A Case for IEW Structure & Style {curriculum review}

Written by Krista Smith.

Last year during my summer-long quest to find the best curriculums for my family for the 2022-2023 school year, I needed to assess and address something I had (possibly purposefully) ignored. Writing. I had eclectically sewed together what I prayed was a stellar Language Arts experience for them, but I had to admit I hadn’t done my children justice in the writing department.

The problem of finding a curriculum was further exacerbated by the fact that I have a daughter who lives and breathes story writing (She has been composing her own short stories since she was 3.), but a son who has had a lifelong aversion to all things writing…or holding pencils. By the grace of Christ, as he hit his tween years, he remembered his long-lost love of reading, however. So I reasoned, “If the time was ever right to get this boy writing in earnest, it’s now, while he’s soaking deeply in great books.”

After hours of research, YouTube reviews, and interviewing mom friends, I took the leap and purchased a curriculum that I prayed would be something my daughter would tolerate and would help my son gain the courage and ability that he previously lacked.

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Institute for Excellence In Writing Structure & Style

The curriculum I landed on was Andrew Pudewa’s, Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) Structure & Style. We’re now halfway through the school year and I am so glad the Lord led me to choose this curriculum over the others I was considering. It has been such a blessing to my two very different writers. Truly, I have been gobsmacked by the growth in their writing abilities.

Top Four Things I Love About IEW Structure & Style

Andrew Pudewa

My kids love this man. He is brilliant, hilarious (but not in an “I pander to middle school boys” kind of way), and a wizard with words. Am I convinced my kids could still get a lot of the general information contained in this program from some other instructor? Yes, they could. But would I catch them both laughing until tears run down their faces on a weekly basis, running into each other’s rooms and saying, “You gotta come to listen to what Mr. Pudewa just said!” and then rewinding the DVD to share the hilarity and teachable moments with their siblings? Probably not.

Audio Visuals

I am fine teaching my kids from a book, especially when it’s a subject I love. However, I can’t teach all-the-things with all-the-passion. And that is why, whenever possible, I like to find curriculums taught by real-life human beings who are not me. The concentration and engagement of students often go through the roof when the subject is masterfully taught and beautifully filmed. (This program can be purchased in two formats, DVD or digital log-in).

Classroom Setting

Mr. Pudewa teaches Style & Structure on a lovely classroom set in front of a live student audience. Unlike a lot of lecture videos where the students are there but are off-set and can scarcely be heard when they speak, the students in each level of Style & Structure have desk microphones and are invited to interact freely during each lecture session. Another of the finer points of this curriculum is that Mr. Pudewa frequently reads one of the student’s works as an example. My kids have gotten a kick out of hearing what another student came up with for the writing assignment and how it varied or was similar to their own composition.

Handrails

As I mentioned previously, my daughter is a wonderful and prolific writer in her free time, but to be able to write a term paper or an excellent essay someday, she needed some handrails. She needed to learn how to assemble data effectively and then put that information into her own lovely words in a way that is engaging and winsome. 

From the outset, I knew that the rigidity of formal writing was likely to make her feel that her creative writing wings were being perpetually clipped. However, once she understood the method and could see how expository writing was different from creative writing, she put away the picket sign. She has not just learned to tolerate this curriculum, she's learned to earnestly love it. She has seen how so much of the material can also be applied to her creative efforts.

Likewise, my son needed handrails to help him gain confidence in putting words together in a way that makes sense and is readable to his audience. Style & Structure certainly delivered. Each lesson is laid out in detail for both the mom and the student and is broken down into manageable steps that can be checked off once completed. The video teaches the information for the week but also guides the student in selecting and using the appropriate papers, charts, and source texts. In other words, never has a child come to me confused about what to do next. And to that, this mama says, “Hallelujah!”

What’s in the Box?

• IEW Structure & Style comes with either a code for Digital Access to instruction videos or DVDs, a teacher’s manual, and consumable student text which includes: a 3-ring binder with pre-labeled dividers
• Source Texts for each writing assignment
• The Weekly Overview (the schedule of what’s going on that week, what’s expected, and appropriate due dates for assignments)
• Key Word Outline Sheets, Banned Words Lists, Punctuation/Usage and Documentation Sheets, and Model Charts and Outlines
• Sheets with Stylistic Techniques for easy reference (These techniques will be used frequently. Having them handy is a must.)

How I Tweaked the Program to Meet Our Needs

Our family has used the curriculum pretty much as it was designed to be used with the following small changes:

First, the video portion of the lesson typically spans the first two of the five-day lesson schedule. But my children tend to like to watch the video portion all in one day, giving them a day of wiggle room for other aspects of the assignment later in the week. 

And second, the curriculum has enough writing assignments for 24 weeks' worth of schooling. While we could've barreled through them all that quickly, we opted for a hybrid schedule that found us (from the months of September through November) doing one lesson per week just to get our bearings with the curriculum. In the new year, however, we will be pairing back to every other week to make the assignments stretch until May.

Final Thoughts

IEW Structure & Style has surpassed my greatest hopes for our writing endeavors this year. So much so that I have already purchased the next level for our next school year for both of my older children. If, like me, you’re wondering how to help your kids become effective communicators and writers without a lot of stress, and with a healthy dose of hilarity, do some looking into Style & Structure. For our family, it has been a dream come true.

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Krista Smith is blessed to be the mother of three beautiful children and is privileged to homeschool them using an eclectic variety of methods. She has a deep and abiding love for tan-colored coffee, spending time with her family, and seeing children find their forever homes through adoption. But above all of these things, Krista is, first and foremost, a lover and follower of Jesus Christ. So, may the Lord and His Gospel get every ounce of honor, glory, and credit for anything she writes, says, or does.

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