Better Essay Writing

Exploring Explanatory and Compare & Contrast Essays

In this 55-minute class, students will complete 2 essays. This class focuses on writing an Explanatory Essay and a Compare & Contrast Essay using a 5 paragraph essay.

Unlike many writing classes this is not a lecture course! Less than half of our time in class is spent on instruction. Students will have about 30 minutes of in class writing time and are encouraged to use their time wisely. This class is very hands on and the instructor provides individual feedback to students to help them better understand teacher feedback. Our goal is to help students feel more in control of their own writing process and more informed regarding teacher expectations. Please note: Students who do not do the homework on time or skip steps, tend to spend a lot of time trying to catch up. This can lead to unfinished essays or poorly written essays.

Previous essay writing experience is not required. Some knowledge of grammar is helpful even if the student is unclear about the difference between a noun and a verb.

This course is designed to develop the ability to share information without incorporating personal opinion. Students learn to use clear ideas and build critical thinking skills.

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What does a typical day in class look like?
Each class begins with a free write exercise before going into the focus of the day. The teacher will engage in a discussion with students regarding the components of an essay, then students will use Google Docs to write their essay. At the end of class, students will receive their homework assignment. All homework assignments are designed to take less than one hour of student time outside of class. Students should expect to spend at least 1 hour on homework outside of class.

For the first three weeks students will focus on how to organize their work, what are the requirements of the essay, and how to review their work. Students will then be asked to take what they know and apply it to writing their second essay. Students should expect to do some light research for their second essay.

This interactive class is suitable for:
– Students who struggle with essay writing
– Students with little to no essay writing experience
– families looking to support public school curriculum
– homeschool families looking to add to their child’s district curriculum.
– Students who struggle with grammar and sentence structure
– Students who write like they text
– Student who struggle to express their thoughts when writing

Class Overview:
– Welcome & Share
– Free Write of the Day via Google Docs
– Focus of the week using Google Docs
– Putting the Writing Techniques into Practice using Google Docs

Course Overview:
Week 1: Sentence Structure review
Week 2: Understanding how to use a Brainstorm & Outline
Week 3: Writing Body Paragraphs
Week 4: Components of the Introduction & Conclusion
Week 5: Practice what we learned: Writing the Second Essay
Week 6: Revising our Work and Group Feedback

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Prerequisites:
-Basic Zoom skills- Students must know how to mute, unmute, and click on a link (links are shared in the chat).

– Basic computer literacy skills (ability to copy links in chat and paste them into a web browser, ability to minimize zoom if needed, ability to type in Google Docs)

– Some knowledge of grammar is helpful even if the student is unclear about the difference between a noun and a verb.

-Typing skills- Students will complete all assignments by typing. They do not have to type with two hands but should be comfortable working writing without using paper. If your child need typing support, please check out our Life Skills Typing Course.*

* Students do not have to be good at typing but should be comfortable using a mouse and a keyboard. This class does not use paper and pencil. If you are child needs support with basic computer skills please consider registering for our course titled: Learn Typing and Computer Skills for Elementary School