We will learn argumentative writing skills through the lens of an open letter. Because this course is structured as tutoring, I have an option of "one-skill" classes that the learner can choose from as they see fit to the needs of their writing. Or, they can move through the sessions chronologically at their own pace. For example, "topic" doesn't have to mean a 45 minute section, it can become longer (45 min + 15 min of another class), if the student wants depth, or shorter (15 minutes for Topic 1 and 30 minutes for Topic 2) if the student wants breadth.

My teaching style is highly adaptive and student-centered. When teaching writing, I focus on the students having a concrete takeaway. Many times in writing it's hard to concretize skills and progress-- my goal is that student can not only feel confident in writing, but also talking about their writing. 

Topic 1: Identifying Elements of Argumentative Writing 
Mentor Text: Letter from Birmingham Jail 
Students will identify the speaker, audience, and message of the mentor text as well as rhetorical elements
Elements: Ethos, logos, pathos, tone
Bonus elements: counterargument/rebuttal, call to action, anaphora 

Topic 2: How to Build an Argument
Students will build their own ideas with a guide and practice prompts. 
Elements: thesis statement, supporting evidence, counterarguments, rhetorical devices, introduction, conclusion

Topic 3: What Are Rhetorical Devices?
Students will build their own examples with guides and practice prompts.
Elements: alliteration, anaphora, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, parallelism, allusion, antithesis 

Topic 4: Brainstorming: What do you care about?
Students will brainstorm, through coaching, their opinions on certain topics and what they care about. They will determine who they want to write the audience of their open letter to be.

Topic 5: Finding Credible Evidence
Students will learn how to analyze sources for author's credentials, publisher's credentials, citations, and publication dates to justify their arguments. 

Topic 6: How to Form a Strong Thesis Statement
Students will learn how to build a debatable and specific thesis statement through examples and non-examples, and create their own. 

Topic 7: How to Provide Analysis and Details 
Students will learn how to warrant, analyze, and explain their pieces of evidence from topic 5 to best justify their claims to their audience. 

Topic 8: Proofreading and Organization
Students will learn how to proofread for grammatical and spelling errors, while learning how to use a semicolon, colon, comma, dash, and parentheses. Students will consider the organization and order of ideas in their text.