The Elegant Essay Writing Lessons: Building Blocks for Analytical Writing

by Institute for Excellence in Writinghttps://iew.com/

ElaGrades 6–12

The Elegant Essay: Structured Classical Writing Program for Analytical Essays

The Elegant Essay Writing Lessons is a classical writing curriculum from the Institute for Excellence in Writing designed for grades 6-12. This 12-14 week course teaches analytical essay writing through structured formats and specific methods, building on students' existing paragraph construction skills.

Best for

Middle and high school students (grades 6-12) in classical or Christian education settings who need structured analytical writing instruction, particularly those building from basic paragraph skills to essay composition.

Evaluation Criteria

3 strengths · 2 neutral · 4 insufficient evidence

Teacher TrainingStrength

The curriculum includes comprehensive teacher support materials and guidance.

Teacher's manual provides 'instructions for teaching each lesson, sample compositions, an answer key, a sample schedule, and suggestions for evaluation and grading,' designed so 'teachers need not be skillful writers themselves'

Direct InstructionStrength

The curriculum facilitates direct, explicit instruction through detailed teacher plans and structured lessons.

Teachers receive 'very detailed plans' and 'instructions for teaching each lesson,' with the course 'designed to be presented by a teacher' requiring 'discussion and interaction'

Writing InstructionStrength

The curriculum provides highly structured, explicit writing instruction with detailed teacher guidance and student models.

Course uses 'structured formats using specific methods,' includes 'very detailed plans along with samples/models and evaluation tools,' and addresses 'common pitfalls' with specific strategies

Knowledge RichNeutral

The curriculum incorporates Christian worldview content and classical references but appears primarily focused on writing skills rather than systematic domain knowledge building.

Review mentions Christian worldview assumptions, Scripture quotations, and writings from Charles Spurgeon, but describes the course as composition-focused

Text ComplexityNeutral

The curriculum appears to use appropriate complexity for its grade range, building from basic paragraph skills to analytical essays.

Course targets grades 6-12 with adaptable expectations, requiring prerequisite paragraph construction skills and allowing for 'more thoughtful and researched content' from older students

Retrieval PracticeInsufficient Evidence

The curriculum includes exercises but specific retrieval practice and spaced review strategies are not clearly described.

Student book includes 'exercises' but the review does not detail whether these incorporate retrieval practice or spaced review techniques

Systematic PhonicsInsufficient Evidence

Phonics instruction is not applicable to this upper-grade writing curriculum.

The course targets grades 6-12 and assumes students can already construct paragraphs with topic and closing sentences

Vocabulary BuildingInsufficient Evidence

The curriculum emphasizes stylistic techniques which may include vocabulary development, but explicit vocabulary instruction is not clearly described.

Review mentions emphasis on 'interesting stylistic techniques' but does not specifically address vocabulary building strategies

Whole Books Vs ExcerptsInsufficient Evidence

The curriculum focus is on analytical writing instruction rather than reading whole books or excerpts.

The review describes this as a composition-focused course that teaches essay writing structure and style, with no mention of sustained reading components

Review Sources

cathyduffy

Cathy Duffy

Key Facts
GradesGrades 6–12
SubjectEla
PedagogyClassical
Faith-BasedChristian
Pricing$42.95 at Amazon.com | $42.95 Used at Amazon.com Marketplace | $49.00 at Christianbook.com | $49.00 at Rainbowresource.com | $29.00 at Christianbook.com | $10.63 at Amazon.com | $10.17 Used at Amazon.com Marketplace | $29.00 at Rainbowresource.com

Looking for something different?

If none of these options feel right, explore a non-traditional approach. Pallas Center offers a unique curriculum, or design your own with Palladay.

Data sources: cathyduffy