Wordsmith Craftsman (C331)

 

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The third and last of the Wordsmith series focuses on building, integrating, and polishing practical writing skills. This self-directed program allows students to take charge of their assignments and schedules. Strong in preparing the student for college, Part 1 addresses practical, everyday writing: notes, outlines, personal correspondence, summaries, business letters and reports. Part 2 focuses on the power of language: paragraphs (principles, types, and organization), writing techniques, and developing a personal writing style. Part 3 concentrates on essay writing: descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive essays. Wordsmith equips young adults for a lifetime of excellence in communication skills.

PART ONE: WRITING EVERY DAY

Take a Note: How to make notes to yourself and organize your time

Study Notes and Outlines: The skill of note-taking and why it's important; taking notes from verbal and written sources; outlining

Personal Letters: General outlines for thank-you notes, keeping-in-touch letters (and e-mails), fan letters, letters of support and letters of apology; do's and don'ts for each type

Business letters: Business letter etiquette and form; letters of complaint and request

Summaries: What summaries are and how they are used; how to write a summary

Business Reports: Writing in the business world, e.g. proposals, feasibility studies, market research; how to conceive, organize, and present a plan



PART TWO: LANGUAGE POWER

Paragraphs: Basic principles of the paragraph; four paragraph types; eight models of paragraph organization

Writing Techniques That Really Work!: Using more and better verbs; preferring personal to impersonal forms; being specific; preferring active over passive; showing as preferred to telling; avoiding wordiness and clich‚s

Steps Toward a Personal Writing Style: Arranging words for emphasis; using transitional words and phrases; "loaded" words and selective detail; honesty in writing



PART THREE: THE ESSAY

Introduction to Essays: Basic essay structure; how to brainstorm ideas to write about; determining an essay topic and defining a thesis

Writing the Essay, Step By Step: The writing process (think, organize, write, evaluate, rewrite)

The Descriptive Essay: Determining a focus; using sensory details

The Narrative Essay: Organizing events in sequence; keeping the focus; writing introductory paragraphs

The Expository Essay: Basic research and sources of information; using oral sources; using personal experience as an expository source (e.g., travel writing)

A Word About Research Papers: Two types of research papers; the most critical step: choosing a workable thesis (Note: Wordsmith Craftsman does not contain detailed information on how to write a research paper, but the material on research in the Expository section will give the student a head start in this area.)

The Critical Essay: What "criticism" is, in this context; positive and negative criteria for judging a work; pitfalls of review writing; the difference between a review and a critical essay.

The Art of Persuasion: Three types of assertions and how they are defended; the four elements of persuasion; how to organize an argument; determining common ground; the use and misuse of emotion; writing a strong conclusion

APPENDICES: Forms for note-taking and summary-writing; answers to exercises; expanded Dewey decimal system; summaries of the steps in writing all five essay types; common fallacies of argument