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.
In this advanced-level essay writing course for middle school students, help your student master essay writing with advanced concepts leading the student into high school writing. Taking the concepts learned in the 7/8-1 and 7/8-2 courses, the successful student finishing this course has the tools and is ready for successful high school essay writing. Take the 7/8-4 course with this course to gain a full semester’s credit of writing.
Total classes: 8
Prerequisite: Registration in Simplified Writing for Middle School 2: Introduction to Essays & Papers I (MS 7/8-2). Students may also take a placement test and, with an 80% or higher score, sign up for this course. Contact [email protected] for information on the placement test.
Suggested grade level: 7th and 8th
Suggested credit: 2/3 semester Writing or English
Description
In this course, your student will take the skills learned in the Simplified Writing 1 and 2 courses (7/8-1 and 7/8-2) and put the knowledge and skills into practice for writing short essays, with specific feedback and coaching regarding how your student’s writing can improve. Your student will go through the start-to-finish process of creating an academic essay, and attention will be given to using the correct forms and writing skills that have been gained to this point in the middle school Essentials and Simplified Writing courses.
Outline
Class 1: Types of essays – an introduction to rhetoric and choosing an essay topic
Class 2: Narrowing topics (from last class); brainstorming content for your topic and creating the thesis statement
Class 3: Analyzing and improving thesis statements (from last class); creating outlines
Class 4: Analyzing and improving outlines (from last class); creating introductions
Class 5: Creating rough drafts
Class 6: Revising the essay
Class 7: Editing the essay
Class 8: Formatting for the academic essay; an introduction to style guides
Materials and Homework
Course Materials: Materials are provided FREE within the course.
Homework: Weekly writing assignments, with grading and direct feedback from the instructor. Estimated three to five hours per week for homework outside of class time, depending on the student’s ability.
