Sample Course Desc.

Mrs. McCoy
9th Grade English


Welcome to 9th grade! As freshmen, you are embarking on a journey of learning and self-discovery through writing.  We are going to focus on two types of writing this year: expressive and argumentative. What this means for you, the student, is that you will have to be focused on the material and take careful notes on our texts so that you can create the best representation of your work. Our goal is to learn the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning and how to apply both to your papers.

This semester, we are going to read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare. While we read The Hunger Games, each of you will keep a journal in which you respond to specific prompts about the reading. You will receive a handout detailing the requirements for the responses, but the biggest one is to give us your true reactions and inferences. After reading Romeo & Juliet, we will focus on argumentative essays. You will be required to write a 3-5 page paper arguing a specific topic of your choosing about the play. As a class, we will discuss character development, story arcs, and conflict. You may choose a thesis from among those topics or any other that you get approved ahead of time. Using inductive and/or deductive reasoning, you will provide evidence to prove your thesis statement.

I know that we will have a great time together this year, but that requires the full cooperation of all students. If you commit to doing your reading as well as your responses and meet all deadlines for your papers, you will leave this class with a better understanding of the writing process. You will also have learned two new rhetorical principles (inductive and deductive reasoning) to help you through your future writing at the high school and college level.

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