Parents Can Teach Writing Skills

My sophomore suddenly has to write a lot of papers in his classes. He doesn't seem to know what to say. How can I help him? -- No Writer
Answer: Hopefully, your son's English teachers have taught him the basics of writing papers, from essays to research reports. Nevertheless, some students feel overwhelmed when facing the task of getting something down on paper. There are things that you can do to help. Always begin by asking: "How can I help?" Listen carefully at this point to what he says. Just this one step may help him figure out what he wants to say. For example, he might say: "How can I write 500 words on the Mona Lisa?" "What's so great about this painting anyway?" All these questions are clues to what he needs to research to write the paper.
Another very important thing that you can do is help your son clarify exactly what the assignment is. He should be able to tell you all the details of the assignment. If he can't, he can talk it over with a classmate or the teacher. Writing assignments are much easier to handle if the teacher has given out an assignment sheet.
If your son hasn't a clue to what he wants to say, suggest that he brainstorm any ideas that may come into his head about the topic and write them down. Doing this for about 15 minutes should give him ideas of what to say, especially if he has done some research on the topic. You can serve as a sounding board for his brainstorming.
At this point, your son should be ready to organize his ideas. The key here is to help him clarify the main point that he wishes to make. Once this is clear to him, he should tell you what information he'll use to support the main idea of the paper. He should then be ready to start writing, as he has told you what he wants to say.