Analytical Writing

In this course, students will be able to develop their analytical writing skills. From “unpacking” an author’s word choice to organizing a literary paragraph, students will bolster their ability to craft a cohesive argument and defend it with rich textual evidence.

Designed for

Students in grade 5-7 or 7-9 who want to improve in academic writing and analysis

Level

Beginner

Class format

One-on-one and small group (Max. 7 students/class)

Class Introduction

Outcome

After completing the course, students are expected to reach the following goals:

To define and apply a variety of literary terms
To “unpack” and analyze an author’s specific word choice
To identify rich, textual evidence that can be used to support a claim
To recognize and implement the four parts of an analytical paragraph
To organize and write a series of cohesive and effective literary paragraphs

Course Content

Texts:

“The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury
“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant
“The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackso

Lesson	Topics
1	Introductions and course overview Distribute literary terms list; focus on differentiating and motifs
2	Debrief “The Necklace” and practice applying literary terms Introduce “The Possibility of Evil” and active reading/annotations
3	Debrief “The Possibility of Evil” Jigsaw activity to “unpack” the text progress- share ideas, roadblocks, and successes)
4	Debrief “The Veldt” with analysis work Introduce ACES and model paragraphs
5	Differentiate editing and revising Self-editing and peer-editing activities
6	Self-assessment activity Read “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury
7	Backward design exercise: identifying evidence and creating assertions
8	Self-editing and peer-editing activities Revise and submit literary paragraph for “The Pedestrian”
9	Debrief “The Story of an Hour” Introduce the final assessment: a character analysis + a literary paragraph of student’s choosing

Feedback

Students and their parents will receive brief feedback after each class regarding the student’s general participation in class. Students will also receive feedback on graded assignments via email. At the end of the course, the student will receive a final report card, which thoroughly speaks to their overall participation in the course, including major assignments.