
View the course lessons.
Course overview covering the following topics: Writing Basics, Research Skills and Benefits of taking the Course.
Good Sentences…
Express complete thoughts
Contain a subject, verb, object or
clause
Basic Sentence Structure:
Subject + Verb + Object/Clause (completion of the statement)
Identifying Subjects
The subject describes who or what
Subjects are nouns - person, place, thing or idea OR
Summary
Good sentences express complete thoughts.
Complete sentences contain a subject, verb, object or clause.
Incomplete sentences are called fragments.
What is a Paragraph?
A paragraph is a group of related sentences that develop one main idea. Paragraphs are units of text that comprise an essay, report or any other longer piece of writing.
LECTURE GOAL:
Learn the difference between an effective an ineffective paragraph. Study examples to identify critical parts of a paragraph.
Put your knowledge to practice! Read through the paragraph examples. Decide if they are effective or ineffective based on your knowledge of paragraphs and topic sentences.
Review the video on downloading and printing handouts from section 2, if needed.
This handout download contains two exercises with answers. Before looking at the answers, thoroughly consider the skills that each question requires. Review lecture materials as necessary to select your final answers.
If you 'bomb' any of the exercises by getting too many questions incorrect, wait a day or so and try it again!
Learn the six stages of the writing process and the activities associated with each.
Topics include:
Six stages of the writing process
Determining purpose & audience
Explanation of how to adjust writing for audience
Prewriting
Revising
Proofreading
How to arrange an essay
What is a Thesis Statement?
A thesis statement is the controlling idea of your essay.
The thesis expresses the subject and direction (or purpose) of the essay.
A thesis is usually written in one sentence that appears as the last line of the introduction.
Thesis = SUBJECT + DIRECTION
This bonus lecture contains more information than the video. Make sure to study the practice exercises. They will help you to further understate how to write thesis statements.
Review the video on downloading & printing handouts in section 2 if needed.
PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE LESSON FILES IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:
1. Thesis Statement Exercise #1 & Answers Handout
2. MP3 Audio file of answers
In the audio file, I walk through every question and completely explain each one. Listen to my voice as you look at the answers handout. Hopefully this will further reinforce your understanding of this topic. :)
Who is a researcher?
What is Research?
Where to Research?
When to Research?
How to Research?
Example: How to Research?
Basic Research Summary
View and read the slides from the video at your own pace. :)
Your local library might allow you to access research databases from home. This demo video shows you how to find the EBSCOHOST/ ERIC database to conduct research on topics such as school bullying.
Even if your library system does not allow this level of remote access, you can still benefit from the demonstration on how to search and find PDF materials through the ERIC/ EBSCOHOST database to retrieve authoritative sources for your research projects.
Learn the definition of plagiarism. Use the examples provided to reinforce your understanding of this important academic concept. Learn how to avoid plagiarism by following the golden rule!
READ THE VIDEO LECTURE MATERIALS AT YOUR OWN PACE.
Learn the definition of plagiarism. Use the examples provided to reinforce your understanding of this important academic concept. Learn how to avoid plagiarism by following the golden rule!
View examples of plagiarism.
Download and print this exercise. Make sure to understand the concept of common knowledge before attempting the exercise. Remember, when in doubt, cite!
The answers are also included in this handout.
Congratulations!
You have almost made it to end of the course! You just have one final quiz to take before receiving your certificate of completion. Thanks so much for taking the course. Happy learning!
How to access your certificate of completion.
"College Writing Essentials" is extremely valuable to anyone attending college or preparing to enroll after a long absence from high school. Since college writing classes cost thousands of dollars, you surely do not want to fail your writing courses. Before students can compose a sentence, paragraph or full essay, they must understand the fundamental principles that guide those assignments. In this streamlined class, you will get a good foundation for successful college writing, as well as tips and techniques on how to organize college essays. What you learn in this course will also carryover to research papers and standardized tests.
Start your college writing journey with learning how to write good sentences and paragraphs, which leads to a discussion of the writing process and how to generate and arrange ideas for an essay assignment. Learn to develop good thesis statements. You will also learn about academic writing guideline, basic research skills, informal vs. formal writing styles, and how to avoid plagiarism.
Instructional Materials:
This class offers detailed video lessons, downloadable handouts, quizzes and practice exercises to reinforce learning on each topic. Students can review the materials as often as necessary and learn at their own pace. Each section includes printable, self-grading exercises to reinforce your learning.
Video Lessons
Downloadable Handouts
Quizzes
Practice Exercises
Reasons to Enroll:
Students receive clear, effective instruction on writing standards.
Lifetime access to class materials.
No time limit to complete the course.