Bells Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Hi, I'm considering ordering the Teaching Co.'s Building Great Sentences course. Wondering if anyone has used it to supplement academic writing for a student keen on creative writing. If so, would you recommend the CD or DVD version? Thanks, Bells Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 :lurk5: Just bumping this topic - I'm interested in this course too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Here are a couple of older threads concerning that program: New Teaching Company Course: Building Great Sentences and TCs Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft & Argumentation...Opinions Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Here are a couple of older threads concerning that program: New Teaching Company Course: Building Great Sentences and TCs Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft & Argumentation...Opinions Regards, Kareni Thanks Kareni, these were useful. Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bells Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 Nice to know others have used it to supplement other writing programs. I visited TTC website and the reviews are certainly mixed about the prof's teaching style. Guess I'll order it and see what we think. Bells Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaJuana Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 (edited) can be found in this thread: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106881&highlight=Building+Great+Sentences While I think this is a worthwhile course for the teaching parent, I wouldn't use it with a student. I think the professor's disdain for grammar, in particular, wars against our attempt as classical educators to help students understand the structure of language, particularly as it relates to the structure of thought. Instead of moving the student toward mastery of rhetoric and persuasion, this course moves a student toward writing in the train-of-thought style of modern fiction. Long, loose sentences are the entire focus of the course, according to the professor. I'm not convinced that will help a student learn to express his or her ideas well; it might even hinder the development of rhetorical skill unless the student has already mastered the canons of rhetoric. There is much more to mastery of rhetoric than mastery of the cumulative or loose sentence. I know you said your interest was especially in creative writing, and it could be more helpful in this case. Still, there is more to creative writing than mastery of the cumulative or loose sentence. The professor says that he believes more information in a sentence is better, but that is a fairly modern idea about storytelling. Often the things implied or left unsaid engage the reader more than the inclusion of every detail in a train of thought. Just a slightly different perspective for you to consider as you decide whether to purchase this course... Edited June 18, 2009 by LaJuana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in MD Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I haven't gotten it, because I'm happy with an alternative that is mostly excercises so the student practices and internalizes different styles, which my ds needs. It's Sentence Composing by Killgorn (sp) and has books for grades school, middle school and high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gullicat Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 to be absolutely blunt: 1. the prof was stupefyingly boring. on video. 2. the first couple of lectures (all we got through before sending it back... I love the TC return policy!) conveyed the prof's disdain for all the conventional grammar I have been working so hard to instill! 3. the prof seemed to be trying to complicate simple concepts- deep and intricate theoretical interpretations of things that are relatively straightforward. nonsense on stilts. FWIW -sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gullicat Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I think you might really like _ the writer's workshop: imitating your way to better writing_ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933859334/ref=ox_ya_oh_product its a real gem FWIW -sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaJuana Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 The Writer's Workshop by Dr. Greg Roper. It is an excellent book built on solid classical principles of analysis and imitation. I'm glad Sarah mentioned it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I guess I'll weigh-in a wee bit. My 13yo dd asked for this course, so I was happy to sit down with her and watch the first lecture. It didn't grab my attention and I found myself playing with the cat, etc. It seems we had a role reversal because my dd LOVED it. She has watched all the lectures while I've gladly found something else to do. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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