WRITERS WORKSHOP

This course is designed to provide you with strategies and techniques that will help you to become comfortable with writing in a variety of modes and for a variety of purposes. You will learn ways to find a topic to write about and ways to narrow then develop that topic. You will practice and think about all steps in the writing process from generating ideas to revising drafts. In this class, you will be expected to share your writing with other students, seek their advice and offer your own, and cooperatively improve each other's writing skills. Experimenting with different forms--from stories to letters to essays--will allow you to choose which form best satisfies your goal and/or the requirements of an assignment.

OBJECTIVES: In this course you will

· write every day

· apply and analyze writing process strategies when writing in a variety of genre.

· write response, personal, fictional, persuasive, dialectical, and interdisciplinary pieces throughout the semester.

· observe, describe and react to the world around you--things you notice here at school or in nature; something you see in the movies, hear on tv, experience on the soccer field or with friends, for example

· read and respond to a variety of models of writing

· .develop a collection of samples of language from sources you see and hear in the society around you

· keep a journal in which you explore your own thoughts and ideas as well as assigned topics.

· develop strategies to revise your writing and to edit writing for clarity, grammar, punctuation and style

· fine tune your grammar skills by using the online program Communication Fitness

· develop strategies for approaching the SAT Writing Section..

· complete a final project in which you combine narrative and research report writing.

SELF ASSESSMENT: Throughout the term you will be asked to evaluate your learning by answering questions about your work such as the following:

· What changes do you notice in your approach to writing?

· How do you describe yourself as a writer?

· What areas of weakness need improvement? What steps have you taken to make these improvements? What improvements have you noticed?

· What aspect of a piece of writing are you particularly proud of?

· How willing are you to take risks in your writing?

· How much do you contribute to the learning that goes on in the classroom?

· How effective are you in helping other students succeed with their tasks?

· How thoroughly do you attend to tasks assigned?

· How efficient are you at getting tasks done on time?

GRADES in the course will be based on assessment of

process of writing

final papers

Com Fit lessons completed

class involvement

self assessment

journal writing