Most students today are asked to write essays before they’ve actually read any. Worse, they’re taught writing in highly artificial forms, like the five-paragraph essay — a kind of writing no one in the real world ever has to produce. This homeschooling dad has worked for thirty years as a writing consultant, and here he shares his practical perspective both on our students’ real needs and on the classroom methods traditionally used to teach writing. He also shows parents five writing practices that our students need to master but are seldom taught.