There are as many reasons to write as there are types of writing. From personal letters to research papers, resumes to poetry, each different form has a format to follow. Yet each writer is different and individual writing style acts as a fingerprint that distinguishes and identifies an author.
The aim of this course is to help you become a more distinguished writer. We will be looking at and practicing many different types of writing and will work on improving our skills with language use and word choices. We will accomplish this by reading, journaling, discussing, editing, revising, and, of course, writing.
The course will cover the following types of writing:
Application Writing
We will look at how and what to write when applying to college, for a job, or for a scholarship. We will cover applications, personal statements, resumes, cover letters, and essays for college admission and scholarships.
Scholarly Writing
We will work on strengthening our skills in organization and style for writing formal research papers, as well as analytical essays. We will also work on proper format and documentation according to MLA.
Memoir Writing
We will look at the recording of personal experiences through writing, discussing why people write about this topic and what makes others want to read it. We will read memoirs as well as write our own.
Creative Writing
We will have the opportunity to learn about various styles of creative writing such as: short story, poetry, song writing, mystery writing, and graphic novel/cartoon writing.
BLOGGING
There is a blog that accompanies this class that you will access for your daily prompt. This blog will also be useful as a means of easy access to websites and other information that I want us to use in class. This also makes it easy if you have missed a day to stay up to date and is an easy way to communicate with me.
The blog address is: http://writingforthenextlevel.blogspot.com/
My Email: msfitzell@gmail.com
Required Class Materials –Have these with you every day.
Ø You will need a notebook to be used as a journal.
Ø A notebook and folder OR binder for class notes and assignments.
Ø Pen or pencil—All assignments are to be legible and written in a dark ink. If I cannot read it, I cannot grade it.
Ø Journals – You will have a daily journal topic assigned that will be posted on the Writing for the Next Level blog. All journal entries need to have the date and a title. For teacher assigned prompts, you will also have a title given.
Grading
| Percent of grade | Assignment Type | Assignment Description |
| 25 % | Journal | Journals will be turned in at the end of class each Friday to be graded and returned Monday. You will have teacher assigned journal prompts, but you will also be responsible for writing on your own topics in your journal on Friday. |
| 20 % | Class Work | Assignments given in class ranging from group work to questions on texts. |
| 20 % | Quizzes | You will be assessed on understanding of different topics discussed in class and notes taken. |
| 35 % | Writing Assignment | You will be practicing the different types of writing we will be looking at, so writing assignments will vary in terms of length and format. Be sure to pay attention to specific directions for each assignment to ensure full credit can be obtained. |
Check Grades: Class work and journal entries will receive check mark grades.
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| X |
| 100 complete no mistakes | 80 complete few mistakes | 60 complete several mistakes | 0 incomplete late incorrect |
On Fridays you will be given time to Free-Write in your Journal. We will have the first twenty minutes set aside to journal. While you are required to spend time writing, what you write will be up to you. When you are done free-writing, you have time to do the following activities:
Ø Free-read – you may read any book of your choosing.
Ø Work Shop writing – you may bring in writing you are doing for this class, or for another, to workshop.
Ø Free-Write – you may work on writing for a project for this, or another, class.
REMEMBER -- Friday is when you turn your journal in to me. If you are absent, simply turn the journal in the following Friday.
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