Here is the content for Week 2 of our course.
Week 2, Lesson 1
In today’s class, we started by talking about the following discussion prompt:Please discuss three topics you DON’T want to write about for this class, and why you don’t want to write about them. Then I dug into the basics of writing.
- I discussed the concept of Writing as Conversation (and how this can help you Brainstorm better).
- I talked the necessity of considering your audience.
- I discussed the rules of formatting for Academic English-styled writing.
- I showed you around the LMS and discussed the concept of Practice Paragraphs.
- You wrote a Sample Paragraph for me.
For anyone who missed class, there are videos covering the formatting rules at the bottom of this page.
Handouts
Here is a sample handout showing how your formatting should look. It also has some notes about things that are not obvious from the example. Please read it and study it carefully, because formatting is worth 20% of your grade on both the Midterm and Final Exams in this course.
Textbook Video Stream
Next, there’s a link below to the this week’s Textbook Videos folder, which contains only the one relatively short video and some (optional) textbook work:
In Great Writing 2, do the following:
- Read What is a Paragraph? (page 4)
- Ready and study the following Example Paragraphs:
• Paragraph 1.1: Brazil and Chile (page 5)—we already read this, but revisiting it is a good idea!
• Paragraph 1.2: An Easy Sandwich (page 7)
• Paragraph 1.3: Are Pets a Good Idea? (page 9)
You don’t need to answer the questions connected to these paragraphs, but it’s good to look at the questions and answer them in your mind. Instead, I want you to look at the the paragraphs and think about them: ask yourself how they work, what they do, and how grammar and structure connect to the paragraph’s purpose. Are there any details that you could steal and use in your own writing? Underline anything you think would be useful or worth recycling in your own work!
Be messy. Circle and underline things. Highlight them. Take notes in the book. This will help, trust me! - Read Four Features of a Good Paragraph (page 8)
- Read Paragraphs 1.4 and 1.5 (pages 10–11) and see if you can find all the mistakes in them.
In Great Writing 2, do the following:
- Read Grammar: Simple Present for General Facts (page 6)
- Complete Activities 2–3 (page 6)
In Great Writing 2, do the following:
- Read Mechanics: Capitalization and End Punctuation (page 12)
- Complete Activity 10 (page 13)
In Great Writing 2, do the following:
- Read Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement in the Simple Present (page 14)
- Complete Activities 13–15 (pages 14–16)
Optional Textbook Work
If you’d like more practice with the material in this unit
Try the Test Prep exercise (page 23).
Complete Activities 16–23 (pages 17–21).
Choose one of the Additional Topics for Writing (page 23) and write a paragraph about it.
Optional Practice Paragraph
For this week’s Paragraph Blog, you wrote a Sample Paragraph in class. That’s good enough for this week.
Optional Non-Textbook Video
The video below is just for people who missed class and need some information about the formatting rules we’ll be using in our class. Check out the video below:
I have not yet created supplementary videos on the LMS, so you’ll need to check in with a classmate for more information about that—or just look around and experiment. (Mostly I will just use the LMS to make announcements to the class each week.)