iew writing research papers

Writing To Learn

The Foundation of IEW Writing: Key Word Outlining

“Key Word Outlining” is the foundational writing skill that students first learn in the IEW method and Writing to Learn classes. As we progress through the different types of writing in the three levels, the way students choose the information for the key word outline (kwo) changes. Nevertheless, the kwo is always the catalyst for the writing process.

Why is Key Word Outlining so important?

Key Word Outlining is an efficient note-taking method which also helps make writing original. When the “rules” are followed, students are freed from the wording of the original source. Students who learn to key word outline will never need to plagiarize, “copy and paste,” or use Artificial Intelligence to produce a paper. Key Word Outlining trains them to minimally note the information, leaving them free to write in their own words.

The natural way to be original

Saying things in one’s own way is completely natural. Think of hearing someone relate a story or an interesting news item. No one would use the exact words of the original speaker when repeating the information. People tend to remember the facts that they think are the most important or most interesting and repeat them in their own words.

Unfortunately, words on a page are not so easily escaped. The challenge in writing from written sources is to separate oneself from the original source. That allows the writer to write freely in their own original words. Key Word Outlining is the easiest way to escape the trap of repeating a source.

How to make a key word outline

Here are the “rules” we use in PREP-1 and Level 1 when we first start key word outlining:

For each sentence or fact, pick out 3 words that are most important and convey the most information about the fact. Sentence/Fact #1 is “1.” Sentence/Fact #2 is “2”, etc.
You may use abbreviations, symbols, and numbers in place of words. These are “free”; they do not count for your 3 words. Use standard abbreviations. The symbols should be recognizable enough that you will be able to remember what it means when you come back to your outline at a later time.
For each fact, list 3 Key Words and any numbers, symbols, and abbreviations. Do not try to reproduce entire sentences for your outline. Be as brief as possible. You want to be able to write the ideas in your own words. Using too many words from the original makes it difficult to be original yourself.
You may use synonyms in your KWO in place of the original word(s). Sometimes a good synonym can be used to take the place of 2-3 words.

From Basic to complex

After students master the basics of key word outlining, they are ready to advance to the next kwo stage: taking notes from multiple paragraphs, then multiple sources to create a “fused outline” for research papers. Later comes story kwos, then “writing from the brain” kwos, and essay kwos. All of the advanced models build on the simple, effective, basic Key Word Outlines. The results are remarkable.

For a demonstration of basic Key Word Outlining, see the video below from a recent PREP-1 class. A pdf of the “Sea Turtles” paragraph and a list of Key Word Outlining symbols and abbreviations can also be downloaded below.

Published by Jennifer Kimbrell

View all posts by Jennifer Kimbrell

4 thoughts on “ The Foundation of IEW Writing: Key Word Outlining ”

Pingback: Summer IEW Prep Course! - Writing To Learn
Pingback: Keyword Outline Mastery Made Simple

I have a question about KWO and complex sentences.

I recently learned about KWO because I started teaching it at a hybrid school, and I’ve started implementing it for my studies. I’m a PhD archaeology student and am at the dissertation stage. I read and take a lot of notes. I’ve been able to implement three words KWO for short sentences, but for longer sentences, have been very difficult to pick only three words. Do you divide the KW by clauses? Do I pick out the pertinent facts? But what I’m reading is very data-driven, and the sentences are dense. I would appreciate any advice you could share.

Example Sentence: “The agoras in these newly created urban spaces were expressions of the regional identity of the societies in question and were modeled on these communities’ self-understanding as urban societies within their regional and imperial context.”

I picked: Agoras, new, spaces, expression, regional ID, create self-understanding, in regional & imperial context.

Way more than three words, but that sentence is jam-packed with important information.

As a Ph.D. student, I like KWO, and I wish I had learned it as a (much) younger student. It has revolutionized how I take notes and approach sources. Thank you for the model.

Thanks, Rebekah R.

Rebekah, that is so exciting that you have discovered the value of key word outlining! I was in my 40’s when I first started to learn it, and I had the same reaction: Why didn’t anyone ever teach this to me? It is so simple, yet so effective and useful.

You have learned the basic idea and skill of key word outlining and now you can expand it for more complex notetaking, which is what I teach beginning in the 3rd session of my Level 1 class.

You are right. It is not practical to write just three words from every sentence in an academic article or a book. That would be far too unwieldy. Therefore, for complex sources, you must use a more advanced note-taking method for key word outlines.

At your stage of notetaking, think of taking notes of IDEAS and FACTS, not sentence by sentence; instead of paragraphs>sentences, break your outlines into topics>facts & ideas. For very complex sentences that contain more than one fact/idea, you certainly can and must have an outline point for EACH. You will note each idea or fact using up to FOUR key words now, plus numbers, symbols, and abbreviations. If there are details you don’t need, just leave them out. You don’t have to key word outline every sentence; only notate ideas and facts that you want to remember.

The point of key word outlining is to put down the bare information about a fact or idea without copying the original source. Assuming you understand the ideas and information, it is completely natural to put ideas/information in your own words. These stripped-down notes will allow you to formulate your own unique expression of them without being hampered by the original wording of the source.

I’m a retired homeschool mom. When one of my sons was taking a difficult chemistry course and not doing very well, I required him to start key word outlining every chapter. He was really mad. 🙂 But I told him, “You don’t have to go sentence by sentence, but I want you to note the main idea and facts of each paragraph.” It didn’t take long for him to tell me that he was reading and understanding it better, and not long after that, his grade started to improve. He ultimately earned a B in that class, and we both were thrilled. Key word outlining helps the reader to focus on the MOST IMPORTANT.

It’s so simple and so beautiful, isn’t it? My most accomplished students continue to use key word outlining into college and beyond. If you want some handouts about this, I can send them to you if you let me know through my Contact tab! I never tire of discussing it!

Share a comment or a question! Cancel reply

Discover more from writing to learn.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Supplementary Downloads

To download e-books that are included with your hardcopy book, please follow the directions below, which are also found in the blue page in the front of your book.

If you purchased the hardcopy books through the IEW website, the supplementary/free e-books are under your Files tab.

Log in to your online customer account at IEW.com. If you do not have an account, you will need to create one.
After you are logged in, type the link on the blue page in your book into the address bar (not the IEW search box).
Click the red arrow, and then click the checkboxes next to the names of the files you wish to place in your account.
Click the Add to My Files button.

For books published by a company other than IEW or for products that do not have a blue page (i.e., DVDs or CDs), please find the download link location in the list below.

SBC-DO - Speech Boot Camp (on the back of the case or on each disc)
SSO - Structure and Style Overview DVD (on disc)
GPP - A Writer’s Guide to Powerful Paragraphs (on sticker inside front or back cover)

Free Downloads

IEW Book Recommendations
-ly Adverbs: Combined List
Free Language Arts Lessons
Letter to the Editor
Nurturing Competent Communicators by Andrew Pudewa [Audio Talk]
Four Deadly Errors by Andrew Pudewa [Audio Talk]
Reaching the Reluctant Writer by Andrew Pudewa [Audio Talk]
Spelling and the Brain by Andrew Pudewa [Audio Talk]

(To save a file from above to your computer, right-click on the link and select "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As...")

This class is no longer available, but we found something similar!

Private Reading Tutor: K-2nd Grade Phonics, Blending, Guided Reading

1:1 Write a Novel With Published Novelist Kim Purcell

1:1 ACT/SAT English and Reading Tutoring

Fictional Story Quick Write, 1:1 Tutor (20+ Yrs Experience, 3-8 Grade)

Private Tutoring: The Writing Process, 1:1 Essay Writing Help

English Assessment for ESL Students

Iew style research papers, reports, and essays.

Class experience

Group Class

This class is no longer offered, financial assistance , outschool international , get the app .

More to Explore

Classes by age , classes by grade .

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

Writing Research Papers: The Essential Tools (Student Book only)

To view this video download Flash Player

Writing Research Papers: The Essential Tools (Student Book only) Spiral-bound – January 1, 2012

Language English
Publisher Institute for Excellence in Writing
Publication date January 1, 2012
ISBN-10 0984549684
ISBN-13 978-0984549689
See all details

Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Customers who bought this item also bought

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Institute for Excellence in Writing; First Edition (January 1, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0984549684
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0984549689
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
Best Sellers Rank: #2,119,334 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books )

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Amazon Newsletter
About Amazon
Accessibility
Sustainability
Press Center
Investor Relations
Amazon Devices
Amazon Science
Sell on Amazon
Sell apps on Amazon
Supply to Amazon
Protect & Build Your Brand
Become an Affiliate
Become a Delivery Driver
Start a Package Delivery Business
Advertise Your Products
Self-Publish with Us
Become an Amazon Hub Partner
› See More Ways to Make Money
Amazon Visa
Amazon Store Card
Amazon Secured Card
Amazon Business Card
Shop with Points
Credit Card Marketplace
Reload Your Balance
Amazon Currency Converter
Your Account
Your Orders
Shipping Rates & Policies
Amazon Prime
Returns & Replacements
Manage Your Content and Devices
Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
Your Ads Privacy Choices

WellTrainedMind.com
WTMAcademy.com
K-8 Curriculum Board
Existing user? Sign In

Can you explain the difference between EIW and IEW?

By Mom28kds , March 5, 2015 in K-8 Curriculum Board

Reply to this topic
Start new topic

Link to comment

Share on other sites, onestepatatime.

I know nothing about EIW, so I can't help there.

IEW is very systematic. For those who struggle with the mechanics of writing, their main program can be an excellent fit. And they have updated their teacher DVDs so if you didn't mind the old ones you might be able to get those pretty cheaply. Or just go for the updated version. The system has DVDs for the teacher and DVDs for the student so the teacher gets taught and the student can learn from the DVDs with the teacher just acting as facilitator or as the teacher and the DVDs are just a supplement, depending on how much hand holding you need. You can just get one or the other but many get both and find it quite helpful. I got both. After you finish the main writing program, they have a ton of additional materials to cover writing all the way through 12th grade. But this program can feel like a hindrance for natural writers, especially if they are really good at creative writing, so it can get a bad wrap. For those that need step by step instruction this is a gift. :)

For your age of kids you could easily start with Level A and use it for all three at the same time. After completing Level A, you could pick themed units for the kids for the following year, if you wanted.

What are you referring to as EIW?

Essentials in Writing

MerryAtHope

I've only used part of IEW's SWI C and all of Essentials 7-10, so I can't compare the lower levels of each of these programs, and there will be parts of IEW I can't speak to.

Most IEW C videos were about 30 minutes long. Several video sessions didn't clearly mark the ending point, and you had to look at the guide to know when they ended and watch the time stamp (which our DVD player at the time didn't have...)

Essentials videos are usually 3-5 minutes and it's very much as the author describes it--a "Math-U-See" approach to writing. He explains a concept and the aspect that you are to work on, then demonstrates what that process might be like, complete with thinking out loud, occasional mistakes or changing your mind as a writer might do, and so on. Then the student works on that one aspect for that day.

IEW teaches key word outlining (pick 3 key words for a sentence, write those down, and then recreate your own sentence that means the same thing from the key words--you can then recreate paragraphs and short stories). My son enjoyed this process and found it beneficial. The lessons beyond that point really didn't work for us.

We found that Essentials was much more incremental--it broke things down into steps more, which my reluctant writer really needed. Perhaps he would have done better with IEW B, hard to say.

Essentials made it easy to teach--it was very much open and go. I didn't find myself having to ask questions to understand an assignment, which I occasionally did with IEW.

I think with IEW, you have to take a longer time to understand the whole process in order to be able to teach it well--or it just approaches things in a way that's not intuitive to me, hard to say! I know many people love it. I've been to a couple of the 2 hour seminars for IEW, so I do have a sense of the process...but I found it hard to just jump in and teach it. Maybe if I had started in elementary years and hadn't felt the push of high school, I wouldn't have minded the "not getting it" stage as much. I tried watching the teacher videos (TWSS) but had trouble tracking with them, and struggled with the organization (somehow I never had the right papers when I needed them for a lesson. Others on the IEW email loop didn't seem to struggle with this, but I've since had a few people tell me they did).

Essentials is more a program that you can learn as you go--somehow I didn't feel I needed to understand his whole thought process before beginning. Or maybe it's that I could understand it organizationally--in 7-10, we worked on clauses and sentences, then paragraphs, then essays and research papers. It was obvious that we were using building blocks to gradually structure longer pieces of writing. (I suspect that in younger levels you are breaking that process down a bit more by working on grammar as one of your building blocks to learning how to structure language.)

I came away from IEW remembering the "terms" like key word outlines, dress-ups and so forth. My son really needed help understanding how to organize his thoughts and put together a cohesive paper. I think IEW may spend more time in the "mess" of writing, while Essentials got us more quickly to that point of understanding how to create a structure. In some ways, IEW was indirectly teaching that structure through the key word outlines (because you are using someone else's structure as a model for your own). Essentials instead directly taught "do this, now do this..." My oldest especially responds better to very direct teaching like that.

IEW has a great track record for being hugely successful, and I don't think you can go wrong with trying it, especially if you think it will be a good fit. Essentials is newer but has had a lot of positive feedback over the last 4 years it's been around.

Both have guarantees. IEW has an amazing lifetime guarantee. Essentials offers an unconditional refund on materials--time frame not specified that I've seen.

IEW is a bigger investment up front.

Both are in Cathy Duffy's top 102 picks:

Cathy Duffy review for Essentials in Writing

Cathy Duffy review for IEW

HTH to some extent!

sweetpea3829

Merry, thank-you. I am not the OP, but have been following along, as both of these curricula are on my watch list.

Saddlemomma

We're using Jump In this year for DD, who is a reluctant writer. It's been good for her. I didn't know what to use for next year. It was going to be a choice between IEW or EIW. I went with EIW 7 figuring we will skip the grammar portion.

After reading this thread, I'm so glad I chose EIW. Thanks everyone.

I've only used part of IEW's SWI C and all of Essentials 7-10, so I can't compare the lower levels of each of these programs, and there will be parts of IEW I can't speak to. Most IEW C videos were about 30 minutes long. Several video sessions didn't clearly mark the ending point, and you had to look at the guide to know when they ended and watch the time stamp (which our DVD player at the time didn't have...) Essentials videos are usually 3-5 minutes and it's very much as the author describes it--a "Math-U-See" approach to writing. He explains a concept and the aspect that you are to work on, then demonstrates what that process might be like, complete with thinking out loud, occasional mistakes or changing your mind as a writer might do, and so on. Then the student works on that one aspect for that day. IEW teaches key word outlining (pick 3 key words for a sentence, write those down, and then recreate your own sentence that means the same thing from the key words--you can then recreate paragraphs and short stories). My son enjoyed this process and found it beneficial. The lessons beyond that point really didn't work for us. We found that Essentials was much more incremental--it broke things down into steps more, which my reluctant writer really needed. Perhaps he would have done better with IEW B, hard to say. Essentials made it easy to teach--it was very much open and go. I didn't find myself having to ask questions to understand an assignment, which I occasionally did with IEW. I think with IEW, you have to take a longer time to understand the whole process in order to be able to teach it well--or it just approaches things in a way that's not intuitive to me, hard to say! I know many people love it. I've been to a couple of the 2 hour seminars for IEW, so I do have a sense of the process...but I found it hard to just jump in and teach it. Maybe if I had started in elementary years and hadn't felt the push of high school, I wouldn't have minded the "not getting it" stage as much. I tried watching the teacher videos (TWSS) but had trouble tracking with them, and struggled with the organization (somehow I never had the right papers when I needed them for a lesson. Others on the IEW email loop didn't seem to struggle with this, but I've since had a few people tell me they did). Essentials is more a program that you can learn as you go--somehow I didn't feel I needed to understand his whole thought process before beginning. Or maybe it's that I could understand it organizationally--in 7-10, we worked on clauses and sentences, then paragraphs, then essays and research papers. It was obvious that we were using building blocks to gradually structure longer pieces of writing. (I suspect that in younger levels you are breaking that process down a bit more by working on grammar as one of your building blocks to learning how to structure language.) I came away from IEW remembering the "terms" like key word outlines, dress-ups and so forth. My son really needed help understanding how to organize his thoughts and put together a cohesive paper. I think IEW may spend more time in the "mess" of writing, while Essentials got us more quickly to that point of understanding how to create a structure. In some ways, IEW was indirectly teaching that structure through the key word outlines (because you are using someone else's structure as a model for your own). Essentials instead directly taught "do this, now do this..." My oldest especially responds better to very direct teaching like that. IEW has a great track record for being hugely successful, and I don't think you can go wrong with trying it, especially if you think it will be a good fit. Essentials is newer but has had a lot of positive feedback over the last 4 years it's been around. Both have guarantees. IEW has an amazing lifetime guarantee. Essentials offers an unconditional refund on materials--time frame not specified that I've seen. IEW is a bigger investment up front. Both are in Cathy Duffy's top 102 picks: Cathy Duffy review for Essentials in Writing Cathy Duffy review for IEW HTH to some extent!

This is exactly what I needed! Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me :)

Thank you MerryatHope! Your post was very helpful.

Writing is the one thing I am having a hard time deciding for Doodle's 6th grade year. I was also looking at the sample from WWS1 last night and am now considering that as an option as well.

We only used EIW briefly. We didnt even finish out the year with it. I liked the concept of it, but I wasn't impressed. It was more worksheet like- watch the short video. Do these pieces of writing on a worksheet. It wasn't hard, or time consuming, but we just didn't stick with it. I didn't feel like things were explained or demonstrated very well. That may just be me though.

IEW on the other hand we have stuck with. We do use the videos where he teaches directly to the kids, and I do watch the teacher videos. That was my plan with either curriculum- to use the DVDs to teach the students. I don't know if I could have implemented it as well on my own. We did Swi a the first year, and are in SICC a this year. We've learned a lot and the kids have done tons of writing, and they know how to approach a writing assignment and start, instead of sitting there with a blank stare. That is the best part.

We only used EIW briefly. We didnt even finish out the year with it. I liked the concept of it, but I wasn't impressed. It was more worksheet like- watch the short video. Do these pieces of writing on a worksheet. It wasn't hard, or time consuming, but we just didn't stick with it. I didn't feel like things were explained or demonstrated very well. That may just be me though. IEW on the other hand we have stuck with. We do use the videos where he teaches directly to the kids, and I do watch the teacher videos. That was my plan with either curriculum- to use the DVDs to teach the students. I don't know if I could have implemented it as well on my own. We did Swi a the first year, and are in SICC a this year. We've learned a lot and the kids have done tons of writing, and they know how to approach a writing assignment and start, instead of sitting there with a blank stare. That is the best part.

Having done both, am I understanding that your kids learned better with IEW? If so, why do you think this was? Do you think the teacher videos are necessary?

We've only used IEW, and it has worked wonders for my reluctant writer. I was surprised that a pp posted that it wasn't incremental enough, because being so incremental is exactly why it has worked so well for us. :)

Like anything else, what works for any kid is highly subjective. I've learned that no matter how much research I do and how many success/horror stories I read, at some point I just have to jump in and make a decision. It's just curricula, no big deal if it doesn't work out for yours.

Yes, they did. The teacher videos are longer and have much more explanation. The assignments require more paragraph writng and practice than the worksheet type assignments we got in EIW. The videos were necessary for us. Writing wasn't an area I felt super great about teaching; I did not want to correct their writing. That can be a personal thing, you know? And with three kids at the same age and level, I didn't really want to mess up. I had no guinea pigs. However, with the grading checklist he provides, and the expectations, for both student and teacher, that he lays outs in the respective videos, it was very do-able. He also reads lots of student papers, so they can hear other kids papers. they can hear for themselves which ones sound better than others and figure out why. And they look forward to his jokes :).

I used EIW3 as an afterschooling project and I feel it was beneficial. I think for an only writing programme you would have to do each writing lesson several times and do something like WWE alongside the grammar potion.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

× Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead

Only 75 emoji are allowed.

× Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead

× Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor

× You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Insert image from URL
Submit Reply
Leaderboard
Board Rules
All Activity
Classifieds
Create New...

Create a List
Cathy Duffy Reviews Home >
Homeschool Reviews Sorted by... >
Homeschool Reviews By Publisher >
Institute for Excellence in Writing

Homeschool Reviews By Publisher

Reviews of homeschooling products published by: institute for excellence in writing.

The links below are reviews by Cathy Duffy for Homeschooling products published by: Institute for Excellence in Writing

Timeline of Classics: Historical Context for the Good and Great Books

The phonetic zoo (excellence in spelling), advanced spelling and vocabulary, windows to the world: an introduction to literary analysis, primary arts of language: reading & writing, bible-based writing lessons in structure and style, the elegant essay writing lessons: building blocks for analytical writing, teaching writing: structure and style writing seminar, history-based writing lessons in structure and style, fix it grammar series, outmatched history card games, structure and style for students, cursive knowledge, a word write now: a thematic thesaurus for stylized writing, speech boot camp: introduction to public speaking, linguistic development through poetry memorization, wonders of science writing lessons, core curricula.

Art & Music
Bible & Religion
Catholic Curricula
Composition & Grammar
Early Learning / Preschool
Foreign Language
Handwriting
History & Geography
Grade Level Packages & Courses
Math Supplements
Phonics & Reading
Spelling & Vocabulary
Unit Studies & All-In-One Programs

Note: Publishers, authors, and service providers never pay to be reviewed. They do provide free review copies or online access to programs for review purposes.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guidelines Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Our Top Proficient Writers At Your Essays Service

Finished Papers

Customer Reviews

Words to pages
Pages to words