The Young Writers' Studio

Making great writing simple for teens

IT'S HERE!
New Course: STRESS-FREE STRUCTURING

Is your teen:

  • An expat needing pushing to their potential?

  • A native or C1+ English speaker needing to produce a competitive college or university application?

  • Simply in need of some great writing skills to give them a head start?

My belief is that essay writing can be challenging, but it need not be scary or complicated.So, my online courses employ skills focus and fuss-free formulas that get young people writing great essays which are:

  • Clear

  • Concise

  • Compelling

My new course Stress Free Structuring takes students, via six bitesize (15-20 min) videos, interactive resources and more, through the essentials of thoughtful planning to produce persuasive writing-to-argue essays.But that's not all!
By subscribing just below (click 'Join YWS') to receive my emails, you will also receive free, exclusive access to my introductory video lesson, Simple Idea Ordering, which pretty much forms the basis of everything else I teach! So don't miss out...

Hi, I'm Erica

I'm a fully qualified English teacher (Secondary English PGCE, TEFL) and I’ve spent almost 20 years teaching English in various countries, to students of all ages from all over the world. Now based in Spain with my family, I’ve also been working as a professional editor, writer and writing coach.What I've created with The Young Writers’ Studio not only draws upon all of this experience, but upon my passion for the English language and my belief that writing skills can be made accessible to anyone.This is the myth I've heard countless times about writing:‘If you are good at English, essay writing is easy. If it’s not your best subject, it's impossible.’My own experience has taught me this is often not true.

On a professional level, I've taught many brilliant native and bilingual-English teens, many talented writers. And yet many of them have struggled with formal writing.My own personal experience has been my biggest influence, though.English was always one of my best school subjects. But, upon starting sixth-form college at sixteen, I started struggling with the new level of essay-writing demanded of me. I didn’t understand; I'd always done well at essays. It was only with the help of a great teacher, who showed me a technique to planning and structuring my work, that I learned:It was not just about Being Good at English. It was about applying method.This realisation has gone on to serve me through life, including through my own teaching. I've helped many students who may or may not say their best subject is English, yet through my own careful breaking down of ideas they have all been able to create strong, clear pieces of writing. This is a skill they will take through their own lives.It is one I now want to help your teen to hone, wherever they are at on their ‘English journey’.So, why not sign up for my course Stress-Free Structuring today or, if you'd rather just be kept in the loop for now, don't forget to click on the 'Join YWS' button below to sign up for emails which will keep you in the loop of all upcoming sales dates, new courses, limited-time discounts, and more:

Results

Rebekah, History Department Chair and Faculty, California
Erica created a fun and engaging learning environment…she employs highly effective pedagogical practices to ensure her students' growth, especially in terms of writing.Dani, Granada, Spain
I have a classic reluctant reader/writer son, who was not keen on the idea of a writing course, but Erica’s genius is the ability to take ideas and break them down into digestible nuggets that are accessible to a variety of learning styles.Amy, Seattle, USA
It feels like Erica made writing approachable for my kids and took the intimidation factor out of large projects. Erica has a true gift with words, kids and teaching.Sarah, Granada, Spain
My daughter recently came home from school excited to report that she received high marks on an essay after applying what Erica taught her, in regards to structure and summarising paragraphs. I would absolutely recommend Erica's classes to other parents.Diego, 15, Spain
I would recommend Erica’s course. The lessons were clear, well-paced and explained the techniques for writing an essay in a way that made sense. At school I still haven't studied how to write a paper and the best way to make a convincing argument and it was interesting to get an idea of how it's done. I liked that the lessons weren't so long that they felt like too much work and the worksheets…taught me some good tips for improving my writing. Thank you!Gabriel, 15, Spain
I think you did a great job and I really liked the looks of the videos and how you gave time to work on the exercises. The exercises were for me the most effective part of the product because they helped me to memorize some of the ideas… for example: the quick quiz to recap learning.I think it is really helpful as a foreign student who is missing a large chunk of English education [to learn] how to write effectively thanks to the well thought out examples and techniques.Sam, 14, Spain
I think it's great!Rebecca, Granada, Spain
My son is doing the course and absolutely loves it!

Stress-Free Structuring is my amazing, all-new course that takes teens that bit further through the entire planning, structuring and. of course, writing process with writing-to-argue pieces.
It demystifies the entire process, through use of:- A crystal clear, step-by-step guide to planning and drafting writing-to-argue pieces, broken into:
- Six short ‘bitesize’ videos (15-25 minutes long), recognising kids’ busy schedules and school-stretched attention spans
- Fun, colourful and youth-friendly presentations with accessible and engaging explanations
- Memorable visual aids: the use of simple diagrams and colour-coding for fuss-free formulas that lead to clear, compelling essays
- Full differentiation: the option for newbies to build their confidence by following my examples closely where older / more confident learners are encouraged, through my ‘stretch’ options, to supply their own ideas, examples and more
-Full resource bank: a printable PDF worksheet comes with each each video-lesson, so all you need to supply is a pen and some highlighters

Simple Idea Ordering is the foundation to everything I teach! It introduces teens to the essentials of not just how, but why we order in a certain way, using memorable visuals. This fun, interactive 30-minute course comes free as part of Stress-Free Structuring (see below) but you can also access it for free today by hitting the button just below.