Dorsey Armstorg Writing Great Course?

[MamaSprout]

I like Dorsey Armstrong's Middle Ages courses. Has anyone tried her writing course?

https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/analysis-and-critique-how-to-engage-and-write-about-anything.html

[lisabees]

My dd watched these in 7th or 8th grade. She really liked them! We have Great Courses Plus, so it wasn't a purchase decision for us.

And she didn't do anything other than watch the videos.

Sorry if that doesn't help much. ?

[MamaSprout]

That does help. I really don't need a full-fledged writing course next year because I plan have her writing quite a bit in other subjects. I like that it touches on classical writing and rhetoric and seems to use examples from literature. 

I'll probably wait until we need it just to make sure it doesn't show up on Hoopla. Are the videos necessary, or would the audio be okay?

[katilac]

Yes, we all thoroughly enjoyed it. We prefer video for most of these lectures, both because we can concentrate more easily and because it's an easy thing to do while eating breakfast or lunch on the couch. We find the personality of the professor comes through better on video also, and Professor Dorsey is young and engaging. We liked seeing the examples on screen. Some (possibly all?) are in the guidebook as well, but when we do these lectures we like to do them and be done, I don't want to have to remember to go back and look up examples in the guidebook, etc. People who have stronger audio attention skills than we do can likely skip the video with no problem. 

There is usually a "should I buy audio or video" link by each course; Professor Armstrong's says: 

• You should buy audio if you would enjoy the convenience of experiencing this course while driving, exercising, etc. While the video does contain visual elements, the professor presents the material in an engaging and clear manner, so the visuals are not necessary to understand the concepts. Additionally, the audio audience may refer to the accompanying course guidebook for names, works, and examples that are cited throughout the course.
• You should buy video if you prefer learning visually and wish to take advantage of the visual elements featured in this course. The video version is not heavily illustrated, featuring a variety of visuals designed to aid in your understanding of the course material. These include on-screen text that illustrates the unique structures and word choices of notable writers like James Joyce and Henry James, and passages of real student writing that highlight structural and grammatical errors (and their corrections).