ENGL095: Resources | Saylor Academy

Topic	Name	Description
	Course Syllabus

Unit 1: The Importance of Writing and Getting Started	Unit 1 Learning Outcomes

1.1: The Value of Writing	Five Cool Things about Writing	Read the lecture regarding how and why writing is important. Then choose one of the five items and do some writing that lays out examples that show how the idea expressed is true. What about this idea appeals to you? Discuss how this idea has created positive writing experiences for you, or if you haven't ever had very positive writing experiences, how it could make writing a more positive experience for you.

1.2: Speech vs. Writing	Speech vs. Writing	At its heart, writing is simply a form of communication that has many similarities to speech. But there are also some different rules to follow. Read this brief section on speech vs. writing.
	Language Communities	Read this section and think about who some of your language communities are and how you change your language choices based on your environment.
	Interaction: The Difference between Speech and Writing	Read this section about the primary difference between speech and writing and how it impacts the way you should approach your writing.

1.3: Purpose and Audience	Identifying Purpose and Audience	When you sit down to begin any writing task, there are two questions to ask yourself. The first is: What is the purpose of this writing task? (You could also think of this as,

1.4: Four Keys to Good Writing	The Four Keys to Good Writing	This course will be based on the four keys to good writing. Read this section to get an overview of these key features of effective writing we will look at in greater depth throughout the course.

1.5: Paragraph Structure	Model Paragraph and Outline	Read this example of a good paragraph essay, and study the accompanying outline to see how it was put together.
	Activity: Paragraph Outlining	Now that you have an idea of the basic structure, look at another paragraph and fill in the partially completed outline that follows it. After you are done, you can compare your outline to the answer key.

1.6: Personal Writing	Personal Writing: A Definition	This course will focus on personal writing because it will allow us to focus on just the writing. Using outside sources and research in writing is a separate set of skills covered in ENGL101. Read the following section for an explanation of personal writing.
	Being Specific in Personal Writing	Read about the importance of being specific and avoiding making general unsupported statements about other people.
	Activity: Rewriting Statements	Now that you have read about being specific in personal writing, practice rewriting the following topic sentences. Answers will vary, but you can check your responses against the answer key after you are done.

1.7: Prewriting Strategies	Prewriting	Before starting any piece of writing, it is best to do some planning. This planning will entail considering the audience and purpose and doing some prewriting. There are three basic steps to prewriting: generating ideas, focusing ideas, and organizing ideas. Read about these three steps and some techniques you can use to achieve them and look at some examples of prewriting that were done for the Corner Store paragraph you read earlier. You will also practice prewriting for a paragraph essay you will write later. As you move forward through the next units, plan to use what you learn to revise and improve this paragraph.