Introduction to Essay Writing

Teacher: Suzanne
Customers Who Have Viewed This Course: 1724

$200.00

Section 1 0 Course Introduction 05:40

The course introduction will explain how the course is structured, so that you know what to expect before getting started.

1 Lesson 1- What is An Essay? 13:00

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the concept and importance of essay writing and will hear a brief description of each essay taught within the course.

2 Lesson 1 Review 02:16

In this lesson, you will complete a matching activity to review the material from lesson one.

3 Lesson 2- Parts of an Essay 15:19

The three main parts of an essay are the introduction, the body and the conclusion. In this lesson, you will learn how to approach each section and will read examples of each.

4 Lesson 2 Review 05:54

In this activity, you will have the chance to write two of the body paragraphs for the essay, "What You Need to Know Before Getting a Dog."

5 Lesson 3- Conventions of Essay Writing 19:30

Before writing an essay for the first time, it's useful to know what readers might expect from your essay. This is what it means to discuss conventions of essay writing. In this lesson, you'll learn about the basic rules of essay writing, from punctuation to style and formatting.

6 Lesson 3 Review 03:45

In this exercise, you will look for and correct the mistakes in the sentences provided. When you're finished, you can use the answer key to check your work.

7 Lesson 4- Avoiding Plagiarism 14:06

Plagiarism is considered a serious offense by most schools, so it's best to learn early on how to avoid it. In this lesson, you will learn how to properly cite and give credit to your sources.

8 Lesson 4 Review 03:18

In this review, you will see more examples of how to properly cite sources in an essay by quoting and paraphrasing.

Section 2 9 Lesson 5- What is a Narrative Essay? 12:19

It's almost time to start writing your first essay! In this lesson, you will learn how to appraoch the narrative essay, which is often more like a story.

10 Lesson 5 Review 03:15

In this review, you will use the story Little Red Riding Hood to complete the story arc.

11 Lesson 6- Narrative Essay, Choosing a Topic 12:34

When writing a personal essay, remember that no topic is boring if it's important or special to you. Watch the video to get ideas for topics, and questions you can answer to help you brainstorm.

12 Lesson 6 Review 07:13

Fill out the idea web for at least one potential topic. If there is more than one topic you are interested in, use the idea web to help you decide on which topic you can write the best essay.

13 Lesson 7- Narrative Essay, Creating an Outline 12:25

It helps to write an outline before writing an essay. In this lesson, I will walk you through the process of writing an outline for the narrative essay and provide a template you can use.

14 Lesson 7 Review 07:59

This lesson review explains the outline template and shows how the first section, the introduction, can be filled in with specific ideas.

15 Lesson 8- Narrative Essay, The Introduction 11:51

What makes for a good introduction paragraph in a narrative essay? This lesson will explain the tips and tricks.

16 Lesson 8 Review 02:37

In this paragraph, there are no commas! However, there should be several. Read the paragraph and fill in the missing commas.

17 Lesson 9- Narrative Essay, The Body Paragraphs 11:44

How do you take the information from your outline and turn it into three or more solid paragraphs? This lesson will show you how with examples.

18 Lesson 9 Review 05:38

This review includes a paragraph-editing exercise. An answer key is located in the Resources section.

19 Lesson 10- Narrative Essay, The Conclusion 12:21

This lesson provides examples of narrative essay conclusions and strategies for writing your own conclusion.

20 Lesson 10 Review 02:59

In this review activity, you will need to try to select the correct word to go into each blank space of the conclusion paragraph.

Section 3 21 Lesson 11- What is a Descriptive Essay? 10:59

In this lesson, you will learn about the purpose of the descriptive essay and what to include while writing it.

22 Lesson 11 Review 06:21

In this review, you will complete an activity to help you write unique metaphors.

23 Lesson 12- Descriptive Essay, Choosing a Topic 10:47

This lesson provides tools and ideas for brainstorming descriptive essay topics.

24 Lesson 12 Review 04:26

In this review, you will see an example of how to fill out the idea web for the descriptive essay.

25 Lesson 13- Descriptive Essay Outline 10:53

In this lesson, you will learn about how to format the outline of the descriptive essay with examples.

26 Lesson 13 Review 07:04

In this review, you will see the first part of the descriptive essay outline template filled in with specific ideas.

27 Lesson 14- Descriptive Essay Introduction 10:51

In this lesson, I will discuss examples of introduction paragraphs and explain which ones are written effectively and which ones need improvment.

28 Lesson 14 Review 07:04

Going from an outline to a full paragraph often involves using more detail. Use this review as an example of writing an introduction from an outline.

29 Lesson 15- Descriptive Essay Body Paragraphs 11:52

In this lesson, you will hear a discussion of the body paragraphs from the essay, "Growing My Garden."

30 Lesson 15 Review 04:02

Use this review to learn the difference between strong and weak verbs, and how to write more sentences with strong verbs.

31 Lesson 16- Descriptive Essay Conclusion 11:14

In this lesson, you will see examples of three different conclusion paragraphs and hear a discussion of why they do or do not work effectively.

32 Lesson 16 Review 07:40

For this review activty, you will need to try to determine the correct order of the paragraphs presented.

Section 4 33 Lesson 17- What is an Expository Essay? 12:16

This lesson explains the goals and purpose of an expository essay, providing some general how-tos and example topics.

34 Lesson 17 Review 03:44

In this review, you will look at a venn diagram and discuss other methods of tracking and sorting information.

35 Lesson 18- Expository Essay Topic Selection 12:35

In this lesson, you will be provided with several topics that could be discussed in the expository essay, and explain some approaches that students can take with picking a topic for this essay.

36 Lesson 18 Review 08:26

Use this review to fill in the idea web to start brainstorming topics for the expository essay.

37 Lesson 19- Expository Essay Outline 15:12

In this lesson, you will see an exmaple of an expository essay outline and hear it discussed.

38 Lesson 19 Review 08:25

In this review, you will be provided with an explanation of the expository outline template.

39 Lesson 20- Expository Essay Introduction 13:59

In this lesson, you will see multiple examples of expository essay introduction paragraphs, and will complete an exercise of unscrambling the sentences of an introduction paragraph.

40 Lesson 20 Review 04:52

In this review activity, you will try to figure out the correct order of the sentences to form a paragraph. After you finish, you can check the answer key to see if you organized them correctly.

41 Lesson 21- Expository Essay Body Paragraphs 10:40

In this lesson, you will hear a discussion of the body paragraphs from an example expository essay.

42 Lesson 21 Review 05:49

This review activity will teach you how to eliminate weak verbs, like "to be" verb, from some of your sentences.

43 Lesson 22- Expository Essay Conclusion 14:01

In this lesson, you will hear a discussion of two different comclusion paragraph examples, and try to unscramble the sentences of a third paragraph.

44 Lesson 22 Review 05:21

In this review activity, you will compare two conclusions to decide which you think it better.

Section 5 45 Lesson 23- What is a Critical Essay 11:59

In this lesson, you will be introduced to the critical essay and will receive tips on how to approach the assignment.

46 Lesson 23 Review 04:11

In this review activity, you will write a brief summary and analysis of a political cartoon. You can find a paragraph including both a summary and analysis of the cartoon in the answer key.

47 Lesson 24- Critical Essay Topic Selection 12:28

In this lesson, you will be given ideas for texts to write about and questions to consider for the essay. You can choose a text on your own, or you can check the documents for a few options.

48 Lesson 24 Review 08:03

Use the idea web to brainstorm topic ideas for the critical essay.

49 Lesson 25- Critical Essay Outline 15:36

In this lesson, you will hear a discussion of a critical essay outline example and be provided with a template to use for your outline.

50 Lesson 25 Review 07:17

This review will help you to get started with filling in the details of your own critical essay outline.

51 Lesson 26- Critical Essay Introduction 11:58

In this lesson, you will see multiple examples of critical essay introduction paragraphs and receive tips for writing a strong thesis statement.

52 Lesson 26 Review 06:26

In this activity, you will read some thoughts on the story There's No Such Thing as a Dragon, and try to develop a thesis statement from them.

53 Lesson 27- Critical Essay Body Paragraphs 11:17

In this lesson, you will see several exmaples of body paragraphs for two different critical essays, and will have the chance to write one for an essay on the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes.

54 Lesson 27 Review 05:04

For this activity, you should re-read "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes and the first two paragraphs of the essay about the poem. Then write at least one sentence for the next body paragraph.

55 Lesson 28- Critical Essay Conclusion 15:42

In this lesson, you will hear a discussion of three conclusion examples, including a before and after, and will receive tips for writing the final sentence.

56 Lesson 28 Review 06:24

For this activity, you will re-write a conclusion paragrph. This activity will help you see that there is always more than one path that you can take when approaching a conclusion paragraph.

Section 6 57 Lesson 29- What is an Argument Essay? 14:45

In this lesson, you will be introduced to the argument essay and hear a discussion of the steps involved in writing the essay, including research.

58 Lesson 29 Review 06:05

In this review activity, you will try to find at least one counter argument for the statements provided.

59 Lesson 30- Argument Essay Topic Selection 12:46

Feeling like you don't know where to start with this assignment? In this lesson, you will be given ideas for topics and some general tips for selecting a topic that interests you.

60 Lesson 30 Review 07:40

In this review, you will see examples of research questions for a variety of argument essay topics.

61 Lesson 31- Argument Essay Research 12:15

In this lesson, I will discuss the types of sources that you should and should not use, as well as how and where to find them.

62 Lesson 31 Review 07:35

In this review, you will see the process of looking for sources and deciding whether or not they are suitable to use in an argument essay.

63 Lesson 32- Argument Essay Thesis Statement 14:38

In this lesson, you will see the process of writing a thesis statement for the argument essay unfold.

64 Lesson 32 Review 08:16

In this review, you will be given another example of how to write a thesis statement, as well as templates that you can use to form your own thesis.

65 Lesson 33- Argument Essay Outline 12:14

In this lesson, you will hear the discussion of an example argument essay outline and receive a template to use for your own outline.

66 Lesson 33 Review 10:32

In this lesson review, you will see an example of filling in the argument essay outline template with specific details.

67 Lesson 34- Argument Essay Introduction 11:44

In this lesson, you will hear a discussion of two different argument essay introduction examples.

68 Lesson 34 Review 05:52

Like with a conclusion paragraph, there are often many paths you can take when approaching an introduction. In this review activity, you will have a chance to re-write an introduction paragraph.

69 Lesson 35- Argument Essay Body Paragraphs 11:19

In this lesson, you will hear a discussion of the body paragraphs of an example essay and learn about using your own expereince as evidence.

70 Lesson 35 Review 06:53

The body paragraph example in this review activity is in need of some fixing. Read the paragraph and try to determine what the problems are. Then, you can compare it to the revised paragraph in the answer key.

71 Lesson 36- Argument Essay Conclusion 10:28

In this lesson, you will hear a discussion of two different argument essay conclusion examples, as well as a conclusion paragraph that needs improvement.

72 Lesson 36 Review 04:26

In this review, you will practice taking information from an outline and creating a full conclusion paragraph.

73 Lesson 37- Argument Essay Works Cited Page 13:59

I this lesson, you will see examples of works cited pages following MLS formatting, and will receive resources to help you complete your works cited page.

74 Lesson 37 Review 04:39

In this review, you will be provided with a works cited page that doesn't follow all of the directions. See if you can spot which rules aren't being followed.

Section 7 75 Lesson 38- What is Revision? 14:11

In this lesson, you will be introduces to the concept of revision, and will learn the difference between revising and editing.

76 Lesson 38 Review 09:11

Read the essay provided in the documents, and decide what you think the writer should focus on in an revsion.

77 Lesson 39- What is Coherence? 12:44

In this lesson, you will hear a discussion of how we can achieve coherence within the essay, within each paragraph, and within each sentence.

78 Lesson 39 Review 05:41

In this review activity, you will read a paragraph and determine if and when it goes off course.

79 Lesson 40- Polishing Your Sentences 15:26

In this lesson, you will learn how to make your writing more concise and how to use parallel structure.

80 Lesson 40 Review 07:14

Use this review activity to work on your skills with sentence combinging, eliminating unneeded prepositions and redundancies, and parallel structure.

Course Overview

If your middle or highschooler needs help with writing essays, you've come to the right place! This course is designed to make the process of writing essays less daunting and more enjoyable for your teen or pre-teen. Whether your kid loves to write or writes reluctantly, this course will provide them with the tools and knowledge needed to embark on their essay-writing journey, and will better prepare them for future English composition classes. Sections are broken up into different categories of essays, which include a narrative essay, a descriptive essay, an expository essay, a critical essay, and an argument essay. Each lesson addresses a different step on the path to completing the essay, from creating an outline to writing the conclusion. Along the way, your child will see numerous examples to guide and inspire them, and will have the chance to apply their knowledge in small writing and editing exercises. In the last section of the course, your child will do some additional work with one of their previously completed essays in order to learn the process of revision. I have used my experience in teaching college-level writing to design this course, because I want to make sure that your child is prepared for college composition before graduating from high school. My hope is that by the end of this course, your child will have a new appreciation for the essay-writing process, and will feel more confident in their writing abilities.

This Course Includes:

Seven units
40 video lessons
40 multiple-choice quizzes
40 activities
40 follow-along activity review videos (I review each activity and provide the answers one by one)
Forty lesson reviews, each including a brief writing activity or exercise
A Resource section with five essay checklists and twenty-three answer keys
Five full essay examples, with many additional example excerpts

Course Goals

After completing this course, students should be able to:

Outline an essay.
Write a complete essay with an introduction, at least three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Research a topic and locate outside sources when needed.
Properly credit the sources they use.
Revise their essays to improve organization and to make sure ideas are expressed clearly.
Edit their essays to correct common mistakes and polish their sentences.

Target Audience

This course is geared toward students in grades 6-9, but is appropriate for those in grades 10-12 as well.

Course Requirements

Before taking this course, it is ideal that students already have a basic understanding of grammar and how to write in complete sentences, as only one lesson in this course will be used to explain those topics.

While taking the course, students will need to watch each video lesson, complete the brief, multiple-choice quiz, and complete the writing exercise explained in each lesson review.

Course Topics:

Lesson 1- What is an Essay?

Lesson 2- Parts of an Essay

Lesson 3- Essay Conventions and Grammar

Lesson 4- Avoiding Plagiarism (How to Cite Sources)

Lesson 5- What is a Narrative Essay?

Lesson 6- Narrative Essay Topic Selection

Lesson 7- Narrative Essay Outline

Lesson 8- Narrative Essay Introduction

Lesson 9- Narrative Essay Body Paragraphs

Lesson 10- Narrative Essay Conclusion

Lesson 11- What is a Descriptive Essay?

Lesson 12- Descriptive Essay Topic Selection

Lesson 13- Descriptive Essay Outline

Lesson 14- Descriptive Essay Introduction

Lesson 15- Descriptive Essay Body Paragraphs

Lesson 16- Descriptive Essay Conclusion

Lesson 17- What is an Expository Essay?

Lesson 18- Expository Essay Topic Selection

Lesson 19- Expository Essay Outline

Lesson 20- Expository Essay Introduction

Lesson 21- Expository Essay Body Paragraphs

Lesson 22- Expository Essay Conclusion

Lesson 23- What is a Critical Essay?

Lesson 24- Critical Essay Topic Selection

Lesson 25- Critical Essay Outline

Lesson 26- Critical Essay Introduction

Lesson 27- Critical Essay Body Paragraphs

Lesson 28- Critical Essay Conclusion

Lesson 29- What is an Argument Essay?

Lesson 30- Argument Essay Topic Selection

Lesson 31- Argument Essay- Finding and Evaluating Sources

Lesson 32- Argument Essay Thesis Statement

Lesson 33- Argument Essay Outline

Lesson 34- Argument Essay Introduction

Lesson 35- Argument Essay Body Paragraphs

Lesson 36- Argument Essay Conclusion

Lesson 37- Argument Essay Works Cited Page

Lesson 38- What is Revision?

Lesson 39- Achieving Coherence

Lesson 40- Extra Tips and Tricks

Teacher: Suzanne
Areas of expertise: Composition, Creative Writing, Literature, Reading
Education: BA in English from The University of Cincinnati, MA in English from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio Intensive Pedagogical Training Institute K-12 Teaching Certificate
Interests: Young Adult Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Critical and Analytic Writing, Children's Literature, Homeschooling
Skills: Providing clear, step-by-step instructions with examples,
Associations:
Issues I care about: I care about helping my students improve their writing and critical thinking skills, and teaching them the importance of written communication in all disciplines.

Hello! I am a mother to three beautiful girls and a passionate reading and writing teacher. I taught college level writing for four years before beginning the process of becoming a certified K-12 teacher through the Ohio Department of Education. The benefits of having taught college students first is that I know what skills high schoolers need in order to succeed in writing classes later on. My goal as a teacher is to make writing essays less daunting and more enjoyable.

Test Preparation Document

Digital Quizzes and Tests Answer Keys Document

Narrative Essay Checklist

This checklist provides a chart to help you keep track of the steps in the narrative essay writing process, and to help you evaluate the essay once it's completed.

Descriptive Essay Checklist

This checklist provides a chart to help you keep track of the steps in the descriptive essay writing process, and to help you evaluate the essay once it's completed.

Expository Essay Checklist

This checklist provides a chart to help you keep track of the steps in the expository essay writing process, and to help you evaluate the essay once it's completed.

Critical Essay Checklist

This checklist provides a chart to help you keep track of the steps in the critical essay writing process, and to help you evaluate the essay once it's completed.

Argument Essay Checklist

This checklist provides a chart to help you keep track of the steps in the argument essay writing process, and to help you evaluate the essay once it's completed.

Lesson 1 Review Answer Key

This answer key provides the defintions of the five different essays covered in this course.

Lesson 2 Answer Key

After writing the body paragraphs about time commitment and financial responsibility, you can compare your paragraphs to the ones in the answer key. It's ok if yours are different, as long as you feel that you fully covered each topic in at least three sentences.

Lesson 3 Answer Key

Check the answer key to see if you found the mistake in each sentence.

Lesson 4 Answer Key

Use this answer key to help you understand the problems in two of the citation examples.

Lesson 5 Answer Key

After completeing thr narrative story arc for Little Red Riding Hood, use the answer key to check your work.

Lesson 8 Answer Key

Use the answer key to make sure you inserted the commas in the correct spots.

Lesson 9 Answer Key

Try to find all of the mistakes in the Captain Underpants paragraph. When you're finished, you can check your work with the answer key.

Lesson 10 Answer Key

After filling in the blanks of the conclusion paragraph, check the answer key to find out if you selected the best word for each one.

Lesson 14 Answer Key

Write a paragraph based on the information you were provided with in the outline, and then compare it to the paragraph in the answer key. Remember that it's ok if your turned out a little differently.

Lesson 16 Answer Key

Read the paragraphs from the Lesson 16 Review and put them in what you think is the best order for the essay. When you're finished, you can check your work with the answer key.

Lesson 20 Answer Key

Read the sentences from the worksheet with the Lesson 20 Review and try to put them in the correct order to form an introduction paragraph. When you're finished, check your work here.

Lesson 21 Answer Key

Do your best to eliminate one or two "to be" verbs from the paragraph in the Lesson 21 Review. When you're finished, read the paragraph in the answer key to see how some of them were changed.

Lesson 22 Answer Key

Read the two conclusions and decide which you think is better. When you're finished, check the answer key to read an explanation of each one.

Lesson 23 Answer Key

Write a summary and analysis (at least one sentence each) of the political cartoon "Caution Children Playing." When you're finished, you can compare it to the paragraph in the answer key.

Lesson 26 Answer Key

Try to strengthen the thesis statement on There's No Such Thing as a Dragon and copare it to the thesis in the answer key.

Lesson 27 Answer Key

Write at least one sentence to continue the essay on "Mother to Son." When you're finished, you can compare it to the paragraph in the answer key. It's ok if you took your essay in a different direction, as long it you think it's relevant to the analysis of the poem and smoothly follows the previous paragraph.

Lesson 28 Answer Key

For this activity, you should re-write one of the conclusion paragraphs from the worksheet, or the one from your own essay. When you're finished, you can compare it to the paragraph in the answer key. Remember that there are many ways to approach a conclusion paragraph, so it's ok if yours is different from the one provided here.

Lesson 29 Answer Key

Read the arguments in the review activity, and write a counter argument (or oposing argument) for each one. When you're finished, you can compare your counter arguments to the ones in the answer key.

Lesson 34 Answer Key

For this activity, you should re-write one of the introduction paragraphs from the worksheet, or the one from your own essay. When you're finished, you can compare it to the paragraph in the answer key. Remember that there are many ways to approach an introduction paragraph, so it's ok if yours is different from the one provided here.

Lesson 35 Answer Key

After you've identified the problems in the paragraph, you can check the answer key for an explanation of what needs to be changed and to read the revised version.

Lesson 39 Answer Key

Decide where the paragraph in the lesson review goes off course, and what could be done to fix the problem. Check the answer key for an explanation.

Lesson 40 Answer Key

Use the skills of combining sentences, eliminating prepositions, removing redundant words, or employing parallel structure to improve each passage. When you're finished, you can check your work with the answer key.

Lesson 36 Answer Key

After using the information provided by the outline to write a full paragraph, compare your paragraph to the one in the answer key.

Lesson 38 Answer Key

After providing some feedback to help the writer of the example essay revise, look here to see the comments a teacher might make.

End-of-lesson-Quiz Answers

Here you will find the answers to all forty multiple choice quizzes.

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