Writing classes & the high school transcipt

[Virginia Heather]

Do colleges want to see some sort of writing instruction listed for each year of high school? Or it enough to take an actual writing/comp. class in-- say-- 9th grade (and in years prior, of course), and then just WRITE?

 

I'm looking in to Comp.1 & 2 at VPSA for 8th and 9th grade... but where do I go from there? They offer a fiction-writing class; Ds may or may not be interested in taking it at that point. IF he's writing WELL at the the end of 9th (assuming i follow my plan)... is that enough??? I think he'll be taking Omni Primary & Secondary 3-6, so surely there will be writing requirements for thos classes. Will that be enough? Or will ds need more writing "instruction" on his transcript to make college admissions happy?

 

And thanks so much for humoring me here.... I really don't know what I'm doing!

[Julie in MN]

Hmmm, I'll be interested in your replies. I personally don't recall ever seeing "writing" on a public school list of courses. I mostly see "English 9" type labels, and maybe American Literature or the like. In my little mind, "writing" would need to be "about" something, and it would just need to include reading in order to be an English credit, so it is usually paired with literature. The fiction writing or "creative writing" is a whole different thing, more of an elective usually.

 

Here's a pretty college prep public school near us:

English

Required in 10th grade (Choose one)

English 10

Enriched English 10

English 10: Guys and Literacy

Required in 11th grade (Choose one)

American Literature & Composition

Blended American Literature and Composition

American Literature and Composition: Genres

Advanced Placement American Literature & Language

Open only to seniors

Advanced Placement World Literature 12

World Literature I, II: A Senior Seminar

Electives available for grades 10-12

Art of Film

Art of Film II

Creative Writing

Journalism: Print and Broadcast

Mass Media

Public Speaking

 

Here's the fairly NON-college-prep high school that my oldest went to:

ENGLISH 9

ENGLISH 10

ENGLISH 11

ENGLISH 12

BRITISH LITERATURE (11, 12)

MULTI-CULTURAL LITERATURE (11, 12)

HONORS ENGLISH (9, 10, 11)

COLLEGE IN THE SCHOOLS (12) ...sophisticated writing assignments, through challenging literature selections,

ENGLISH ESSENTIALS (9, 10, 11, 12) ...for students whose skills are lower than the skills needed to function in a regular English classroom,

ENGLISH ESSENTIALS I (9, 10, 11, 12) ESL transition course

 

 

That said, it's your school and you can spend time on whatever you find valuable. My son got into all schools he applied for even with just English 9-12 on his public school transcript.

 

Julie

[Cheryl B in VA]

Colleges consider writing classes electives. Writing is expected to be part of a high school English class. Classes labeled journalism, creative writing, fiction writing, etc., are electives. They are good to have on a transcript if the student wants to pursue an English major or a major pertaining to one of the electives.

[Virginia Heather]

Wow! I have so much to learn!

 

So here's another question then. If, for instance, my son takes Omni 4 (primary & Secondary) in 10th grade (as I have currently planned), will the "Ancient Literature 2" credit (which he'll receive for the Secondary class) be sufficient to satisfy the required 10th grade english credit? Surely there will be some writing required for that class... Will the work done therein be enough to satisfy a college admission's office?

 

I'm just trying to get my arms around this whole 4-English-credits-needed on the transcript situation... and what effectively meets that requirement.