This article is for students who want to work independently at home (without teacher support).
Writing is like any other skill: the more you practice, the better you’ll get at it!
To build a habit of writing practice, set up a daily schedule for yourself. Here’s what we recommend:
Practice topics for 20–30 minutes a day
Try following our NoRedInk Practice Plan. Or, if you prefer, choose your own topics that interest you!
- Pick some topics to start with.
- Set a goal to work for 20 to 30 minutes. Then, take a break. Don’t try to do too much at once!
- Try taking notes as you look at lessons or tutorials to help you remember what you’ve learned.
Write for 15–30 minutes a day
Try following our Quick Write Challenge!
- Find a good spot to be your “writing spot.” Try to pick a place without distractions, where you’ll be able to keep your focus.
- Choose your method for writing (e.g., computer, pencil and paper).
- Set a timer for 15 minutes, or look at a clock to figure out your ending time.
- Find the prompt of the day in our Quick Write Challenge. Feel free to write about a different topic if you already have something in mind that you feel strongly about!
- Start writing! Challenge yourself to keep writing until the timer goes off.
Track your progress!
Keep track of the number of days in a row you complete your practice and writing! Try using our practice record sheet to help you record your accomplishments.
You can also feel free to set your own schedule and goals! Check out our Tips for Setting Your Own Goals to help you plan your time and set specific goals that are appropriate for you.
NoRedInk Practice Plan
Click the links below to start practicing!
If you don’t finish, it’s OK to take a break and try again tomorrow. If you answer the first 3 questions correctly, the topic might be too easy for you—feel free to skip to the next topic.
Week 1: Noun Skills
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Day 1: Nouns Learn what common and proper nouns are and how to spot them. |
Tutorial: Common and Proper Nouns Practice: Identifying Concrete Nouns Bonus: Identifying Common Nouns |
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Day 2: Capitalizing names Practice capitalizing names like “Mr. Johnson” or “Aunt Mary.” |
Practice: Capitalizing Names and Social Titles Practice: Capitalizing Family Titles |
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Day 3: Capitalizing places Practice capitalizing names like “New York” or “Springfield High School.” |
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Day 4: Possessive nouns Practice using apostrophes in words like “teachers” and “teacher’s.” |
Practice: Recognizing Plurals and Possessives Practice: Forming Singular Possessives 1 |
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Day 5: Trickier possessives Practice using apostrophes before and after “s.” |
Tutorial: Forming Plural Possessives Practice: Forming Possessives from Regular Plurals |
Week 2: Subjects and Verbs
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Day 6: Subjects Learn what a subject is and how to spot one in a sentence. |
Tutorial: Subject of a Sentence Practice: Identifying the Subject of a Sentence |
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Day 7: Verbs Learn what a verb is and how to spot one in a sentence. |
Tutorial: Action Verbs Practice: Identifying the Verb in a Sentence |
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Day 8: Trickier subjects and verbs Practice spotting trickier types of subjects and verbs, like “it” or “will be going.” |
Practice: Identifying Pronouns as Subjects Practice: Identifying Verbs in Simple, Progressive, and Perfect Tenses |
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Day 9: Subject-verb agreement Practice using verbs correctly based on the subject. |
Practice: Agreement with Simple Subjects |
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Day 10: More than one subject Practice using verbs correctly with compound subjects, like “a cake or a pie.” |
Tutorial: Using Verbs with “Or” and “Nor” Practice: Agreement with “Or” and “Nor” Compounds |
Week 3: Adjectives and Adverbs
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Day 11: Adjectives Learn what an adjective is and how it works in a sentence. |
Tutorial: What Does the Adjective Describe? Practice: What Does the Adjective Describe? |
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Day 12: Adverbs Learn what an adverb is and how it works in a sentence. |
Practice: What Does the Adverb Describe? |
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Day 13: Adjectives and adverbs Practice differentiating between adjectives and adverbs. |
Tutorial: Adverbs and Adjectives Practice: Is the Word an Adverb or Adjective? |
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Day 14: Using adjectives and adverbs correctly Practice choosing whether to use an adjective or an adverb in a sentence. |
Practice: Using Adverbs and Adjectives |
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Day 15: Comparing with adjectives Practice using adjectives to compare, such as “taller” or “more interesting.” |
Tutorial: Forming Comparative Adjectives Practice: Forming Comparative Adjectives |
Week 4: Complete Sentences
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Day 16: Complete thoughts Practice deciding whether a part of a sentence is a complete thought. |
Practice: Is the Thought Complete or Incomplete? Practice: Identifying Dependent Clauses |
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Day 17: Fragments Practice distinguishing complete sentences from fragments. |
Practice: Recognizing Sentences and Fragments Practice: Sentences and Fragments with "That," "Which," and "Especially" |
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Day 18: Run-ons Practice using punctuation to fix run-on sentences. |
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Day 19: Commas Practice using commas correctly. |
Practice: Commas with Items in a Series |
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Day 20: Commonly confused words Practice using “its” and “it’s” correctly. |
Tutorial: "It's" vs. "Its" Practice: "It's" vs. "Its" |
Week 5: Quotations and Titles
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Day 21: Commonly confused words Practice using “who’s” and “whose” correctly. |
Practice: ”Who’s” vs. “Whose” |
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Day 22: Capitalizing quotes Practice deciding when to capitalize the first letter of a quote. |
Tutorial: Capitalizing Quotes Practice: Capitalizing Quotes |
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Day 23: Formatting quotes Practice using capitalization and punctuation correctly when writing quotes. |
Tutorial: Punctuating and Capitalizing Quotes Practice: Formatting Dialogue and Flow Quotes 1 |
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Day 24: Capitalizing and formatting titles Practice using capitalization, italics, and quotation marks correctly when writing titles. |
Tutorial: Capitalizing and Formatting Titles Practice: Capitalizing and Formatting Titles 1 |
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Day 25: Commonly confused words Practice using “their,” “there,” and “they’re” correctly. |
Practice: ”Their” vs. “There” vs. “They’re” |
Week 6: Linking Ideas with Conjunctions
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Day 26: Linking ideas with FANBOYS Practice using words like “and,” “but,” and “so” to connect two ideas. |
Tutorial: What Is the Conjunction’s Function? Practice: Using the Appropriate FANBOYS Bonus: Correcting FANBOYS Errors |
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Day 27: Commas with FANBOYS Practice using commas correctly with words like “and,” “but,” and “so.” |
Tutorial: Using Commas with FANBOYS Practice: Evaluating Commas with FANBOYS |
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Day 28: Linking ideas with THAMOs Practice using words like “however” and “also” to connect two ideas. |
Tutorial: Using THAMOs Between Complete Thoughts Practice: Identifying THAMOs (Conjunctive Adverbs) |
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Day 29: Commas with THAMOs Practice using commas correctly with words like “however” and “also.” |
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Day 30: Commonly confused words Practice using “to,” “too,” and “two” correctly. |
Practice: ”To” vs. “Too” vs. “Two” |
Week 7: More Conjunctions and Pronoun Case
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Day 31: Linking ideas with SWABIs Practice using words like “while” and “because” to connect two ideas. |
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Day 32: Commas with SWABIs Practice using commas correctly with words like “while” and “because.” |
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Day 33: Pronoun case Practice choosing the correct pronoun, such as “they” vs. “them,” to use in a sentence. |
Tutorial: Replacing Nouns with Pronouns Practice: Using Subject and Object Pronouns |
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Day 34: Trickier pronoun case Practice using the correct pronoun in compound phrases, such as “Natalie and he.” |
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Day 35: Commonly confused words Practice using “who” and “whom” correctly. |
Tutorial: ”Who” vs. “Whom” Practice: ”Who” vs. “Whom” |
Week 8: Active Voice and Misplaced Modifiers
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Day 36: Understanding active and passive voice Practice spotting active voice and passive voice in sentences. |
Tutorial: What Are Active and Passive Voice? Practice: Is the Sentence Active or Passive? |
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Day 37: Using active voice Practice rearranging sentences to be in active voice. |
Tutorial: Creating Active Voice Sentences Practice: Creating Active Voice Sentences 1 |
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Day 38: Identifying misplaced modifiers Practice identifying misplaced modifiers that imply the wrong meaning, such as “I saw a deer driving down the street.” |
Tutorial: Interpreting Modifiers Practice: Interpreting Misplaced Modifiers |
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Day 39: Fixing misplaced modifiers Practice rearranging sentences so that the modifiers are placed correctly. |
Tutorial: Identifying Misplaced Modifiers Practice: Correcting Misplaced Modifier Errors 1 |
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Day 40: Commonly confused words Practice using “good” and “well” correctly. |
Practice: “Good” vs. “Well” |
Week 9: Language and Style
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Day 41: Vague pronouns Practice spotting pronouns that could refer to more than one thing in the sentence. |
Tutorial: Vague Pronouns |
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Day 42: More vague language Practice finding words and phrases that could be revised to be more specific. |
Tutorial: Vague Language Practice: Identifying Vague Words and Phrases 1 |
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Day 43: Wordy language Practice finding phrases that could be revised to use fewer words. |
Tutorial: Recognizing Unnecessary Phrases Practice: Recognizing Redundant, Unnecessary, and Wordy Phrases |
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Day 44: Formal and informal language Practice telling the difference between everyday informal language and the formal language you should use for writing papers. |
Tutorial: Formal and Informal Language Practice: Recognizing Language That Is Too Formal or Too Informal |
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Day 45: Commonly confused words Practice using “lay” and “lie” correctly. |
Practice: “Lay” vs. “Lie” |
NoRedInk Quick Write Challenge
Find the prompt of the day below, and challenge yourself to write for at least 15 minutes!
Week 1
- Day 1: If you could create a soundtrack for your life, what songs would you include and why? Discuss at least two songs and explain why you picked them.
- Day 2: Would you rather be able to fly or turn invisible? Why? What would you do with your power? What problems would having this power cause?
- Day 3: Write a story made up entirely of if-then sentences. Start your story with “If it rains today, then I’ll wear my yellow jacket,” and end with “If that song repeats one more time, then I’ll start doing cartwheels.” How do these two if-then scenarios tie together?
- Day 4: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Imagination is more important than knowledge. Explain your position.
- Day 5: Imagine you’re exploring space and you come across aliens who have never been to Earth. How would you describe money to them?
Week 2
- Day 6: If you could make one thing (an item or a service) in the world free of charge to everyone, what would you choose and why? How would this change the world?
- Day 7: Write a jingle to advertise your favorite dessert to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” What is so special about this dessert? How can you describe it in a memorable, catchy way?
- Day 8: Pick a celebrity or famous figure you admire and imagine swapping places with this person for the day. What would you do? Write a story about your day.
- Day 9: Describe a new character you would add to your favorite book, television show, or movie. What does your character look like? What would the character’s role be? How would your character get along with the existing characters?
- Day 10: Write a diary entry from the perspective of a well-worn shoe. Imagine it's been the most exciting day of your life. Describe what happened, what you noticed, and how you are feeling.
Week 3
- Day 11: Write a suspenseful scene that starts like this: "The floorboards creaked as I crept down the hallway. My heart thumping, I reached for the door knob."
- Day 12: Write a nine-line poem with nine words in the first line, eight words in the second line, and so forth, until the last line has only one word. Feel free to write about anything you'd like, but challenge yourself to stick to the structure! If you're not sure where to start, try thinking of that last word first.
- Day 13: Think of someone who has made an impact on your life but might not know it. Write a thank you letter to this person. Explain how they have helped you or what you have learned from them.
- Day 14: Write a short news article based on a scene from a fairy tale. First, present a headline, like "Party Guests Shocked as Carriage Turns Into Pumpkin" (from Cinderella). Then, report what happened, including quotes from eyewitnesses.
- Day 15: Imagine you're going to time travel 100 years into the future. Describe what you expect to see and do on your trip. How do you predict life will be different?
Week 4
- Day 16: Find a photo that means something to you (on your phone, in a photo album, or online). Describe the scene in the photo, then tell the story behind it. Explain where and when the photo is from and why it's important to you.
- Day 17: Imagine you're a superhero on your day off. You just want to have a relaxing day, but you get called to the rescue for a silly request. What happens next? Describe the scene.
- Day 18: Should Instagram and other social media sites display exactly how many "likes" a post receives? Write a paragraph arguing whether counting "likes" has a more positive or negative impact on users.
- Day 19: Cartoon characters often wear the same outfit at all times (think SpongeBob SquarePants or Scrooge McDuck!), and their clothes give the audience clues about their personalities. If you were a cartoon character, what would you wear? Describe your outfit and explain what it would say about you.
- Day 20: Visualize yourself doing an everyday activity like washing dishes or brushing your teeth. Now, describe the scene the way a sports commentator would, making every action sound as dramatic as possible.
Week 5
- Day 21: Write the beginning of a fictional story that starts with this line: “This was the last time I would agree to one of Greg’s plans.” (Feel free to swap out “Greg” for a different name!)
- Day 22: Imagine you’ve just dug up a time capsule that you buried five years ago. What would be inside? Describe at least three items from the time capsule and explain what each one meant to you five years ago. Would the items still be important to you now?
- Day 23: If you had a robot as a personal assistant, what tasks or activities would you want it to help you with? What tasks would you prefer to do without your robot’s help? Explain your thinking.
- Day 24: Write a review of a song you’ve heard recently. Explain what you like or dislike about the song, including details about both the music and the lyrics. Who would you recommend this song to?
- Day 25: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? "If you’re with your friends, you should avoid checking your phone." Write a paragraph to persuade others of your opinion.
Week 6
- Day 26: Choose an object in the room you’re in. Now, imagine you’re a salesperson trying to convince someone to buy it. Describe the object, making it sound as interesting, beautiful, or useful as possible.
- Day 27: Would you rather be known for always saying the right thing, or for being a good listener? Explain why.
- Day 28: Is a hotdog a sandwich, or not? Explain your position.
- Day 29: Imagine you had the ability to rewind life for ten minutes at a time. How would you use this power? Would this ability be more dangerous or helpful for yourself and others? Explain your answer.
- Day 30: Pretend you’re a dog, and write an email to another dog about everything you saw, smelled, heard, touched, and tasted during a recent trip to the park.
Week 7
- Day 31: If you could invent a holiday to celebrate anything—such as a favorite food, one of your role models, or a historic event—what would you celebrate? How and why should others observe your invented holiday?
- Day 32: Write a paragraph about an act of kindness you participated in or experienced during the past month. Describe what happened, and explain how you felt after.
- Day 33: Write a letter to convince a production company like Netflix or Disney to turn one of your favorite books or video games into a TV show. Why would this book or game make an enjoyable series? Who should play the main characters? Which part of the book or game would you be most excited to watch?
- Day 34: Imagine being suddenly transported to a fictional world from a book, movie, or television show for one day. Tell the story of what happens to you over the course of the day. Include details about the places you visit and the people you meet.
- Day 35: What’s something that you used to like or do that you now find slightly embarrassing? Why do you think your feelings have changed?
Week 8
- Day 36: Imagine a dance-off between two of your favorite TV or cartoon characters. Write a paragraph describing the scene. Include details about the music, the dance moves, and who wins.
- Day 37: Think about a fictional business (like the Leaky Cauldron inn from the world of Harry Potter or Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory). Pretend you’re a customer and write a Yelp review of the business. Describe what was good or bad about the employees, the location, and your experience.
- Day 38: If you could give one piece of advice to a character from your favorite book or movie, what would you say and why?
- Day 39: Would you rather receive an object (like an item of clothing or an electronic device) or an experience (like tickets to a concert or sports game) as a gift? Why?
- Day 40: Invent a character who is the exact opposite of you. Imagine that you meet this character one day while reaching for the same item in the grocery store. Describe what happens in a way that reveals the differences between the two of you.
Week 9
- Day 41: If you were playing a lead role in a movie, would you rather play a hero or a villain? Write a paragraph explaining what you would do in this role and why you would be good at it.
- Day 42: What’s your favorite activity to do when you want to cheer yourself up? Briefly describe the activity and explain how it improves your mood.
- Day 43: Pick an animal and list the first three words that come to your mind when you think of it. Then, write a description that makes it clear which animal you picked without using its name or any of those three words.
- Day 44: Imagine waking up tomorrow morning and suddenly being ten years older. How would you feel about it? What two things would you do first?
- Day 45: Imagine you could create two new rules that everyone in your home has to follow. These rules can be as serious or silly as you want. What changes would you make, and why?
Week 10
- Day 46: Write a short story that starts with this line: “In my pocket, I had a candy wrapper, a ticket stub, and my uncle’s credit card.”
- Day 47: What is the most amazing thing you have seen in nature or outdoors? Describe the experience and use details to paint a picture of what you saw for your reader.
- Day 48: Would you rather be the best player on a struggling sports team or the least skilled player on a great team? Explain your choice.
- Day 49: Imagine a genie granted you a magic wish, but events didn’t turn out the way you expected them to. Tell the story of what you wished for and what went wrong.
- Day 50: Imagine you want to convince your English teacher to assign your favorite book for the whole class to read. Write a paragraph presenting your argument for why your classmates would like this book and what they could learn from it.
Week 11
- Day 51: Would you rather have to listen to music all the time, or never be able to listen to music at all? Why?
- Day 52: Write a rhyme to teach an adult who’s intimidated by technology how to make a video call. If you’re not sure where to start, try having your lines rhyme with “call.”
- Day 53: Imagine this: you walk into your classroom on the first day of school to discover that your favorite fictional character is your new teacher! Write a short story about what happens during the day.
- Day 54: If you created your own museum about one of your interests, what would you put in it? Write a paragraph describing the exhibits or items in your museum. Explain what you would want visitors to learn from their visit.
- Day 55: Write a paragraph that starts like this: “I’ve never been more pleasantly surprised than when....” Feel free to make your paragraph as light-hearted or serious as you’d like.
Feeling stuck?
Strategies for practice
If you’ve gotten a question wrong and you’re feeling frustrated, try one of these strategies:
- Click “Show hint” to see the lesson for the topic. Read the lesson, then look at the question again. Compare the sentence in the question with the examples in the lesson. Ask yourself, ”How does what I read in the lesson apply to this question?”
- If the topic has an interactive tutorial, you can see it by clicking the question mark icon next to the directions. Going through the steps of the tutorial will refresh your memory of the key points that will help you with the topic.
- If you have an adult or a friend nearby, you can ask them to look at the lesson or tutorial with you and see if they can help you figure it out.
- It’s also okay to take a break and do something else for a little while! Come back to the topic later and try the questions again.
Strategies for writer’s block
- Read the prompt again to see if it sparks any new ideas.
- Read through what you’ve written to see if it prompts any ideas. Look for thoughts you can expand on or ideas you haven’t discussed yet.
- As you read what you’ve written, try asking yourself the following questions, and use your answers to keep writing!
- Why?
- How?
- So what?
- Now what?
- What does this look like, sound like, or feel like?
Tips for Setting Your Own Goals
If you’ve looked at our practice plan and decided you’d rather choose your own goals and topics—or if you finished our practice plan and want to keep going—try this:
- Use our goal-setting sheet to to help you set specific goals that are right for you.
- Follow the tips below to browse and choose topics to practice.
- Use our practice record sheet to track your progress and see what you’ve learned!
Browsing and choosing practice topics
- To start exploring, go to the “Learn” page to see all of our topics.
- Select “Group by grade level” in the dropdown menu and choose your grade level to see the pathways that are appropriate for your grade. Scroll through and choose one that looks interesting!
- Take a quick look at the lesson for the topic before you begin. This can help you decide if the material in the topic is useful and challenging enough for you.
- If you are still having trouble picking a good topic, here are some recommendations of pathways to get you started!
• Grade 6: Commonly Confused Words III or Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
• Grade 7: Commonly Confused Words IV or Subject-Verb Agreement II
• Grade 8: Commas for Clarity or Identifying Parts of Speech III
• Grades 9–10: Parallel Structure or Choosing the Appropriate Conjunctions
• Grades 11–12: Hyphens or Building Compound and Complex Sentences