While writing about topics from the explorers to modern times, students will develop more advanced writing skills such as thesis statements, MLA format, persuasive essays, research papers and more. To prepare students for college, vocabulary extension, outlining, summarizing, and researching will be covered. In addition, we will study the formal research paper using the MLA style, the book critique, and the persuasive essay. During the second semester, students will also learn to make connections between Biblical principles and everyday life by writing a devotional.
Preparing students for college writing, units will include thesis statements, essay organization, transitions, introductions, and conclusions, practice with descriptive and persuasive essays, and SAT essays. Students will also learn how to take notes from texts or from live lectures, craft college-level papers, and write or speak persuasively to a wide variety of audiences.