9-2
HIGH SCHOOL
Simplified Writing 1:
Strong Foundational Writing Skills
Suggested Grade Level: 9th grade
Make your writing strong & clear — and master the most critical foundations needed for excellent high school writing, including writing for an audience and purpose, perfecting word choice, strong sentences & paragraphs, linear writing, rhetoric, transitions, and more. Take the 9-1 course with this course to gain a full semester’s credit for writing!
Your Course Description
In this foundational course, you can gain the skills that make writing strong and clear, lacking nothing—to articulate ideas well in writing for all of high-school level work. The most important foundations of high school writing are introduced and discussed, and students learn the keys to perfecting strong sentences and paragraphs; learn nine basic forms of rhetoric; focus on linear academic writing for a purpose; practice transitions and connectives, parallelism, paraphrasing, and summary; review punctuation as it influences excellence in writing (comma, semicolon, colon, and dash use); learn how to recognize and correct common grammar struggles; understand the characteristics of an effective introduction, body, and conclusion; learn prewriting, drafting, and editing skills; and practice sculpting a piece of writing with direction, receiving specific feedback from the instructor.
Your Course Outline
Class 1: Audience, purpose, and word choice
Class 2: Perfecting strong sentence and paragraph construction
Class 3: Nine forms of rhetoric (and what they have to do with great writing)
Class 4: Linear writing for a purpose; more how-to’s for crafting strong sentences and paragraphs
Class 5: How to use transitions, connectives, and parallelism to make writing cohesive
Class 6: Punctuation and excellent writing: the comma, colon, semicolon, and dash; conquering common punctuation struggles
Class 7: Key components of an essay/paper; the introduction, body, conclusion, hook, and thesis; prewriting for success
Class 8: Drafting for success; editing and polishing your writing
Your Course Details
Total Number of Classes: 8
Prerequisite: Required: Registered for Writing Essentials 1: Essential Punctuation and Grammar I (HS 9-1). Because courses in the program are sequential, for your student’s success, it is required that your student take the 9-1 course before enrolling in this course. Students will be held accountable for all of the punctuation and grammar taught in the previous course. If your student is unable to take the previous courses LIVE, then at a minimum, he or she can watch the recordings on Unlimited Access before taking this course. An alternative to the prerequisite: a passing assessment from the Aquinas Writing Advantage Assessment service. Please contact [email protected] for any questions on permissions.
Suggested Grade Level: 9th grade; however, all high school students are welcome.
Duration: 55 minutes
Suggested Credit: One-half (½) of a semester’s credit for Writing or English.
Combine with High School Writing Essentials 1: Essential Punctuation & Grammar I (HS 9-1) for one (1) full semester’s credit. When combined with the 9-1 course, this course is worth one (1) full semester’s credit for writing.
Course Materials: Simplified Writing 101: Top Secrets for College Success, by Erin Brown Conroy: Buy the hard copy of the book here: http://amzn.to/2FMCose OR, buy the Kindle version of the book here (Download the FREE Kindle app to easily read on your computer, tablet, or mobile device): www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00B7AB90W/catholictreas-20 Microsoft Word or the ability to convert a document to a Word-compatible document is required. If you do not own Microsoft Word, you can use a system such as Google Docs that converts to Word documents FREE.
Homework: Students will have weekly writing assignments with grading and direct feedback from the instructor. Expect an estimated two (2) to four (4) hours per week for homework outside of class time, depending on the student’s ability; homework includes reading, writing, and responding to feedback.
How this course fits with your other High School Writing courses...
| Fall Semester | Spring Semester | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9-1** | 9-2* | 9-3 | 9-4 |
| 10-1 | 10-2 | ||
| 11-123 | 11-457 | ||
| 12-1 | 12-2 | ||
** The 9-1 and 9-2 courses are consecutive courses. To create a full semester of High School Writing, sign up for the 9-1 course when you sign up for 9-2, and look ahead/sign up to complete the series with the 9-3 and 9-4 courses.
Your Instructors
Live, Interactive Courses
During the week, multiple course sections, times, and instructors are offered for this course. Sign up for the time and the instructor that best meets your needs. Click here to see the days and instructors for the LIVE course offerings — and to sign up for a LIVE course.
Recorded, Independent-Learning Course
When you sign up for Unlimited Access and take this recorded course, your instructor is the designer and Director of Aquinas Writing Advantage, Erin M. Brown, MA, MFA (aka author EB Conroy/Erin Brown Conroy).
Three Sign Up Options (Choose One)
1. Live, Interactive Course
Students attend a LIVE class in a virtual classroom on a specific day, at a specific time. After class (during the week), the student independently completes the coursework that includes readings, activities, and weekly quizzes. Quizzes are graded automatically by the computer for instant feedback. Written assignments are graded with feedback by the instructor. Your instructor is also available for communication outside of class via email, to help answer questions. Homework time outside of class is estimated to be two to three hours per week.
2. Unlimited Access: Recorded, Independent-Learning Course
When you take the Recorded course, you will independently view the recorded video lesson and complete the coursework in the learning management system. Quizzes in the course are graded automatically by the computer for instant feedback. If choosing to not use Instructor Access, grading with feedback is provided by the parent; however, Instructor Access grading is available (see below). There is an estimated two to three hours of homework/coursework per week outside of watching the weekly video lecture.
When you get “Unlimited Access,” you get 24/7 access to ALL of the writing courses — AND access to 400+ middle and high school courses, in all subject areas, for only $34.97 a month.
3. Unlimited Access with Instructor Access Grading Services
Instructor Access is an optional service, for an additional fee, that accompanies Unlimited Access. When you sign up for one-on-one tutoring with Instructor Access, the Instructor Access instructor will grade your student’s work, and there is an estimated one to four hours per week for homework for your student outside of watching the video lecture. If you’d like Instructor Access, once you sign up for Unlimited Access, you’ll receive email instructions on how to sign up.
Specific Course FAQs
Is this course required? Can I skip this course?
Because the content in this program is sequential, for your student to be successful and not miss any prerequisite content, it is requested that he or she watch the videos of the previous 9-Series courses before taking this course.
Can I start the 9-2 course in the Spring Semester?
The LIVE 9-1 and 9-2 courses are held in the Fall Semester only. If you are beginning in January (or any other time of year), simply take the recorded course in Unlimited Access (with or without Instructor Access grading services).
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