Many parents of Freshman feel their student wasn't prepared for their first year in high school. Typically the biggest complaint is about the high demand for student's writing quality and quantity. There is a big shift in the amount of writing expected for all courses when student's get into high school.
Truth: The workload increases sometimes ten-fold when students go from 8th grade to 9th grade. This is because teachers are expecting critical thinking in each class. And, yes, that includes Science, Language, History, and even Math. This is on top of the English writing requirements! The best way to evaluate student's critical thinking is through written responses. In each class students are asked to produce written work to show their understanding, and each type of course requires a certain type of written language.
What I Suggest: There are many ways to support students BEFORE they hit the ground writing in 9th grade. The best advice anyone can give is: start the work early! Starting with English class is usually the best. Ask the future English teacher for the name of the first book, the essential questions or standards of the first unit, or anything else that they have nailed down for the Fall. Just knowing the book can allow the student to pre-read, but, more importantly, to pre-WRITE! Do a Google search for common essay questions about the book (usually SparkNotes has a section for this called "essay topics"). Have your child start writing about the text, and what you may find is, not only will their comfort with writing qualitatively increase, it can decrease the quantity if they can use those writings as a starting place for the real essays and assignments they will encounter throughout the year. This same process can be achieved in History, Science, Math, and Language. Practicing written expression by using the actual texts the student must read during the school year can help bring purpose to the practice. 
Reply to this post if you're interested in other ways to practice writing if you cannot get access to any books or teach plans ahead of time.
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