How to Improve Your Writing

This free online course was developed by: Melissa Fry, an English professor at Gateway Community and Technical College in Northern Kentucky. A supplemental textbook, The Writing Process by John Lannon, can be ordered through www.amazon.com. This textbook is an excellent resource for writers at any level.

The course, is aimed at high school graduates and/or current undergraduate students who wish to review the skills needed to be successful in college/academic writing. The course can also be useful for anyone wishing to review basic academic writing skills. This course is free of charge and designed to be self-directed. You can get started by clicking on a topic of interest and working through the course at your own pace.

Thank you for your interest and good luck with your future writing endeavors.

Content:

Session #1 The Writer’s Facts of Life
Session #2 Improving Writing
Session #3 Characteristics of an Effective Writer
Session #4 Improving Grammar
Session #5 Grammar Exercises for Review
- Assignment # 1: Sentence Fragments
- Assignment # 2: Comma Splices and Run-On Sentences
- Assignment # 3: Subject- Verb Agreement
- Assignment # 4: Sentence Shifts
- Assignment # 5: Pronoun Usage
- Assignment # 6: Semi Colons and Colons
- Assignment # 7: Commas
- Assignment # 8: Apostrophes and Quotation Marks
- Assignment # 9: Parentheses and Dashes
- Assignment # 10: Capitalization and Numbers
Session #6 Spelling Mini Lesson
Session #7 Usage Mini Lesson
Session #8 The Writing Process/ Writing an Academic and/or College Essay
- Prewriting
- Drafting
- Revising
- Proofreading
- Publishing
Session #9 Paragraph Organization
Session #10 Research and Citing Sources
Session #11 Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism
Session #12 Interpreting and Evaluating Sources
Session #13 MLA Documentation
Session #14 Sample Student Informative Research Papers
Session #15 Exercises for Improving Language
- Assignment # 1: Aim for Clarity
- Assignment # 2: Aim for Conciseness
- Assignment# 3: Combining Sentences
- Assignment # 4: Choosing the Right Words
- Assignment # 5: Choosing the Right Tone
Session #16 Effective Persuasive Writing/ Six Steps to a Creating an Effective Argument
- Sample Student Persuasive Research Papers

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