Advanced Composition

Great Lakes Adventist Academy

Ms. Michelle Rosas
Course Outline
Course Description
This course is designed for students planning to continue their education at the college
level. First semester, students will study grammatical principles and practice the
traditional five-paragraph essays used in college composition. Second semester, students
will study two types of research papers as well as reading and writing about selected
English literature.

Course Objectives
The student will demonstrate competency in composing, revising, and evaluating
his or her own 500 word essays.
The student will demonstrate progress in mastering mechanical skills in writing.
The student will demonstrate the ability to judge and rate his or her own writing
and to articulate his or her judgments.
The student will demonstrate the ability to evaluate others writing in ways that
help others improve.
The student will demonstrate the ability to research, organize, compose, and
revise a traditional research paper.
The student will demonstrate the ability to research, organize, compose, and
revise a multi-genre research paper.
The student will demonstrate the ability to read and understand a Shakespearean
play and be able to write and speak intelligently about it.

Overview of Year
Part I: Writing about Yourself: The Five Paragraph Personal Essay
Grammar (Spread throughout the writing units)
Parts of Speech
Basic Sentence Parts
Phrases and Clauses
Common Sentence Errors
Active & Passive Verbs
Pronoun Case
Punctuation Usage
Dissecting the Parts of an Essay
Thesis Statements
TEEW Paragraphs
Introductions
Conclusions
Formatting & MLA Style

The Different Kinds of Essays

Descriptive Essay
Place
Person
Cause/Effect Essay
Division/Classification Essay
Process Analysis Essay
Comparison/Contrast Essay
Essay Exam
Part II: Writing about Others: The Research Paper
Writing about a Teacher-Assigned Topic
Scanning the Research
Bibliography Cards
Works Cited Page
Preliminary Thesis
Note Cards
Sketch Outline
Parenthetical References
Writing the Rough Draft
What Makes a Good Paper?
Writing about a Student-Selected Topic
Choosing a Topic
Preliminary Thesis
Researching
Bibliography Cards
Works Cited Page
Note Cards
Sketch Outline
Parenthetical References
Making It All Flow
The Multi-genre Research Paper
What is a multi-genre paper?
Choosing a Topic
Research Methods
Writing a thesis with an emotional impact
Individual Genres
Tying It All Together
Layout and Presentation Methods
Annotated Bibliographies

Writing About Literature: Shakespeares Hamlet

Character Overview
Reading the Play
Literary AnalysisFive Paragaph Essay Style
Theatrical Interpretations
Movie ReviewsFive Paragraph Essay Style

Textbooks
Prentice Hall Grammar & Composition
Hamlet by William Shakespeare