What is IEW?

Are you looking for a great writing curriculum and class for 2018-19?  IEW might be the right pick for you.

IEW Classes with Mrs. Peggy Cortez are held @ SSJ on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 3:00

What is IEW?

IEW successfully equips students with tools to significantly improve writing skills. Its methods not only build written and oral communication skills, but also improve critical thinking. With diligent and consistent effort there is a wonderful transformation from immature or even reluctant writers to competent, confident communicators. 

IEW makes it is possible to teach students with very high writing aptitude alongside those with undeveloped writing aptitude. The system works magnificently at both ends of that spectrum. 

Lessons in our class are carefully planned to be steps toward more sophisticated writing. Lessons are prepared with built in levels of challenge in order to accommodate different expertise levels.

In order to succeed in every area of life, children must hone the skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively. Through the process of learning to write well, students learn how to think clearly and to express themselves eloquently and persuasively. 

If this makes sense for you and your child, IEW is the right pick for you.

C.S. Lewis' Advice to a Young Writer

In the eyes of many, some of C.S. Lewis’ greatest works are those he wrote for children, namely, The Chronicles of Narnia. Perhaps it’s not surprising then to hear that Lewis received a number of fan letters from the children who read them.

In 1956, C.S. Lewis responded to a letter from a little girl named Joan, who had apparently sent him a sample of her own descriptive writing. Lewis took the opportunity to praise her style, but also worked in several gentle critiques. He went on to offer the following five tips to boost the little lady’s English and writing abilities:

1. Strive for Clarity 

“Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.”

2. Use Plain and Direct Language 

“Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.”

3. Be Practical, Not Philosophical

“Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean ‘More people died’ don’t say ‘Mortality rose.’”

4. Show, Don’t Tell

“In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was ‘terrible,’ describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was ‘delightful’; make us say ‘delightful’ when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers ‘Please will you do my job for me.’”

5. Keep it Simple 

“Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very’; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.”

Today’s students would be wise to take Lewis’ advice to little Joan to heart.

SOURCE:  Intellectual Takeout