This comprehensive self-paced writing class will take learners through the entire argumentative essay-writing process.  At the end of the course, students will have completed a polished final draft of an argumentative research essay on a topic of their choosing.  This is an asynchronous class-- there are no live meetings, but students will receive direct feedback on their own essay throughout the course

Each lesson focuses on a different element of writing an argumentative research paper, and contains a video explaining and demonstrating the skill for the week along with student handouts and the assignment.  Assignments walk students through writing their own essay. Students will complete homework and receive regular feedback from me before moving on to the next step (specifically on the outline and rough and final drafts.)  Students can expect feedback from me within three business days (usually it will be quicker).


Week 1: Research (how to select credible sources, annotating, etc); selecting a topic; logical fallacies (spotting and avoiding them in research and writing), 

Week 2: Planning / Prewriting: Bubble Maps, Thesis Statements and Outlines

Week 3: Using Text Evidence in Paragraphs (explaining and analyzing research in paragraphs), Active Verbs vs Passive Verbs, Transition Sentences, In-text citations (parenthetical references)

Week 4: Strengthening Your Argument: Word Choice, Avoiding Second Person, Dealing with the Counterargument

Week 5: Writing Introductions, Conclusions, and Works Cited Pages

Week 6: Revising and Editing Strategies

Students with a wide variety of background knowledge will do well in this class, but at a minimum students should be familiar with writing essays (any type) before taking this class.  Students who are not familiar with research essays are welcome to write a four or five paragraph essay (two or three body paragraphs), and students with a more advanced background in essay writing will be challenged to write longer essays or work on fine-tuning skills they already possess.  This class works well for students with a variety of skill levels, and success in this class depends more on the learner's desire to complete the work and follow the assignments rather than the writing level of the learner when beginning this course.