At this point in the student's education, he or she should be able to write well-organized essays that communicate. College admission applications and entrance exams often have written essays to ensure students are able to do college writing. Most colleges require a certain number of courses with an academic writing emphasis. Excellent writing is important.

What strategies can you use to ensure creative writing skills in high school and college are adequate? Here are 4 valuable resources.

Tip #1: Creative Writing High School and Beyond

Make sure the basics are mastered.

It's no use investing in advance writing courses if basic writing skills are not developed. If well-organized content is not routinely submitted, consider using the last twenty lessons of Write On as a high school review course. These lessons will include:

• Outlines
• Paragraph Development
• Annotations
• Writing Directions
• Writing to Inform
• Writing Fiction
• Writing Historical Fiction
• Writing to Persuade
• Writing to Compare
• Writing to Compare and Contrast
• Writing to Defend
• Writing a Thesis Statement
• Writing Your Thesis

With it's strong paragraph development, Write On: The Kid Friendly, Mother Pleasing, Gentle Way to Learn To Write is an excellent creative writing high school course, particularly for those that need to brush up on the basics.

For those students who have mastered the basics of creative and academic writing, there are more valuable resources to improve their skills for college.

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Tip #2: Creative Writing High School and Beyond

Master the Elements of Style

This is the classic book for high school writing. Elements of Style was written in 1918 by William Strunk. This little book is a mere pamphlet compared to many writing texts; yet it succinctly lists the skills needed for near-perfect writing style.

The major sections include:

• Rules of Usage
• Principles of Composition
• Form: Headings, Parenthesis, Quotations
• Commonly misused words and expressions

We have been offering the original edition of this book for years (okay, not the entire 93 years it has been in publication.) It remains the backbone of instruction for writers.

The Elements of Style
William Strunk, Jr.

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Tip #3: Creative Writing High School and Beyond

Write and Edit like a Professional

This guide Get Your Writing Fighting Fit is a writing and editing guide for professionals. Audrey Oewns is the author and a professional editor. She knows the errors writers often make that reduce the clarity of their writing.

In many ways, it reminds me of The Elements of Style for the modern user. It is little lighter reading. Writing for computer screens, ebooks, and on-line viewing is also covered.

This resource contains 11 chapters of suggestions to improve and edit your writing. While it is written specifically for those who write professionally, it is very user friendly. The eleven chapters could easily be used as a high school homeschool writing course.

I particularly like the Quick Fix Assessment that Audrey inclues in Chapter 11. I used it recently on a chapter for a book I am writing. What a great tool for making sure all the lessons taught are put into practice!

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Tip #4: Creative Writing High School and Beyond

College Journalism Course

Okay, folks. For any student who has completed

• Write On
• The Elements of Style
• Get Your Writing Fighting Fit

there is only one other place to go.

Most colleges offer journalism courses. Of course, if your student is still in high school, the colleges will likely want them to take College Composition #1 before Journalism. Well, go ahead. Get that basic college composition course out of the way. It will be required everywhere.

However, I think you will find that the resources mentioned above will have made the first level of college composition merely a review of the skills they have already acquired.