Grammar and mechanics provide the building blocks for writing correctly, but writing correctly is only the first step. In order to fully benefit from this workshop, you should already have a good grasp of grammar and mechanics
In this course you will:
- Learn how to put the pieces together to make your writing coherent, logical and effective
- Learn the basic principles of composition, explained in easy-to-understand language
- Develop your own personal style
To get the most from this workshop you should:
Course Structure
The workshop will consist of six one-week sessions. Each session will include online lectures and creative and practice exercises. You will have an opportunity to evaluate your own progress with online, self-graded "tests." Each session, you'll submit an assignment to the instructor for private review, and—when appropriate—assignments will be posted for group review and feedback. Throughout the workshop, you will be able to participate in asynchronous lecture discussion and encouraged to take advantage of ongoing informal discussions and self-directed writing exercises. (1.2 CEUs)
| Workshop length: |
Six Weeks |
| Textbook(s) to purchase: |
None required |
| Course Developer: |
Megan Fitzpatrick |
| Tuition: |
$250.00 |
Workshop Outline
Session One: Sentence Structure
Simple, complex, compound, compound-complex; Fixing common sentence problems (sentence fragments, run-on sentences, dangling and misplaced modifiers)
Session Two: Sentence Form
Variety; Order (normal and inverted); Loose vs. periodic sentences; Parallelism
Session Three: Paragraph Structure
Topic sentences; Summary sentences; Division sentences; Transitional sentences
Session Four: Kinds of Paragraphs
Descriptive; Narrative; Expository; Argumentative; Beginning; Ending; Transitional; Anecdotes
Session Five: Paragraph Form
Unity (of thought, of point of view, of mood and voice); Coherence (transitional expressions, repetition, parallelism); Order; Length
Session Six: Polishing Your Prose and Putting the Pieces Together
Wordiness; Redundancy; Frequently confused homonyms; Frequently misused words; Putting it all together to write an original composition