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Welcome!

This course is Middle School Composition 1. We're glad you're here! This class is all about helping you learn how to write better.

Writing is hard for most people. Parts of it can be fun, but most people find it difficult to turn their thoughts into words on a page. If you think writing is more frustrating than fun, don't worry. You're not alone.

You should know right away that we are here to help you. This course moves at an easy pace, and your super-nice writing coach is here to make your experience a good one.

The first writing assignment you'll get is diagnostic. That means it's going to help your writing coach get to know you a bit. Don't worry about it. You can't do it wrong.

After that, we'll be reviewing what a sentence is and how to write good ones. For several weeks, you'll just do some sentence writing for us.

Then we'll review paragraphs and you'll spend about four weeks practicing writing paragraphs.

After the review of sentences and paragraphs, we'll ask you to write longer papers: stories, descriptions, and some fun explanations of things. Each of those papers will be written in three drafts. That means you'll write it, your writing coach will give it back with suggestions, and you'll get to make changes and submit it again. Then we do that one more time. The third draft is a final draft and your coach will give you a score on that one.

What we'll be learning

We do lots of different kinds of writing in this class.

Narration is story telling. Description is writing that paints a picture in the reader's mind. Exposition is writing that informs or explains. And persuasion is writing that expresses an opinion. We'll do all these kinds of writing this year. We hope you enjoy all of them.

How it works

There are two parts to your weekly WriteAtHome course: the lesson/quiz and the assignment.

The Lesson and Quiz

Read each week's lesson and take the quiz. The lessons are short. We are going to teach you one idea about writing every week. The quiz is usually five questions long and will show your writing coach that you understand the lesson. If you take your time, it will be easy. Just don't take too long. You only have ten minutes to finish each quiz.

The Assignment

We'll also give you something to write every week. It might be a few sentences. It might be a paragraph. Later, it will be a story or an essay. Some weeks you'll just have to revise papers you've already finished to make them better. Your writing coach will help you with that. You'll have a due date each week to turn in your paper. Don't be late!

The assignment is the most important part. The only way to learn to write well is by writing. Just like in sports or music, you have to practice.

You won't write your paper here on the website. You will write it using a writing software program like Word or Google Docs. Save it to a folder on your computer. When you are ready, you can submit it to your writing coach here.

Your Writing Coach

You're going to love your writing coach. Your coach is committed to helping you grow as a writer. Pay careful attention to her comments on your papers and try to apply the changes she recommends during revisions.

All of our coaches are experts, but they are also really nice. Your writing coach's job isn't to criticize your writing. It's to coach you--to make you a better writer. She's on your side.

Your coach may communicate with you through your inbox, but mostly she will be communicating by marking up your papers. If you have questions or concerns at any point, feel free to use the messaging feature here to reach out to your coach.

Grades

We don't give grades, but we do provide scores to show how you're doing.

Quizzes: You get a score on your weekly quiz. Each question is worth a point.

Assignments: You get points for submitting your assignments on time. Once we get to final drafts, we give you formal score on those too. You can get up to 50 points on final drafts.

Don't worry about the scores though. They are only meant to help you see where your writing is strong and where it still needs work. It's not a grade.

Important stuff

Be on time. Be sure to turn in your papers by the due date each week. If something comes up and you have to be late, send a message to your coach so he or she won't worry.

If you fall behind... Sometimes it can't be helped. No problem. Don't panic. It's usually easy to catch up. The important thing is to stay in touch with your writing coach. If you get behind, she will help you plan a way to get back on track.

Do your best. It's really important that you pay attention to the lessons and your coach. Take your time and write the best you can each week. If you do your best, you are sure to see your writing skills improve!

Problems, questions or concerns. If there is anything that confuses or bothers you, let us know right away. Talk to your coach first. If your coach can't help you, she'll send you to someone who can.

That's enough of an introduction. We hope you have a great time learning to write better!