Prep for University-Level English: College Composition (Semester-Long)

In college, being able to compose a strong essay is one of the most important skills you can have. Unfortunately, many students arrive at college without the skills they need to write papers in their field of study. This class is dedicated to making sure that students are prepared to go into the college composition classroom AND write papers for classes in their major. 

I have been teaching college English courses for more than a decade, and I have extensive first-hand experience helping students understand what it takes to create a satisfactory college paper. 

The class is 2x a week for 12 weeks because that gives us 24 class meetings. If that sounds like a lot, that's because it is a lot! But 24 meetings allow for participants to create THREE scholarly essays: one rhetorical analysis, one persuasive essay, and one single-source MLA essay. 

Here is a simplified overview of the course contents we will cover each week. Please note that this class does not focus on mechanics or grammar. Although we will have discussions about those things, they are not the focus. That said, feedback will include notes on how to improve in these areas. We WILL discuss mechanics when it comes to in-text citations and the MLA Works Cited page. 

Week 1: Introduction to Rhetoric & Composition
Week 2: Introduce Rhetorical Analysis Essay; Discuss Logos and Ethos; Talk about AI 
Week 3: Discuss Pathos and Kairos
Week 4: Turn in Rhetorical Analysis Essay; Introduce Persuasive Writing
Week 5: How to use Logos (Logic/Argument), Ethos (Strong Ethical Positioning of the Writer), Pathos (Audience Awareness), and Kairos (Situational Awareness) in Persuasive Writing
Week 6: Writing a Strong Thesis & Forecasting Statement
Week 7: Turn in Persuasive Essay; Introduce MLA Single-Source Assignment
Week 8: Identifying Scholarly Sources & Finding Credible Sources
Week 9: MLA In-text and Works Cited Basics
Week 10: Thesis & Forecast Review
Week 11: Revision Strategies & Writing Strong Transitions
Week 12: Review of Course Concepts & Wrap-up; Turn in MLA Essay

For eleven years, I taught Rhetoric & Composition and Rhetoric & Research at the university level. After earning tenure, I decided to leave higher ed in order to teach independently and write full time. II still teach as an adjunct because I don't think I can ever fully leave higher education!

I am excited to bring my subject expertise to Outschool, where I have been teaching since February 2020. 

Most of the coursework for this class will be completed during class time. We will frequently use class time to work on our writing or complete independent activities. The only homework is to write the essays themselves, which are spread out throughout the semester. Late work is accepted, but comments may be limited if the work comes in very late. No work will be accepted more than one week after the course ends. 

I will use Google Slides to present material and students will be encouraged to participate, either with cameras and mics on or via the chat. (Students must follow Outschool's rules on verifying via camera for the first class.) After all students have been verified, videos from each class will be made available to all participants to review. 

This course must meet a minimum of 5 participants in order for me to run the class. If we are below the number of participants before the class starts, I will reach out to all parents enrolled and discuss our options, which may be pushing the start date back, canceling and offering refunds, or transitioning to a smaller-group format with a slightly higher price point. 

Participants who finish this course are encouraged to move on to my research-writing course, which does a deep dive into source analysis, more complex MLA citation work, and scholarly resources.