How to Help Your Child Succeed with a Writing Task

1 Ask your child exactly what he's been asked to do. Write this down. Then ask for any extra information he was given, such as, what the purpose is, who he's writing for (what type of audience the class is practising writing for), what form of text to use (eg a report) and how he's expected to present it. Ask if it should be a draft copy, or an edited piece of writing. Write down whatever extra information you're given.

2 Check he knows some of the features of that text form (eg reports contain facts, labelled diagrams, a conclusion at the end). Help your child make a decision about how he's going to include 3 features of that type of text in his work. Write this down.

3 Ask your child what content he wants to include and where he's going to find any extra information if he needs it. Write this down. Avoid 'taking over' and telling him what YOU think he should or shouldn't include. Be encouraging by saying 'I like that idea because...' or 'Yes that's useful information to include because...'. Ask questions such as ' How are you going to expand on that a bit?'

4 Ask how he's going to make it suit the particular audience (if this is a requirement), eg by using words that the audience will understand and relate to, by using age-appropriate pictures. Write down one way your child will do this.

5 Ask how he wants to present it (if it's not just a draft) and write this down.

Your child now has a clear picture of what needs to be done and you both have a really good plan that you can both refer to along the way and at the end.

6 If your child is a very reluctant writer the best thing to do is share the actual writing. Expect your child to come up with the sentences orally, but take some of the burden away by writing every second sentence down for him. At this stage it's only draft writing. Maybe that's all that's required (your child should already have told you if this is the case).

7 If he needs to hand in an edited version, this means edited appropriately for his age and ability. It doesn't mean 'perfect'. Help with spelling by asking him to fix up any words he knows how to spell accurately. Leave any he doesn't know as they are (he's probably spelling them phonetically and that's fine). If you point out every inaccuracy, fix everything or make a fuss you'll destroy his confidence. If he's worried about some words he knows are not spelt accurately, help with one or two of the easier ones but leave it at that. Avoid turning this into a spelling lesson about spelling patterns he may not be ready to learn at this stage. Ask him to check his punctuation and fix up any errors or omissions he sees. If he has to type and print it you can help with that but don't change anything.

8 Finally revisit your plan and see if all the criteria have been met.

If your child really didn't have a clue about the requirements of the task, let the teacher know. Homework assignments support what's been taught in class. Find out why he didn't know exactly what was expected.