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This comprehensive self-paced writing class will take learners through the entire essay-writing process.  At the end of the course, students will have completed a polished final draft of an informative (explanatory) 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 on all submitted work. 

Each lesson focuses on a different element of writing an informative 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 on a shared google document and will 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 sooner).

Lesson 1: Research (how to select credible sources, annotating, close reading, etc); selecting a topic

Lesson 2: Thesis Statements and Outlines

Lesson 3: Body Paragraphs, Transition Sentences, In-text citations (parenthetical references)

Lesson 4: Writing Introductions

Lesson 5: Writing Conclusions and Works Cited

Lesson 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 feel comfortable writing paragraphs on their own.  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.