Course Introduction

Who Is This Class Designed For?  

This course is designed for students who have not done much,  or any, writing for a long time. It is also designed for students who experience a level of difficulty with the writing process. 

In this class students will be introduced to the basic essay structure and to the academic language, and will build on their strong writing skills while learning to modify their writing behavior and to acquire and improve new skills.

Students are encouraged to ask questions by posting them to the discussion forum and to try to answer their classmates' questions.

Every question is significant. Every question contributes to the learning process of everyone in the class. The question that is on your mind is probably on the mind of many other students. Asking will help  everyone.

Why Should I TakeThis Class?

Many students email me at the end of the class to comment on the course.  Here are some quotes from their emails:

Mathew Madson

I wish I had taken this class at the beginning of my college classes as opposed to the last class. It would have made things much easier. It really opened my eyes to how I wrote before and to the proper way of doing it. 

Daniel Hight

I wanted to tell you that I enjoyed this class very much. I had not written a paper in ten years. I learned a lot!

William Ferguson

I was frightened going into this class and hesitant to take it.  Now that I have completed the class I am glad I took it and I have learned a lot from your comments.

These students have summed up what all students say in a variety of ways, which is that this class helps them answer essay and short answer questions in  other courses. It helps them write application essays for colleges and for jobs. It helps them write reports for work. It teaches them the fundamentals of good writing, so they can write clearly, concisely, and effectively. 

However, this class does not make students professional writers. The kind of writing that this class teaches is not creative or entertaining writing. It does not use a mystery style or a poetic, literary style. It uses a direct and  simple style. It is the kind of writing people use to write a letter to the bank or to their supervisor. It is concise and clear.

Is This a Difficult Class? 

Every learning process has a learning curve that brings some frustration. But students can overcome this frustration by persevering, asking questions, and connecting with classmates and teacher through the discussion forum.

The Four Phases of Learning as They Apply to Writing

As you look at this chart, think of  a learning experience you went through in your life: did you learn to swim, run, exercise, dive? Did you learn a new skill at work? How do these phases apply to your experiences?

Learning the skill of writing, you will experience the four phases.  In this course, you will be frustrated, but you will persevere: you will write and rewrite, and you will look up rules and learn best practices. And your teacher will always be there for you.

In the end, you will begin to enjoy your good writing.

How to Study for This Class

Every week, check the Submission Dates section to make sure you are on track. Proceed to the recommended reading of the week and to writing the new essay.

This class is not about submitting assignments and getting a good grade or about undestanding the rules of writing.  It is about transforming your writing and taking it to a new level. Therefore, it takes more than just submitting the assignments and reading the rules to improve your writing.

 As soon as you receive your essay, look at the errors and start working on correcting them using my feedback. Check the rules in Rules for Writers and do the exercises.  Then proceed to correct your essay. Rewrite it correcting all the errors.

Some students  look at their essay and think that it is enough to understand and research the problems. Understanding the problem is the first step. Applying the rules is the second step. Students have to apply the rules to their own writing in order to take their writing to a new level. This can be achieved only by rewriting the essay.

If you have questions about writing and grammar, you may post to the discussion area. Please visit the grammar discussion regulary and respond to your friends when you know the answer. If you do not know the answers, you may research them and then respond.

This is a learning opportunity and experience. It is probably your only opportunity to improve your writing forever, and it is a very rewarding opprotunity.

Welcome!

Welcome to the course.

Get Started

To get started in this class, make sure you do the following:

• Read the How to Begin section.
• Read the Course Syllabus.
• Read everything on this Course Introduction page.
• Submit the Letter of Agreement.
• Create an account in Turnitin.
• Submit the diagnostic essay.
• Go to Course Lessons and begin with the second lesson.