Did you know that some studies state nearly two-thirds of high school students cannot write? Did you know that even Ivy League colleges report that nearly fifty percent of their freshmen visit their writing centers during their freshman year.  Studies also confirm that strong writing is essential to college success. 

In this interactive class, college professor, published author, and homeschool cooperative teacher, Cheryl Carter, will guide college-bound students in the process of writing a college-level paper. Her experience as an English professor and special needs writing tutor, coupled with her experience as a homeschooling mother of five, has given her unique insight into how to help students write well for college. This class is largely based on her Research Paper Writing book. Homework and previous class information will be reviewed in each session. Each session will consist of two parts.  

Session 1
Focus: Five Steps of Writing
Students will learn the basic steps of the Writing Process. Students will learn how to  (1) organize their thoughts into a plan,  (2) draft a paper, (3)revise as necessary, and (4) self-edit their writing and finally how to publish the paper.  At the conclusion of this lesson students will be able to identify the five writing steps and explain the nuances of each step. 
and 
Focus: Thesis Statements and Topic selection
Students will learn how to write strong thesis statements that will help guide them when writing a first draft. They will explore their thesis statements with the instructor. They will also choose a viable topic for their research paper based on their interests.
Homework;
Assigned pages workbook: The Ivy League Guide to Writing the Research Paper by Carter

Session 2
Focus: Organizing your research
Students will learn how to organize and minimize their research. They will also learn how to appropriately identify scholarly sources. Students will also learn the three types of note-taking that college professors require students to use in their papers and how to take notes.
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Focus: Outlining your research paper
Students will develop a research paper (sentence) outline.  Students will and schedule draft writing time based on the outline. Students will  
Homework:
Assigned pages workbook: The Ivy League Guide to Writing the Research Paper by Carter

Session 3
Focus: Structuring your paragraphs and developing your argument
Students will learn how to structure their paragraphs such that their arguments and opinions are logical, clear and meaningful for the reader. Students will learn how to write a strong introduction and how to integrate their thesis statement into the paper. The five ways to conclude an essay powerfully will also be discussed and examples will be reviewed. 
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Focus: How to cite sources in your research paper
Students will learn how to cite academic sources using their preferred method based on their potential college major (APA, Chicago, MLA, or Turabian), How to cite websites, interviews, books, journals, and apps will be discussed.
Homework:
Assigned pages workbook: The Ivy League Guide to Writing the Research Paper by Carter

Session 4
Focus: How to approach writing your first draft
Students will learn how to write their first research paper draft using a writing schedule. Students will develop their writing schedule.
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Focus: Revising Your First Draft and plagiarism
Students will revise their first drafts. In particular, student will learn how to self-edit and locate their own errors. Students will also voluntarily share their drafts with other students.  Students will also review ways to avoid plagiarism.
Homework:
Assigned pages workbook: The Ivy League Guide to Writing the Research Paper by Carter

Session 5
Focus: Polishing Your Final Draft
Students will share their final drafts with other students and ask questions regarding their final research papers. Students will also 
and 
Focus: Publishing Your Research Paper
Students will review a sample research paper and discuss the merits of the paper and improvements the writer can make on the paper.
Homework:
 Final papers will be submitted for teacher commentary

Session 6 
Students will schedule an individual fifteen-minute meeting with the instructor to review their final paper.