fluffybunny Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Can anyone recommend a good Expository Essay program that is short term, ie around 2 months, as my ds14 will be going to school next year, and just needs some direction with this genre. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Bravewriter Expository Essay - Class this summer, worth every penny, or Help for High School, print materials for student and mentor. Perfect for your time frame and wonderful in any case. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 I also was going to recommend Brave Writer Expository Essay online class. Love the online class, but alternatively you can use the Help For High School which is basically the same thing, but you have to teach it and you don't get the wonderful editing help from the Brave Writer teachers. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadanjem Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Son is doing BW Expository Essay right now. I "third" the recommendation. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 Thank you so much everyone: I am checking that out right now :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Can anyone tell me more about Brave Writer Expository Essay class? How often does teacher post class? How many essays? Are meaty essays required? Is there a lot of detailed instruction on how to write a good essay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 The Expository Essay class is a six week class. The students write two complete essays -- an exploratory essay (open form) and a 5-paragraph, persuasive essay (closed form) which includes research and MLA documentation. They learn: about open and closed form essays and read examples, to develop questions that lead to a thesis, to write a thesis with tension, to develop an essay plan, revision techniques, paraphrasing, etc. The instructor posts the assignments which are in written form so the student can refer to the material as they work. The students post their work and can read the work of their peers. Then, the instructor posts revision input/suggestions. Finally, the students post their revised work and receive more feedback. The feedback is encouraging, appropriate, and timely. No waiting. Imo, the material in this class is essential college prep. Like all Bravewriter classes, the class moves along, so put adequate time in the schedule to learn and enjoy. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Definitely the BW class or Help for High School. Also, FYI, advanced middle schoolers can take that class at their own level. DD did that in 8th grade and it was good preparation for transitioning to a brick and mortar high school. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 BW is great at taking students of any ability and moving them forward. Students that have never seen an essay or are poor writers won't feel lost, and students that can already write a good essay build on those skills and significantly improve. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 The Expository Essay class is a six week class. The students write two complete essays -- an exploratory essay (open form) and a 5-paragraph, persuasive essay (closed form) which includes research and MLA documentation. They learn: about open and closed form essays and read examples, to develop questions that lead to a thesis, to write a thesis with tension, to develop an essay plan, revision techniques, paraphrasing, etc. The instructor posts the assignments which are in written form so the student can refer to the material as they work. The students post their work and can read the work of their peers. Then, the instructor posts revision input/suggestions. Finally, the students post their revised work and receive more feedback. The feedback is encouraging, appropriate, and timely. No waiting. Imo, the material in this class is essential college prep. Like all Bravewriter classes, the class moves along, so put adequate time in the schedule to learn and enjoy. When are assignments posted? Once a week or more? How much time is required for assignments every week? For a pretty strong writer, would it be possible to take Kidswrite Intermediate and Expository Essay at the same time? My kid has had a good amount of essay practice but I am looking for refinement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 BW is great at taking students of any ability and moving them forward. Students that have never seen an essay or are poor writers won't feel lost, and students that can already write a good essay build on those skills and significantly improve. So an advanced student can benefit as well and be challenged to further improve their writing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 So an advanced student can benefit as well and be challenged to further improve their writing? I certainly think advanced students can benefit. My son is in no way advanced - he struggles with writing. However, all the students post all of the writing and you can read the teacher comments on everyone. Many of the students I think have very good first drafts, but I'm very impressed with the teacher comments in leading them to make their work even better. All the teachers give some constructive criticism as well as positive comments to everyone. They are very good at not just saying this needs x..., but asking questions for the student to think on to answer on their own. They don't try to fit your student into a mold and at the end of the paper, the writing is unmistakably your student's writing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 When are assignments posted? Once a week or more? How much time is required for assignments every week? For a pretty strong writer, would it be possible to take Kidswrite Intermediate and Expository Essay at the same time? My kid has had a good amount of essay practice but I am looking for refinement. Assignments are posted on Monday with one or two follow-up assignments posted Tuesday/Wednesday. The assignments are all due that week, though some are continued from week to week. Sometimes there is more work to revise after an assignment is due. Enough time is given for assignments. - often you can see how much is to be done for the week and then plan from there. I generally wouldn't recommend both Kidswriter Int. and Expository Essay at the same time, but for a strong writer I think it could be done. Kidswriter Int. is more a class about the language in your writing - the assignments are shorter and are often fun. The expository essay class is about the process of writing two essays as well as the research and documentation required for one of them. It will take more time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 For the first three weeks, the amount of daily time ranges from 30 minutes (first few assignments) to one hour. During the expository essay portion or the class, the daily time can go to 2 hours because of research and reading. I would not do Kidswrite Intermediate and Expository Essay at the same time even with a strong writer simply because the KW is a prequel to EE. The assignments help the student think about mulitple viewpoints. Also, the writing is more creative and narrative. If you want to do both, perhaps you could buy "Help for High School" and work through the first portion, which is KW, on your own. Then, take the Expository Essay for the excellent feedback. That is what we did. Fwiw, dd has writing experience, and she learned a lot in the class. There was a range of students and abilities. All the input was appropriate for the individual student. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnTeaching Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 For the first three weeks, the amount of daily time ranges from 30 minutes (first few assignments) to one hour. During the expository essay portion or the class, the daily time can go to 2 hours because of research and reading. I would not do Kidswrite Intermediate and Expository Essay at the same time even with a strong writer simply because the KW is a prequel to EE. The assignments help the student think about mulitple viewpoints. Also, the writing is more creative and narrative. If you want to do both, perhaps you could buy "Help for High School" and work through the first portion, which is KW, on your own. Then, take the Expository Essay for the excellent feedback. That is what we did. Fwiw, dd has writing experience, and she learned a lot in the class. There was a range of students and abilities. All the input was appropriate for the individual student. I agree with this 100%. Kidswrite Intermediate is definitely a prequel to EE. It does help to have KWI first, but if you do not have the time and really want the Essay class, you could do that. Brave Writer has a philosophy that we really like. It helped both of my children to go beyond the rote way of just blecking info onto a page (think IEW). The KWI class really delves into the thought process that happens before you start writing and as you are writing. The Exp. Essay class takes that thought process and shows how to use it when you write an essay. Both classes are valuable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDoe Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 1. Would the Bravewriter EE be appropriate for a senior high school student 2. What alternatives exist [summerstudy] to the Bravewriter programme? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 1. Would the Bravewriter EE be appropriate for a senior high school student Yes, the Brave Writer EE course is appropriate for a senior, as well as anyone wanting to work on how to write an essay. Most of the students are younger, but it is still quite appropriate for a senior. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 The Expository Essay class is a six week class. The students write two complete essays -- an exploratory essay (open form) and a 5-paragraph, persuasive essay (closed form) which includes research and MLA documentation. They learn: about open and closed form essays and read examples, to develop questions that lead to a thesis, to write a thesis with tension, to develop an essay plan, revision techniques, paraphrasing, etc. The instructor posts the assignments which are in written form so the student can refer to the material as they work. The students post their work and can read the work of their peers. Then, the instructor posts revision input/suggestions. Finally, the students post their revised work and receive more feedback. The feedback is encouraging, appropriate, and timely. No waiting. Imo, the material in this class is essential college prep. Like all Bravewriter classes, the class moves along, so put adequate time in the schedule to learn and enjoy. Are they writing on an assigned topic, or are they allowed to choose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Are they writing on an assigned topic, or are they allowed to choose? For the exploratory essay, the class is to write several thesis statements on a group of subjects from there, they pick one to write an essay on. They have some choice of topics, but not as much for this essay. For the persuasive essay, about a dozen topic choices are given and they can pick one or pick anything else to be approved by the teacher. Students do essays on all sorts of topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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