This class will help students learn how to write a response to a question in a well constructed and concise manner. As students get older it becomes increasingly important to know how to be pointed, concise, and mechanically sound when writing assignments and exams. Those who possess this valuable skill will benefit from it in and out of school for the rest of their lives. Becoming a confident, capable writer begins with mastering the skills to compose evidence-based short-response writing. Fortunately, when it comes to developing proficient short-response writers, simplicity leads to success.

The structure of the class is as follows: 
- Reading of the short text.
- Having a short discussion on the details of the text.
- Going over the question presented.
- Practice structuring a response using the strategy of restating the question, answering the question by making a claim, introducing a 
  quote, supporting the claim with evidence and finally explaining or expanding on the claim.
 
After going over the structure of the response, students will begin writing their own response independently. 
For the final 10 minutes of each class we will have a class discussion along with some constructive feedback. 

Topics for the first 5 classes
The Mystery of Bird Migration
The History of Chocolate
Climbing Blindly
The Early Years of Video Games
The Thinking Organ

I encourage all students who would like to improve their writing skills to join this lesson and I look forward to seeing everyone in class. 
Thank you for your consideration. 

Your truly,
Rob Ellsworth