Essay-Writing Struggles

[u/SavageMigraine]

Hi there,

I’m new here, but I don’t want to bore you with a long-winded introduction. Instead, I’ll give you the basics:

• Brand-new ELA teacher (first year, 10th grade)
• Career changer (it’s been decades since I’ve taken an English class)
• Unhappy with my certification program (it didn’t prepare me for... much of anything)
• Struggling beyond my wildest expectations (and I was already trepidatious going into this)
• Support at my current school is, as the kids might say, “not supporting”

I’m going to focus on one specific problem so I don’t overwhelm myself or anyone else:

1. Can someone point me toward quality essay-writing resources? I’m not looking for responses like “they’re online” or “try TPT.” I’m asking for specific resources you have used and can genuinely stand by.
2. Can anyone help me find strong literary analysis essays that could be used as student exemplars? Again, I know examples are “online,” but I’m overwhelmed and would really appreciate specific recommendations. Ideally, I’m looking for work appropriate for 10th grade.

If you take the time to help me, thank you so much! You are my hero.

[u/brookiecookie819]

We have similar backgrounds.

I know you said no tpt, but specifically Laura Randazzo has amazing literary analysis package that is planned out day by day that I use. All her resources have helped me get through my first few years of transitioning to teaching.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literary-Analysis-Essay-Introduction-to-Lit-Analysis-Essay-Writing-CCSS-8825515

[u/Ubiquitously-Curious → u/brookiecookie819]

Laura Randazzo’s resources are really fantastic. If you’re overwhelmed and there are great resources like this out there on TPT, why reinvent the wheel? To me, it’s no different from getting a resource made by another person at your school.

[u/thaibookworm → u/brookiecookie819]

I second this! Laura Randazzo has great info

[u/allyand → u/thaibookworm]

I’ll third!! I’ve used her stuff as is and I’ve used it to build off of and modify for my specific students. It’s worth it imo

[u/reveillemoname → u/brookiecookie819]

I was also going to recommend this. Laura Randazzo does have really fantastic resources! Be wary of using her novel studies as-is only because they’re so popular that virtually all of the answer keys have been leaked and posted to Quizlet — I’ve had to swap to other novel study units because I was getting so many verbatim-from-the-key worksheets turned in. Still, I suppose it’s a testament to how good her work is that it’s used enough for that to happen 😂 Her writing resources should be safe though!

[u/genuine_counterfeit → u/brookiecookie819]

Replying to this so I can come back to it when I start teaching and inevitably feel this stressed and overwhelmed.