Granny Square Project

Does anyone else have difficulty with the Granny Throw pattern.
I learned to crochet with the granny square being demonstrated, not by a pattern, so perhaps that is part of the difficulty I am having.
I was having a hard time understanding the instruction and my student was pulling her hair out trying to deal with the instruction. I finally laid out the project and wrote on the back of her paper, Side stitches get ch1, 3dc, ch1 and Corner stitches get 3dc, ch2 3dc
Could this pattern be rewritten for easier use?