EKT Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 Hello! I'm working on course descriptions for the school year we just finished. (It's my first time doing this!) A lot of homeschool advice I've read recommends writing course descriptions in present tense ("This year-long course introduces..."). BUT, as I'm actually sitting down and doing this, it feels really weird to me to use present tense, especially for the courses my daughter and I have worked together to design especially for her. (That is, our courses are not ongoing like those of a traditional school, so shouldn't we use past tense to describe them?) What did you do? Please advise! Thank you! 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 I don't think it matters that much, though try to be consistent. I used past tense because a portion of the courses ds took were things designed for him. Realistically, having them well organized and tight is more important than what tense you used. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zibby3 Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 I used present tense. The dual enrollment courses and tutorial courses my daughter took had present tense course descriptions, so I just matched mine to be consistent. I do think either way would work. I also had some self-designed classes, and it did feel a little weird, but I just went with it for the sake of consistency. She got into college with no questions asked about the course descriptions, so I would say it all worked out! (But I sure did stress about it before I sent them!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKT Posted June 29, 2022 Author Share Posted June 29, 2022 2 minutes ago, zibby3 said: I used present tense. The dual enrollment courses and tutorial courses my daughter took had present tense course descriptions, so I just matched mine to be consistent. I do think either way would work. I also had some self-designed classes, and it did feel a little weird, but I just went with it for the sake of consistency. She got into college with no questions asked about the course descriptions, so I would say it all worked out! (But I sure did stress about it before I sent them!) I know; that's what's making it problematic--her outsourced courses are written in present tense! I'll definitely pick a tense and make them all the same, I'm just trying to decide what sounds less weird. (I've been starting at it all for hours, so everything sounds bizarre at this point, lol.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 Noting that you do not have to use the course descriptions exactly as written for outside providers. I tweaked nearly all of ours. The only ones I don't touch are college courses. And for those, I included a note that they were copied verbatim from the course catalog at the time the course was offered. But most homeschool providers don't provide a course description that's right for colleges. Most of them are partly to sell the class or are overly wordy about the assignments. I condensed most, though for some I needed to add. A lot of math course providers don't seem to do more than list their topics, so then I would standardize it by adding things like that the course included chapter tests and so forth. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKT Posted June 30, 2022 Author Share Posted June 30, 2022 56 minutes ago, Farrar said: Noting that you do not have to use the course descriptions exactly as written for outside providers. I tweaked nearly all of ours. The only ones I don't touch are college courses. And for those, I included a note that they were copied verbatim from the course catalog at the time the course was offered. But most homeschool providers don't provide a course description that's right for colleges. Most of them are partly to sell the class or are overly wordy about the assignments. I condensed most, though for some I needed to add. A lot of math course providers don't seem to do more than list their topics, so then I would standardize it by adding things like that the course included chapter tests and so forth. Thank you! This is super helpful! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 (edited) I went present tense with the mindset that theoretically I *could* teach the course again, although some of the pre-reqs would be tricky for outsiders and boy would I charge a lot! Edited June 30, 2022 by SusanC clarity 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 I don't think it matters. Pick one and be consistent. I also heavily altered what providers had on their websites, including colleges. Some of the college descriptions were so vague as to be useless. Consistency will help them be readable, but no college will turn your student down because you picked present tense over past tense. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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