Advanced Writing for the College-Bound

Bruce A. McMenomy, Ph.D. for Scholars Online
2010-11: Thursday 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM Eastern Time

Overview     Materials    

Unit 0:
A Preliminary Assessment

Unit 1:
The Right Question

Unit 2:
Purpose and Audience

Unit 3:
Getting Ideas

Unit 4:
Definition

Unit 5:
Explanation

Unit 6:
Persuasion

Unit 7:
Supporting Your Claim

Unit 8:
Bad Reasoning

Unit 9:
Forestalling Counter-Arguments

Unit 10:
Research and Documentation

Unit 11:
Organizing: Overview

Unit 12:
Generalizations

Unit 13:
Outlining

Unit 14:
Paragraphs

Unit 15:
Beginnings and Endings

Unit 16:
Editing

Unit 0: A Preliminary Assessment

Since I haven’t worked with most of you extensively before in this context, my first order of business is to get a sense of where everyone is in terms of skills — broader compositional skills, and the nitty-gritty of grammar and mechanics. If this is repetition for you, bear with me: we’ll be off into new territory soon enough.

I’d like you to do the following assignment before the first class meeting; have it e-mailed to me no later than noon of the day before (Wednesday). It doesn’t look like much, but a good job will take you some time. Give it some real care.

Assignment:

  1. Identify and correct the errors in the following paragraph. Be complete and exact.

    In eighteenth-century Japan, popular Kabuki actors were often celebrated in woodblock prints. These prints showed the actors in their most famous roles, for instance Ichikawa Danjuro V playing the role of Shibaraku. The crest on the actors costume indicated what family he belonged to. A costume with three concentric squares on it's sleeve means that the actor is an Ichikawa Danjuro, and the costume itself and the makeup on the actor's face told you who he was supposed to be playing. Someone playing Shibaraku always wear makeup which is made up of stripes of red and white. As well as a red costume with enormous sleeves and often a headdress in a fan shape. With such indications as this, it was easy, for theater-goers to commemorate their favorite scenes, much like having a poster of someone who you have seen in a movie.

  2. Make an outline for a five-paragraph essay either attacking or defending the proposition that the space program should be continued. This should include an introduction, a conclusion, and three main points. List supporting examples for your arguments.
  3. Write out the topic sentence of each paragraph of the outline.

    4. E-mail your responses to me. You’ll be posting most of your subsequent assignments in the Moodle, but I’d like a chance to look these over here first.

Contents of this page © Copyright 2010 by Bruce A. McMenomy and Christe A. McMenomy.
Permission to download or print this page is hereby given to students of Scholars Online currently enrolled in Advanced Writing for the College-Bound for purposes of personal study only. Any other reproduction or use for profit constitutes a violation of copyright.