Precollegiate English: English 9

Instructor: Megan Fry

Email: mfry1@niu.edu
Time: 8 a.m. - 9 a.m.
Days: Monday-Wednesday
Meeting Place: DuSable 424
Objective: The objective of this course is to prepare you for college-level writing. To do this, we will
go over the basic building blocks of writing the sentence, the paragraph, grammar, punctuation, and
mechanics. We will strengthen your writing skills with both in-class and out-of-class assignments. By
the end of the course, you will be able to write a clear, concise paragraph.
Textbook: Winkler, Anthony C., & McCuen-Metherell, Jo Ray. Writing Talk, NJ: Pearson. 2009.
Assignments:
Intro Assignment pass/fail
Brainstorming and Writing 10 points
Autobiography Paragraph 15 points
Narrative Paragraph 20 points
Opinion Paragraph 20 points
Biography Paragraph 25 points
Argument Paragraph 30 points
Intro Assignment: In this assignment, I want you to tell me your expectations and goals for this course.
At least 1 paragraph, no more than 1 page.
Brainstorming and Writing In this assignment, you will brainstorm about two subjects. Then you will
pick one subject, perform another brainstorming activity, and then write a paragraph based on the
refining you did.
Autobiography Paragraph: In this assignment, you will write an autobiographical paragraph that
describes a time you had to play a role that didn't fit you, or when one of your parents built something
for you and your reaction to it.
Narrative Paragraph: In this assignment, you will write a paragraph that relates a memorable event in
your life it can be any event, so long as the story has a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Opinion Paragraph: In this assignment, you will provide your opinion about a dispute. You will tell me
what/who you think is right, and why.
Biography Paragraph: In this assignment, you will pick someone you know (friend, family member,
teacher, etc.) and you will write about the work they do. I want you to write this paragraph as though
you were introducing this person.
Argument Paragraph: In this assignment, I want you to make an argument about cheating and the
penalties for cheating. It can be cheating in school, in sports, or anywhere else. You must support what
you are arguing you are not simply saying if something is right or wrong, you are explaining why it is
wrong and what penalties a cheater should face.

Schedule (Due Dates Announced in Class)

Week

Topic/Reading

Assignment

1 6/13-6/15

Intro: Why We Write

Writing Myths chp. 2
The Writing Process chp. 3
Tortillas - pg. 466

Intro Writing Assignment

Brainstorming and Writing

2 6/20-6/22

Sentences chp. 4, 6
Verbs chp. 7
Beautiful Music - pg. 469
The Cello - pg. 472

Autobiography Paragraph

3 6/27-6/29

Sentences chp. 5
Punctuation chp. 19
How The Lawyers Stole
Winter - pg. 474

Narrative Paragraph

4 7/4-7/6

Sentences to Paragraphs chp.

16
Writing a Paragraph chp. 17
A Problem - pg. 510

Opinion Paragraph

5 7/11-7/13

Writing a Paragraph chp. 17

Revising Paragraphs chp. 18
Cheating - pg. 522

Biography Paragraph

6 7/18-7/7/20

Revising Paragraphs chp. 18

Writer's Workshop

Argument Paragraph