1. Outcome:The student will demonstrate in-class response writing and in-class, on-demand summary writing.
   Assessment:The student will respond to a published essay with comments based on specific questions or open-ended prompts. The student will extract meaning from a published essay and summarize the essay on demand with a clear understanding of the content. The student will demonstrate evidence of the above outcome by earning a minimum grade of "C" or higher on a portfolio as a required final exam.
2. Outcome:The student will demonstrate the writing process by revising a work through multiple drafts with concern for organization, development, transitions, and focus.
   Assessment:The student will write a developed, multi-paragraph composition that illustrates critical thinking through the use of at least one of the following: narration, description, or illustration. The student will be able to use a pre-writing technique and will be able to proofread and edit a final draft for sentence-level errors, clarity, word usage, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. The student will demonstrate evidence of the above outcome by earning a minimum grade of "C" or higher on a portfolio as a required final exam.

1. Reading as a Context for Writing
   1. Discussion of reading passage
   2. Eliciting related comments to passage
   3. Answering questions in written form
   4. Analytical reading skills
2. Writing for Fluency
   1. Journal writing. Reporting on daily events
3. Writing Paragraphs and Short Essays
   1. Pre-Writing Techniques
      1. Mapping
      2. Listing
      3. Clustering
      4. Outlining
   2. Thesis Formulation
      1. Constructing a subject and a controlling idea
   3. Development of Topic Sentences
   4. Methods of Paragraph Development
      1. Narrative
      2. Illustration
      3. Description
      4. Analysis
   5. Essay-Structure
      1. Introduction
      2. Body
      3. Conclusion
4. Word Choice and Vocabulary
   1. Formal/informal
   2. Context clues
   3. Dictionary skills
5. Transitional Devices
   1. Between sentences
   2. Between paragraphs
6. Rewriting, Editing, and Proofreading Processes
   1. Organization
   2. Focus
   3. Development
   4. Sentence Structures
   5. Word Usage
   6. Spelling
   7. Punctuation
7. Sentence Construction and Combining
   1. Simple
   2. Compound
   3. Complex
   4. Compound-complex
8. Grammar and Usage
   1. Homonyms
   2. Exact words

The student will read model paragraphs and short essays on a variety of topics. Readings should be Level II (ninth-twelfth grade level) on the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Scale. The student will be asked to complete assignments, such as the following:

1. Read essays in various rhetorical modes.
2. Read and study various methods of developing introductory paragraphs.
3. Read and study various methods of developing concluding paragraphs.
4. Read various methods of rhetorical development in body paragraphs.
5. Read and study model sentences using basic sentence patterns involving subordination and coordination.
6. Read essays in order to produce summaries and responses.
7. Read and study new vocabulary terms and develop a broader vocabulary base.
8. Read to identify differences in objective and subjective writing.
9. Read formal and informal types of writing.
10. Use visual organizers to understand various essay structures and to distinguish between general statements and supporting details.

The student will write a minimum of 5,000 words of expository prose divided among various assignments, such as the following:

1. Write in a journal to achieve fluency with the written word.
2. Write summaries of readings on different topics.
3. Write responses to readings on different topics.
4. Write topic sentences and general sentences for paragraphs and essays.
5. Write supporting sentences using relevant examples, details, and specifics to develop points adequately.
6. Connect sentences and paragraphs with transitional words, phrases, and sentences.
7. Combine sentences through the use of subordination and embedded structures, with an understanding of primary and secondary importance in such sentences.
8. Write organized and coherent essays using certain rhetorical methods of development, such as narration, description, and illustration.
9. Write three-paragraph narrative essays.
10. Write reading-based compositions by writing in response to an earlier reading.
11. Respond in writing to a reading passage with or without the use of a prompt.
12. Generate ideas through various strategies in order to expand on a composition.
13. Edit for grammatical accuracy in sentence variety, subject/verb agreement, verb tense, pronoun usage, and parallelism.
14. Write a cover letter as an introduction for a particular job.