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.
Total classes: 8
Prerequisite: Registration in Simplified Writing for Middle School 2: Introduction to Essays & Papers I (MS 7/8-2). If your student is unable to take the previous courses LIVE, then at a minimum, he or she can watch the recordings on Unlimited Access before taking this course.
Alternative Prerequisite: A passing assessment from the Aquinas Writing Advantage Assessment service. Please contact h[email protected] for any questions on permissions.
Suggested grade level: 8th or accelerated 7th grade
Suggested credit: One-half (½) semester Writing or English. Follow with 7/8-4 for one (1) full semester’s credit for writing.
Description
It’s time to help your student dive into longer essays and advanced writing concepts! 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) to write short essays, receiving 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, with specific instruction regarding the use of strong rhetoric, diction, and syntax (words and order). While previous classes taught the “how and why” of writing skills (with first-time introductions to ideas), this course gives your student critical practice – under the tutelage of a teacher and professional writer – to prepare for high school writing and beyond.
Outline
Class 1: Types of essays – an introduction to rhetoric and choosing an essay topic
Class 2: Narrowing topics (from the last class); brainstorming content for your topic and creating the thesis statement
Class 3: Analyzing and improving thesis statements (from the last class); creating outlines
Class 4: Analyzing and improving outlines (from the 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: 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 (3) to five (5) hours per week for homework outside of class time, depending on the student’s ability.
Important Dates
Class Dates and Starting Times:
Mondays, January 8 to March 4, 2024. No class Feb. 5 (mid-semester break)
10:00 AM Eastern (9:00 Central; 8:00 Mountain; 7:00 Pacific)
OR
Tuesdays, January 9 to March 5, 2024. No class Feb. 6 (mid-semester break)
10:00 AM Eastern (9:00 Central; 8:00 Mountain; 7:00 Pacific)
OR
Tuesdays, January 9 to March 5, 2024. No class Feb. 6 (mid-semester break)
11:30 AM Eastern (10:30 Central; 9:30 Mountain; 8:30 Pacific)
Duration per class: 55 minutes
