Mini-Tutorial in Writing

New Hope is excited about our new Mini-Tutorial in Writing for the younger middle school ages (grades 6 and 7, ages 11 and 12). Beginning in January of 2010, New Hope will give this age group the option of registering for just 9 weeks of instruction in writing. This format is designed for those children who may not be ready for a full year of a more formal corporate learning experience or those who may have other commitments during the academic year. This format also gives parents the option of getting acquainted with New Hope for a smaller financial commitment, i.e. 9 or 18 weeks as opposed to a full year.

Parents may choose from two blocks of the Mini-Tutorial in Writing on Wednesday mornings – 9:00 to 10:30AM and 10:45AM to 12:15PM. The first 2009-2010 session will run from late January to late March; the second will run from early April to early June. Students may register for one or both of these 9-week sessions.

Parents of a student new to New Hope must submit an Enrollment Application/Registration Form. New Hope will then set a date for a Family Interview prior to confirming registration. For more information, contact us at (978) 750-3633 or by email at joan.smith@newhopetutorials.com.

Course Description

This mini-course is designed to help students discover the joy of putting pen to paper. To that end, students and tutor will work with a number of tools designed to help writers become more comfortable and proficient with the written word, including daily journals, freewriting, workshopping, and practicing forms from essays to sonnets. They will also work together to create a community where students can share their work and learn from each other in an atmosphere of mutual respect, and safety. By the end of the course, we hope that students will not only feel more at ease with all types of writing, but will also have made steps toward learning about:

• Their own individual writing processes, including the habits and methods which help them get started and keep going
• Their unique voices and styles
• Thesis statements and topic sentences
• The five paragraph essay
• Incorporating research into an original work
• Exploring memoir
• Creating short fiction
• Writing poetry
• Analyzing and learning from others’ writings
• Above all, we hope that this course will help demystify the writing process and leave participants excited and confident in the face of the challenges and insights waiting in a blank piece of paper.

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Strunk & White's Elements of Style