Online Class: English Composition 101

Mastering English Composition: A Versatile Skillset for Modern Life

In the era of communication, where content is the cornerstone of digital platforms, and the ability to articulate ideas clearly is paramount, the craft of English composition stands tall. Studies from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reveal that written communication skills consistently rank among the top desired attributes by employers in their job candidates. However, effective writing goes beyond mere job qualifications—it is an essential life skill that elevates one's personal, academic, and professional journey.

Broadening Horizons Through Composition

The prowess of English composition stretches across varied domains:

• Academic Excellence: A solid foundation in essay writing and thesis organization will bolster the performance of students in high school and college. Furthermore, for individuals gearing up for college or graduate school entrance exams, a refined skill set in composition can often be the difference between acceptance and rejection.

• Business Acumen: As the business world continually evolves, professionals are expected to present their ideas, strategies, and reports in a lucid and compelling manner. Whether it's drafting an intricate proposal, creating an engaging presentation, or simply corresponding with colleagues, a strong grasp of composition is indispensable.

• Interview Preparedness: For those navigating the job market, the capacity to produce articulate written material during interviews—whether it's answering email queries or completing on-the-spot assignments—can significantly increase one's chances of landing the desired role.

• Leadership and Supervision: Individuals in managerial or supervisory roles often find themselves swamped with documentation, from employee feedback to project outlines. A proficiency in composition ensures clarity, conciseness, and effectiveness in such tasks.

• Personal Communication: In our daily lives, be it writing a heartfelt letter, blogging, or even engaging on social media, the ability to communicate effectively is invaluable.

Structured Learning: Crafting the Art of Composition

This course is meticulously structured to take learners through the nuanced journey of English composition:

1. Essay Writing as a Process: Understand the iterative nature of essay writing, emphasizing continuous refinement.
2. A Review of Grammar and Punctuation: Brush up on the foundational elements that lend precision and clarity to any written piece.
3. The Structures of an Essay: Dive deep into the anatomy of essays, analyzing each segment's purpose and execution.
4. Outlining: Master the art of creating blueprints for essays, ensuring coherent flow and logical sequencing.
5. Developing a Powerful Thesis Statement: Craft compelling central ideas that captivate readers and anchor your essays.
6. Introduction to the Concept of Research: Navigate the world of information, discerning between credible sources and understanding citations.
7. Rough Drafting or First Drafting: Learn the techniques to transform ideas into textual form, laying the groundwork for refinement.
8. The Revision Process: Refine your drafts, enhancing their quality through iterations, feedback, and self-assessment.
9. Writing Effective Introductions and Conclusions: Discover the art of beginning with impact and ending with lasting impressions.
10. The Final Draft: Assemble a polished piece, ready for submission or publication.
11. Introduction to Style Guides: Familiarize yourself with various formatting standards, ensuring your writings meet professional benchmarks.
12. Conclusion: Reflect on the acquired knowledge, assimilate learnings, and chart the path forward in your writing journey.

Write Your Way to Success

The dynamism of English composition is undeniably vast. Its applications permeate every facet of modern life. By investing in this course, learners don't just acquire a skill—they acquire a tool, a voice, a means to express, influence, and inspire.

Join us, and let the world resonate with your words. Discover the power of composition and harness it to craft stories, arguments, reports, and more, that leave an indelible mark. Let's write, refine, and revel in the magic of words!

Courses Frequently Bought Together:

Writing Basics 101: Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Writing Structures

ESL Basic Grammar and Writing

English Grammar Level 3

Course Motivation

Essay writing, unlike fiction or poetry writing, is a method of addressing specific points that the author is trying to convey to their particular audience. While there is a myth that good essay writers are born that way, the truth is that this is a skill that can be learned. Just as with most skills in life or school, creating a well rounded, coherent essay is a process that can be learned, perfected, and developed with the right tools and information. And, as with learning other skills, practice allows you to become increasingly more adept at essay writing.

START EARLY 

The first and most important part of writing a great essay is to START EARLY! It cannot be stressed enough that you must allow ample time to develop your argument, create an outline, perform research, create a rough draft, revise, and write a final draft. Most professors will tell you to start two to three weeks before your essay is due. However, if you have other obligations, such as work, children, household chores, and more, you should start even earlier. If you are one of the lucky few who has plenty of time on their hands, then you can start later. Never give yourself less than 10 day's time before the due date to start your essay though, no matter what your time freedom or restraints are. Last minute writing will receive a poor reception and most likely, a less than average grade.

EIGHT BASIC STEPS OF ESSAY WRITING

Whether your writing assignment is academic, business, or personal, the process of all essay writing can be encapsulated into eight basic steps.

1. Choose a Topic or Focus on the Assigned Topic.
2. Develop your ideas.
3. Create an Outline.
4. Write a tentative thesis.
5. Research.
6. Create the first draft.
7. Revise (multiple times).
8. Create a Final draft.

These steps will be covered in great detail in this course, but it is important to understand what they are and why they play an important role in essay writing. Let's take a closer look at each process individually.

PROCESS ONE. Choose a topic or focus on your assigned topic.

In some cases you will be assigned or will have a topic to write about. This is often the case with business or personal essay writing. In some academic situations you may be asked to select your own specific topic within a broader subject range. For instance, you may have to write about Shakespearian tragedy, but the topic may be anything you desire in that arena. Having to select your own topic adds an additional step to this process, but either way you will have to hone in on specific points related to your central thesis or topic so that you will begin to develop a clear idea of where you plan on going with your writing.

PROCESS TWO. Develop your ideas.

The best way to generate the specific ideas you want to convey, research, or cover in your essay is to use the standard writing rules. With every essay, answer the following questions clearly for yourself:

1. Who are your audience and what are you trying to tell them?
2. What is the main purpose of your essay?
3. Who are you? What image do you want to convey about yourself as a person and a writer?

Brainstorming may be helpful to begin with. (List a bunch of ideas without regard to exploring or judging them at the moment).

PROCESS THREE. Outline.

Creating an outline helps organize your information, points, and components into a cohesive, clear format. Often, in an academic setting, an outline will be requested and required before your topic is accepted or your essay is handed in. You may use alpha-numeric headings or decimal. Alpha-numeric is acceptable for most uses but it makes no difference which you use. You may ask your educator which they prefer if you are unsure about which to use. You will also be supplied with a blank alpha-numeric and a blank decimal outline that can be edited to your needs and printed out for your use.

PROCESS FOUR. Write a tentative thesis.

PROCESS FIVE. Research.

Accurate, recordable research is vital in supporting the thesis you are presenting to your audience. Without research your essay is considered an opinion expressed by you and only you, and not supported by any other documentation or proof. Performing research is a time consuming task. It will be considerably less time consuming if your thesis or central idea is specific and clear. If your thesis is too broad, you will see this as you begin your research. If you are getting too much information, you probably need to narrow down your central theme. Think of research as an inverted pyramid process. Start with a wide range of opinions on your specific topic and then begin to narrow your reading down to those which are relevant to your thesis.

PROCESS SIX. Creating the first draft.

It is helpful if you have your research materials, books, and other notes, on paper, and nearby as you write. This will make it easier to refer to them along the way. Just start writing.

PROCESS SEVEN. Revise.   

The revision process is where you will put your rough draft into a clear, concise format and fix any errors or omissions. Prior to making revisions in your writing, you should use your spell check feature to correct any glaring spelling errors. Some useful steps for revision are as follows.

1. Print out a hard copy.
2. Read over and mark any sentences or paragraphs you want to change by deleting or adding to what you have written.
3. Jot notes in margins or on a separate piece of paper wherever helpful.
4. Rewrite (often).
5. Check for spelling and grammatical errors again and correct.

PROCESS EIGHT. Create a Final draft.

The final draft is exactly that. It is the final printout of all your hard work and dedication. Don't be alarmed if you spot a few problems that need to be fixed in your final draft or a few things you may want to change. Just revise and reprint if need be. At some point, however, typos, spelling, and grammatical errors aside, you will need to reach an end point. Some writers are never satisfied with their work, and could go on editing and revising forever, but this is not possible. Your essay will need to be presented to its intended audience at some time. So, print out as many copies as you need and call it a day. Hopefully, you did the work you needed to do in the previous steps and your essay is exactly (or nearly) what you aimed for. Congratulate yourself for a job well done!