This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
Help your middle school student gain must-have essay writing skills with personal help and feedback on their work, while understanding how to write an excellent introduction with a hook and thesis statement; how to brainstorm, order, and outline; and how to draft, revise, and edit for excellence. Students also learn upper-level paragraph structure. This course prepares your student for high school and helps your student write longer works with confidence. Take the 7/8-1 prerequisite course with this course to gain a full semester’s credit of writing.
Total classes: 8
Prerequisite: Simplified Writing for Middle School 1: Foundations of Composition I (MS 7/8-1). The prerequisite may also be taken in recording through the Unlimited Access program. To check eligibility to skip the prerequisite, an assessment is available. Visit https://awa.homeschoolconnections.com/assessments/ for details.
Suggested grade level: 8th and accelerated 7th
Suggested credit: ½ semester Writing or English. Precede with 7/8-1 for a full semester credit
Description
Help your middle school student continue to master the critical writing skills learned in the Simplified Writing 1 (7/8-1) course, putting knowledge and skills into practice with specific feedback and coaching to help your student’s writing improve. Your student will narrow a topic, brainstorm and craft the outline of an essay, practice five-part thesis statements, and learn how to write seven different types of “hooks” for an introduction. Students also learn how to master the five parts of an advanced thesis statement needed for high school and college writing; how to smoothly create an essay or paper from start to finish; the most important steps of revising and editing; and how to connect sentences in an essay or paper with linear, focused writing. This course is excellent preparation for high school writing.
Outline
Class 1: Writing structure and skill: practicing the introduction, hook, and thesis
Class 2: Writing structure and skill: practicing outlines and the conclusion/concluding statements
Class 3: Writing an essay: rough drafts
Class 4: Writing a paper: five types of papers & practicing the introduction, hook, and thesis
Class 5: Writing a paper: practicing outlines and concluding statements; revising an essay
Class 6: Writing a paper: rough drafts; editing an essay
Class 7: Revising a Paper
Class 8: Editing and formatting final papers
Materials and Homework
Course Materials: Course materials are included free. Microsoft Word or the ability to convert a document to a Word-compatible document is required, as all assignments are submitted in Word. If you do not own Microsoft Word, you can use a system such as Google Docs that converts to Word documents FREE.
Homework: Weekly writing assignments, with grading and direct feedback from the instructor. Estimated three to four hours per week for homework outside of class time, depending on the student’s ability.
