After studying grammar and mechanics, students now have an understanding of the eight parts of speech, grammatical sentence structure, and punctuation rules; however there are still many writing skills to cover. Students in this class learn about active vs. passive voice, logical sentence construction, faulty comparisons, mixed constructions, parallelism, misplaced and dangling modifiers, effective use of language, and concise writing.

Choosing and using sources is a key part of successful academic essay writing. In this class, students learn about the different types of sources and how each type of source meets a different information need. Students learn how to evaluate sources, then use sources ethically, by creating a works cited list and in-text citations. Finally, students learn proper use of quotations and achieve an understanding of balanced source use within papers. (Note: This class teaches MLA format for citations.)

In this class, students will focus on learning how to write the expository essay. Expository thesis development will be at the forefront of this class, as students learn to inform readers about meaningful topics while utilizing research & citation skills. Students will use their skills in expository writing to construct an initial expository essay, a definition essay, and a classification essay, structured with rough drafts and revisions.

Students continue to focus on developing strong expository thesis statements while utilizing research and citation skills. Students will use their skills in expository writing to construct a comparison essay, a cause and effect essay, a problem and solution essay, and a final expository practice essay, structured with rough drafts and revisions.

In this class, students learn about the expository essay in our standard eight-week format. Expository thesis development will be at the forefront of this class, as students learn to inform readers about meaningful topics while utilizing research & citation skills. Students will use their skills in expository writing to construct a definition essay, a classification essay, a compare/contrast essay, a cause and effect essay, and a problem and solution essay. Students should be prepared to write six essays in this class (one essay per week, Lessons 3-8).

In this class, students will focus on learning how to write the persuasive essay. Persuasive thesis development will be at the forefront of this class, as students learn to persuade, use evidence well, and respond to the counter argument while utilizing research & citation skills. Students will use their growing knowledge and skills to write three persuasive essays, all of which allow for complete rough drafts and revisions.

In this class, students focus on improving persuasive writing skills while continuing strong thesis development and effective source use. With a focus on learning about responsible, respectful argument, students practice persuasive writing with four complete essays, all of which allow for complete rough drafts and revisions.

In this class, students learn about the persuasive essay in our standard eight-week format. Persuasive thesis development will be at the forefront of this class, as students learn to persuade, use evidence well, and respond to the counter argument while utilizing research & citation skills. Students will use their growing knowledge and skills to write five persuasive essays (one essay per week, Lessons 4-8).

Although mastery of the expository and persuasive essay are important components of any student's repertoire, there are several other important writing skills and types of essays to study in preparation for college or a career involving writing. This class guides students logically through the components of rhetorical analysis, beginning with skills in paraphrasing and summarizing, followed by skills in critical reading and analyzing rhetoric.

In this continuation of advanced essays, students use critical analysis skills to review rhetorical analysis and then write three new types of essays, all of which will demand strong critical thinking, thorough analysis, and growing writing style. Students in this class write five essays, three of which allow for rough drafts and revisions.

This class covers advanced essay forms in our standard eight-week format. Students are guided logically through the components of critical analysis, beginning with skills in paraphrasing and summarizing, followed by skills in critical reading and analyzing rhetoric. Throughout the second half of the class, students put these skills into practice by writing four different types of essays, all of which will demand strong critical thinking, thorough analysis, and growing writing style. Students should be prepared to write one complete essay each week.

Exploratory writing begins with a question. Research is then conducted to find potential answers that are shared with readers. This course guides the student through the process of writing an exploratory research paper of 1800-2200 words. Students learn how to develop a research question, choose and analyze a minimum of 10 sources, group sources by potential answer, and organize a successful exploratory paper. Students enrolled in this class should already be generally comfortable with writing a standard middle/high school research paper, utilizing a variety of sources, and constructing a bibliography and a works cited list in MLA format.

Strong writing skills are not only important for academic essays. In fact, writing is frequently used in professional settings, and high school students with a solid grasp of the most common forms of professional writing are more likely to be successful in whatever future educational or career path they choose. In this class, students will learn how to create and write the following: letters and emails, an observation report, an interview with response, a survey with response, an application essay, a scholarship essay, a cover letter, and a resume. Prerequisite: Growing the Essay or comparable essay experience.