Essay training made simple

Finally, a program written for teens, to teens!

Delivered in our private, easy-to-use online classroom space!

Help for High School: Year One is a self-directed academic writing program.

This year-long program teaches rhetorical thinking and the essay formats most commonly assigned in high school and college.

Included in this program:

Nine month-long modules of writing instruction
Exercises that build critical thinking and argumentative writing skills
Semester projects featuring two key essay formats
- Narrative Essay
- Informative Essay
Instruction in examining multiple perspectives and conducting research
Lessons on how to incorporate various rhetorical techniques
Samples and models for feedback are included

Modules are released once a month, beginning with Module One, available on August 15, 2026.

Help for High School: Year One teaches teens how to think, argue, and create their own powerful writing style at the same time.

Your teen will build the following skills:

developing a command of language
adapting writing for particular audiences
utilizing persuasive techniques in arguments
creating a supported argument
fostering a rhetorical imagination
comparing and contrasting viewpoints
discovering the role of narrative writing in academic formats
conducting research using credible sources
understanding viewpoint, bias, perspective, and facts
creating in-line citations and works cited
editing and revising for clarity and impact

This program is great for kids who are no longer struggling with writing. If your student has not written a report or finds it difficult to freewrite, start with the Building Confidence program. Learning those skills first will make Help for High School a much more successful experience.

Available in our custom-designed classroom. Students access each module in our online classroom where they move through the material at their own pace, independently. They can post writing in the classroom and comment on the posts of other students working through the program alongside them.

Watch a quick walk-through of the Help for High School classroom space and how it works here.

There is no live instructor associated with the Help for High School classroom. Your teens move at their own pace and set deadlines that work for them!

Note: Help for High School: Year One is one part of the High School Writers Bundle.

Here's an overview of what we will address in each month of this course.

You'll see nine months of material summarized below, but remember that this self-paced class is designed to be flexible. You can follow our suggested schedule or slow things down and/or reschedule tasks to fit your situation.

Module One: Writing Voice

To begin, you'll work on finding and molding your writing voice to serve varied writing situations and audiences.

Module Two: Find the Angles

Uncover the ways your identity and worldview impact how you perceive and interact with the world and how the perspective of others can influence what you read and write.

Module Three: Vivid Detail

Zoom in on particular experiences, memories, and scenes to engage and orient the reader using vivid detail and in-the-moment descriptions.

Module Four: Narrative Writing—Semester Project

You'll apply the skills practiced in earlier Modules to analyze narrative writing techniques and then draft, revise, and edit an original work.

Module Five: Curious Research

Follow the spark of your curiosity as you research a complex topic. You'll use the strategies employed by professional fact-checkers as you widen the net to find credible sources and multiple perspectives on your topic.

Module Six: Level up Language

Utilize precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and rhetorical devices to engage readers and make ideas memorable. You'll practice these skills in argumentative writing.

Module Seven: Surprise!

You'll dive into the most overlooked yet most powerful literary device: the element of surprise in writing. You'll discover the impact of surprise as a way to engage a reader and subvert expectations.

Module Eight: Hooks and Clinchers

Effectively introduce a topic to compel a reader to read more, and examine the role of the conclusion as a call to action, solution to a problem, or statement of relevance of the topic.

Module Nine: Informative Writing—Semester Project

You'll apply the skills practiced in earlier Modules to analyze informational writing techniques and then draft, revise, and edit an original work.

Help for High School: Year One contains some material from the former Help for High School manual, but has been revised and expanded into a year-long program with new content.