Writing Kernel Essays, Text Structures, and Outlines: Make Your Words Pop Out!

Oftentimes, when given an essay assignment, writers find the most difficult part of the process is simply getting started. Kernel essays, text structures, and outlines can help you push through the writer's block that many of us face as we begin a new project.

Each week, we'll try a different technique to create the structures for essay topics. This will, in a matter of weeks, provide you with a set of writing tools that will be of help to you throughout your life. 

Several of the techniques we will use are listed below. (Some are based on the Bernabei methods.) Below that list, you'll see the techniques to be introduced for the first several weeks of our sessions.

* Quick List
* My Two Hands
* Heart Mapping
* Two Favorites
* Action, Senses, Thoughts/Dialogue
* Various Text Structures (also known as Chunking)
* Several Outline/Planning Styles
* and More!

**New Sections Starting the week of Monday, January 9, 2023"
SESSION #1:  11-Minute Essay (Kernel Essay)
SESSION #2:  I used to believe.../Then, this happened.../Now, I believe... (Text Structures/Chunking)
SESSION #3:  Expository Outline (5-Paragraph Essay)
SESSION #4:  Indelible Moment (A Narrative)
SESSION #5:  Using Truisms to immediately create a relationship with your reader, and to leave them with something to do or think about.
SESSION #6:  Heart Mapping (with associated quick-writes)
(Many more lessons to be posted!)

Remember, we are all expanding our knowledge together (including the teacher).
I'm looking forward to learning with you!

Mrs. Rae Marie (M.Ed.) (Writing, Poetry, Fantasy Fiction, ACE Educator)


If students choose, they can take the miniature essays created in our sessions every week, and develop them into fully developed essays. This would have an immense impact upon writing skills. My suggestion would be to complete them weekly, and save them as an essay portfolio. It would be interesting to view the progress over time.

Remember, we are all expanding our knowledge together (including the teacher).
I'm looking forward to learning with you!

Mrs. Rae Marie (M.Ed.) (Writing, Poetry, Fantasy Fiction, ACE Educator)