Freshman Writing
This required course, taken in addition to English 9, provides an academic forum in which students learn to develop their ability to express themselves accurately, effectively, and creatively in writing. The course engages students with published expository prose, fiction, other students' writings, and numerous drafts of their own writings. Peer evaluations, class discussions, and teacher-student conferences provide students with frequent opportunities to observe both how their writing affects audiences and how they, as active readers, react to other writers' texts. The mechanics of language usage are emphasized, especially during the editing process. In conjunction with the formal modes of analytical writing, students maintain journals in which teachers encourage fluid, open commitment of thoughts to paper. Interests and passions about topics drive the flow of journal writing. Texts include: Grammar for Writing,; Models for Writers; and Vocabulary from Classical Roots, Book D.