The Institute for Excellence in Writing is known by many to be the “Structure and Style®” writing company. But what does “Structure and Style” really mean? If we break the two terms apart, “structure” refers to the sequencing of details. “Style,” on the other hand, focuses on the arrangement, or how the details are expressed. In podcast Episode 278, Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker examine some common misunderstandings about the stylistic techniques. Their conversation will continue in next week’s broadcast, Episode 279.
During the first part of the series, Andrew and Julie discuss four misunderstandings about the stylistic techniques. They are as follows:
Misunderstanding #1: When you teach Unit 2, you should teach all the dress-ups to your students.
Misunderstanding #2: IEW believes that all children should follow the particular pacing guides in the Structure and Style for Students courses and the theme-based writing books.
Misunderstanding #3: After a student has learned all six dress-ups, it is okay to allow students to choose which dress-ups they want to include (for example, four out of six) rather than requiring them to use all of them in their compositions.
Misunderstanding #4: Students should never include the word “said” in their writing.
Taking each one of these misunderstandings and discussing them, Andrew and Julie explain why they are incorrect and share clarity about how the stylistic techniques should instead be presented to students. This is an educational episode that will help you enter the upcoming school year with confidence, so be sure to listen to it as well as to its second part, which will be released next week.
