Once basic writing skills are mastered, what comes next? After a student learns principles like paragraphs are composed of a topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence, or an essay is an introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraphs, how do we build onto that? How do we make sure that the writing sounds more in-depth and complex? For some students, this is a natural process. But for the vast majority of students, learning specific strategies is what helps them move from simple and basic to more mature writing.  Many of those strategies are explicitly taught in this class. 

In this SELF-PACED / ASYNCHRONOUS course, students will expand on basic writing skills to become skilled, confident, independent writers.  They will follow steps to write narrative, informative / explanatory, compare / contrast (a specific type of informative writing), and persuasive paragraphs, responding to a variety of writing prompts. This class will go beyond the basics to allow learners to grow in their ability to communicate descriptively, specifically, and effectively to the reader, while writing in different styles. Over the entire class students will learn eight specific, practical strategies to improve the quality of their writing. This class focuses on paragraphs, but these techniques can be applied to all writing, including short answer test questions, essays, and creative writing.

Each lesson provides with two short videos explaining and modeling different writing strategies. Along with each strategy, they will be given a set of three writing prompts to choose from to practice incorporating the strategy/style from the lesson. Learners are invited to share their paragraphs with me to receive direct, personalized video feedback on their writing. 

Lesson 1: Paragraph Basics (optional, students with a firm grasp in paragraph writing are welcome to skip this video)
Narrative Paragraphs (Part 1: exploding the moment / focusing details, Part 2: show don't tell)

Lesson 2: General Informative Paragraphs (Part 1: clear topic and concluding sentences, Part 2: proper use of pronouns)

Lesson 3: Compare / Contrast Paragraphs (Part 1: varying sentence length, Part 2: descriptive clauses)

Lesson 4: Persuasive Paragraphs (Part 1: avoiding second person "you" with a special focus on implied / understood second person, Part 2: tone)

Learners will grow in their understanding of how to apply different style elements to their writing, and will gain greater confidence in their writing ability.  In order to do well in this class students should have an idea of how to write a simple paragraph, although that will be covered in the first video lesson.  

Students will receive personalized video feedback for each submitted piece of writing, outlining specific areas of strength and opportunities for growth. Work will generally receive feedback within forty-eight hours. 

A complement to this class is Essay Essentials: Paragraph Practice, Beyond the Basics (FLEX). The format is the same but writing elements are a bit more simplistic. It is not a prerequisite to this class, and could be taken before or after this class. 
https://outschool.com/classes/essay-essentials-perfecting-the-paragraph-beyond-the-basics-flex-NQnKtzaA

If you are looking for a live version of this class, Essay Essentials: Paragraph Practice, Beyond the Basics covers these key principles and more:
https://outschool.com/classes/essay-essentials-paragraph-practice-writing-club-beyond-the-basics-kuL21g6V