Harrison Central School District: College Essay Workshop Wraps Up

Press release from the Harrison Central School District:

September 27, 2021

The goal of the workshop is to support students as they create their college essays. English teachers provide explicit instruction around brainstorming ideas, selecting a topic, drafting, revising and editing their college essay. Students receive support from their peers and multiple teachers through one-on-one conferences. Teachers provide personalized instruction, supporting all students in their writing process. The majority of the class is made of small group and individual conferences where students receive explicit feedback about their writing. These powerful conversations have allowed students to make major shifts to their writing of their college essay.

Students were encouraged to attend all three sessions of the workshop:

Session 1: In June, students engaged in a zoom meeting and breakout rooms, where they engaged with various prompts to get them started with their essay.

Session 2: This week-long summer workshop allowed students to move through the writing process, focusing on collecting ideas, peer feedback, close readings and writing suggestions by teachers. Some mini-lessons during this week included crafting strong beginnings, slowing down the stories of the college essay, and determining the "so-what" of a college essay.

Session 3: This Saturday workshop allowed students to receive feedback on their 'almost- completed' essays. Students worked with multiple teachers on revision and editing of the college essay.

Students found the workshops to be helpful and powerful. One student shared, "Through all of the sessions, Spring, Summer and now this Fall workshop, I feel so good about my completed essay."

This press release was produced by the Harrison Central School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.