Week 1
Lesson 1
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift 
Being provocative in essay writing positives, a discussion of the essay, and Spar Debating sparked by: The best way to gain attention for a serious situation requiring societal change is by extreme satire.
Position 1:The best way to gain attention for a serious situation requiring societal change is by extreme satire.
Position 2: The best way to gain attention for a serious situation is to confront the actual facts and explain them to people clearly. 
 Week 2
Lesson 2
Why I Went to the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
Being provocative in essay writing, bewares, a discussion of the essay and Spar Debating sparked by: Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?…As for work we haven’t any of consequence. We have the Saint Vitus dance, and cannot possibly keep our heads still.
Spar Statement: There is purpose in the pursuit of wealth and security.
Position 1: Agree
Position 2: Disagree — The greatest purpose in life is experiencing the marvels of the world and attempting to understand our place in it.
 Week 3
Lesson 3
On the Pleasures of Hating by William Hazlitt
The power of persuasion, a discussion of the essay, and Spar Debating sparked by: “My philosophy has got beyond that — I bear the creature no ill-will but still I hate the very sight of it. We learn to curb our will and keep our overt actions within the bounds of humanity.”
It will take "hundred years of fine writing and hard thinking to cure of prejudice.”
Spar Question: Will people ever be “cured of prejudice?”
Position 1: Yes they will. Explain.
Position 2: No they will not. Explain. 
 Week 4
Lesson 4
Clamorous to Learn by Eudora Welty
Use of language to convey meaning, a discussion of the essay, and Spar Debating sparked by: “Mother, as I knew she would, took it personally…It was never that Mother wanted me to beat my classmates in grades what she wanted was for me to have my answers right. It was unclouded perfection I was up against.”  
Spar Statement:
The goal of perfection should be a motivating factor in academic achievement.
Position 1: agree with this statement
Position 2: disagree with this statement
 Week 5
Lesson 5
Naps by Barbara Holland
Understanding tone, a discussion of the essay, and Spar Debating sparked by: "Fighting off natural  inclinations is a major Puritan virtue and nothing that feels good can be respectable."
Spar Statement:
Do we deserve to do things that make us happy for no other reason than they make us happy irregardless of what others may think of us?
Position 1: Yes we certainly do. Explain.
Position 2: No we don’t.  Our image to others matters. We have a responsibility to ourselves to stay to schedules and i
 Week 6
Lesson 6
A Woman's Beauty: Put Down or Power Source? by Susan Sontag
Being bold in your own writing, a discussion of the essay, and Spar Debating sparked by: It is not, of course, the desire to be beautiful that is wrong but the obligation to be—or try.
Spar Question: Do people today feel an obligation to be beautiful? 
Position 1: yes they do 
Position 2: no they do not