(click on course title for registration page)
Session dates: Tuesdays, January 10 to February 28.
Total classes: 8
Starting time: 2:30 pm Eastern (1:30 pm Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Fee: $130 if you register on or before November 1, 2011. $180 after Nov. 1 for all 8 classes.
Instructor: Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Prerequisite: Either “Writing for High School” or some other high school-level formal writing program.
Suggested grade level: 11th to 12th grade
Suggested high school credit: 2/3 semester. Parent can assign additional writing assignments for full semester credit.
Course description: What are the characteristics of excellent writing in the eyes of college professors? This course will use the rhetorical arts to help turn competent writing into impressive writing. What are the essential components of an excellent piece of nonfiction writing? How does one write a compelling introduction and conclusion? How does one argue effectively for one’s position? What are important mistakes to avoid? The course will work with previous writing samples of the students, as well as composition exercises, culminating in the writing of a short argumentative essay.
Course outline:
Class 1: Characteristics of a well-written college level research paper.
Class 2: Basic outline of a paper: introductory paragraph(s), body, and conclusion. Special focus on thesis and "hook."
Class 3: Argumentation in the body of the paper. Three types of appeal in classic rhetoric, ethos, pathos, and logos. Rational argumentation. Anticipating objections
Class 4: The syllogism, major premise, minor premise, and conclusion. Definitions in the major and the minor of a complex argument.
Class 5: Templates for four types of writing: Expository essay, textual analysis, argumentative research paper, and book review.
Class 6: Research tools and citations
Class 7: Research tools and citations (cont.)
Class 8: In this final session we will review practical suggestions about formatting and editing. We will also discuss how to use the work of others and how to avoid plagiarism.
Course materials: Everything provided free online or by Dr. Gotcher.
Homework: The student will have two types of homework assignments. He will apply the material to previous written work and he will compose a five to seven page paper as the course develops. All assignments commented on and graded by Dr. Gotcher.
Professor's biography: Dr. Robert F. Gotcher most recently served as Associate Professor of Systematic Studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Kathy, are raising their seven children in Franklin, Wisconsin. Dr. Gotcher has been actively involved in the homeschooling of his children, especially in the junior high and high school years. He has taught Latin, literature, physics, astronomy, and religion to homeschooled students. He has a special devotion to the classical trivium of grammar, logic and rhetoric, especially as they pertain to the written arts.
Dr. Gotcher graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 with a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies. He received his M.A. in Theology of the University of St.
Thomas in St. Paul in 1991 and his Ph.D. from Marquette University in 2002.
Equipment requirements: Classes are online, live and interactive. Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone.
Misc:
Dr. Gotcher will be available via email in between classes for questions and comments.
Recordings of classes are provided to students within 24 hours and available for 6 months.
Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services.
(click on course title for registration page)
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