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Institute for Excellence in Writing

By Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)Checked October 29, 2026No affiliate links. Programs never pay to appear. How we label

The Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) teaches writing through its Structure and Style method: children study and imitate model texts, make notes, and add set style techniques, across nine units that build toward essays and critiques. Its main course, Structure and Style for Students, has 24 video lessons a year taught by Andrew Pudewa to a live class, with a student binder and teacher's manual; the Basic Plus package adds a year of Fix It Grammar. Phonics, spelling and topic-based writing books are sold separately.

Subjects
Language arts
Grades
Primary level for kindergarten to 2nd grade, then Levels A, B and C for 3rd to 12th grade; the publisher says grades are approximate source ↗
Method
Classical source ↗
Format
Video lessons source ↗
Faith label
Not labelled
Cost a year
$189 a year. Structure and Style for Students Year 1 Level A Basic Plus (grades 3 to 5: 24 video lessons by streaming or DVD, student packet and binder, teacher's manual, and Fix It Grammar Level 1 teacher's manual and student book): $189.00. Read on October 29, 2026; prices change. source ↗
Placement
Where-to-start guide and pathway chart ↗

What it does well

  • Andrew Pudewa teaches each writing lesson on video, so the parent does not have to teach writing from scratch.
  • The Basic Plus package has what one student needs for a year of writing plus a year of grammar in one purchase.
  • Streaming access lasts as long as the original buyer needs it, and the lessons are also sold on DVD.
  • IEW offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee with no time limit.

Watch for

  • Packages are sold as sets, and partial returns or exchanges are not allowed.
  • Streaming videos belong to the buying household and cannot be shared or transferred.
  • Writing and grammar are the focus; phonics, spelling and a full literature course are separate purchases.
  • Courses are sorted by level rather than by year, and the publisher calls grade levels approximate, so choosing a starting point takes some reading.

It fits

A family that wants a structured, step-by-step writing course taught on video, with checklists the parent can use to grade the work.

It doesn’t fit

A family that wants phonics, spelling, literature and writing in one package, or wants to avoid video lessons.

Visit Institute for Excellence in Writing ↗

Compare Institute for Excellence in Writing

Other programs for the same subject and grades:

  • Brave Writer Ages 5 to 18, about kindergarten to 12th grade, in five age bands
  • The Good and the Beautiful Preschool to 12th grade; high school has language arts and biology only
  • Khan Academy Kindergarten to 12th grade, plus early college courses
  • Lightning Literature Kindergarten to 12th grade, in levels such as Cloud (K to 2), Spark (1 to 3), Flash (2 to 4), Grades 4 to 6, Storm (6 to 8) and high school courses
  • Logic of English Foundations for ages 4 to 7 (about pre-K to 2nd grade); Essentials for ages 8 to adult (about 3rd grade and up)
  • Tapestry of Grace Kindergarten to 12th grade in levels: Primer (K to 1st), Lower Grammar (1st to 3rd), Upper Grammar (4th to 6th), Dialectic (7th to 9th), Rhetoric (10th to 12th)
  • Blossom and Root Preschool to 6th grade (Level 6 still being finished)
  • Learning Without Tears Pre-K to 6th grade: printing through 2nd grade, cursive from 2nd grade

Lists it is on

What we read, and how we label

Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.

The publisher’s pages we read on October 29, 2026:

Something wrong or out of date? Publishers and parents can send a correction and we will fix it. Publishers can send corrections, never money. All programs compared · Find your homeschool style