國中生寫作成功：第二學期課程

This course is part two of the Achieving Writing Success (AWS) semester courses.  Students must have taken and passed (grade of C or higher) AWS Semester 1, taken and passed (grade of C or higher) AWS Creating the Paragraph, OR submitted a written essay to the instructor for evaluation in order to be waived into the course.  (Students who have not completed one of the above-stated criteria will be removed from enrollment and refunded upon registration.)

AWS 2 will strengthen paragraph writing skills, focusing on the basics of solid paragraph construction while working on expanding description, details, and examples.  Essay types, such as expository, descriptive, narrative, compare and contrast, and persuasive, will be analyzed along with ample practice for learners to answer prompts that require demonstrating effectively applying these styles. 

Class time will generally involve 25-30 minutes of instruction and 25-30 minutes of writing activities.  An emphasis will be placed upon learners being able to self-edit their own work so that they come away from this course with some of the most essential writing tools.  Opportunities will be given for learners to rewrite essays (or portions of their essays) in order to apply what they are learning to their own writing immediately.  

The course schedule is as follows:
Class 1:  Introduction + Basic Grammar & Sentence Review
Class 2:  Introduction to Essay Writing + Pre-Writing
Class 3:  Expository Essay + Editing
Class 4:  Descriptive Essay
Class 5:  Narrative Essay
Class 6:  Compare and Contrast 
Class 7:  Essay Review + Timed Writing
Class 8:  Persuasive Essay
Class 9:  Essay Review + Timed Writing 
Class 10:  Research Writing & MLA Formatting
Class 11:  Research Writing & Citing Sources
Class 12:  Research Writing Continued
Class 13:  Student Presentations 

This class is interactive by nature and all learners will be expected to participate by answering when called upon.  Learners will also be expected to work together with their classmates for specific in-class assignments.  Learners will be given multiple opportunities within each class to ask questions.  Note that this class does have homework assignments and that it is important for learners to do these in a timely manner (due the day before the next class) in order to maximize their learning and demonstrate that they are grasping and applying concepts well.