. 

 In this episode, I discuss

·         Why learning to write a research paper is so important

·         How to choose a topic and construct a working thesis statement

·         Why you need credible sources and where to find them (NEWS FLASH: Wikipedia is NOT a credible source!)

 If you’re like, wait a second, I also need to know how to teach notetaking and citing sources, so where’s that information? No worries, I’ll be talking about those topics and so much more over the next two weeks. The topic of research papers was too BIG and IMPORTANT to cram into one episode (or even two!) 

 To go along with this three-part series, I have created a free resource for you that you might want to download ahead of time. It is a roadmap to the research process, and you can use it to jot down notes as well as your own ideas as you listen to this episode. 

 I won’t pretend that research writing is easy, but I can assure that following my step-by-step process will make it a lot less overwhelming. 

Links:

Research Paper Checklist

List of current events topics

“Five Must-Have Google Search Tips for Students”

Find It Virginia Explora Libraries Database

Click to Share

Ep #10 Lessons from Pollyanna

· ·

Click to Share

Ep #10 Lessons from Pollyanna

Show Notes

Today’s episode is special because it’s my tenth episode—woo hoo! cue the confetti!—and because I am talking about a book that is near and dear to my heart. You know how sometimes the right book comes along at the right time and it’s, well, . . . transformational. That’s what Pollyanna was for me, and I think after you listen to this episode, you will be rushing to the library or bookstore to snag your own copy. You can also read it for free online here.

Although this episode is a departure from the way I usually teach, I hope you will be inspired by this honest discussion of hardship and of faith and of how one book can change your perspective on everything. In it, I discuss

  • How our culture completely misses the mark about what it means to be a “Pollyanna”
  • How playing one particular game can completely change your life
  • What it means to “Pollyanna” a situation and how having that perspective can help you find joy in adversity
  • How having a “Pollyanna attitude” has helped me in my personal struggles with recent sickness and surgery

Intrigued? I hope so. You won’t want to miss this episode.

Read Pollyanna for free online here.

And in case you missed it last week,

Here is the link to the free Peer Editing Guide

Click to Share

Connect with me