About the Classes
2024–2025 Academic Year
U.S. Writing
and
Medieval Writing
Spanning two fifteen-week semesters, both courses are appropriate for a high-school credit in English or for an elective in composition. Classes meet once a week for 75 minutes.
U.S. Writing (USW) two sections: 9:45–11:00 and 1:30–2:45 CST Tuesday Adapted for high-school writing, this Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) course is appropriate for high schoolers in grades 9–12 who are new to IEW or in need of more practice with IEW’s structure and style methodology. The course will cover all nine IEW units and will include literature, grammar using Fix It! Grammar, and research with MLA documentation. The main text is IEW’s U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons. (See Required Curriculum.)
Medieval Writing (MW): 11:30–12:45 CST Tuesday Designed for students who have completed Pamela White’s U.S. Writing or its equivalent, this Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) course is appropriate for high schoolers in grades 10–12 who wish to develop their writing skills and analytic thinking. The course is comparable to a second-year high school IEW course. It will cover the nine IEW units and will include literature, grammar using Fix It! Grammar, and research with MLA documentation. The main text is IEW’s Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons. (See Required Curriculum.)
Prerequisite for Medieval Writing: Pamela White’s U.S. Writing or its equivalent. If your student has not taken a class with Pamela White, contact her at pamelawhitewriting@gmail.com to discuss readiness.
If you would like to view the syllabus for either course, contact pamelawhitewriting@gmail.com.
In and Out of the Classroom
I meet with students in an interactive online class each week on Tuesdays. With ample opportunity to ask questions and participate through chat, students receive focused live teaching with an engaging PowerPoint presentation to help with assignments.
I record classes for students’ use in case a student must miss a class and provide a print version of the slides’ content to facilitate note taking.
Outside of class I am readily available to answer questions and offer help with any aspect of the writing assignments. I love working with students and encourage them to ask questions. I tell them that this inquisitiveness is a sign of their great intelligence!
Content
These year-long courses teach IEW’s structure and style methods, which provide practical, concrete tools and techniques to train students to handle any type of writing assignment, including research with MLA bibliography and citations. Students check their daily Fix-It! Grammar work using the Teacher’s Manual, and during class I focus on specific grammar concepts.
The four novels assigned are deliberately middle-school level so students can write about them without a long class interpretation of the literature.
FAQs
For more information about Pamela White Writing courses and expectations, see the Frequently Asked Questions page.
Daily Assignments
Detailed daily instructions and a checklist of tasks explain what students need to accomplish in order to succeed.
Before class each week students will email their completed assignment. Within a week they will receive thorough feedback on their writing and a grade for every assignment.
Is This English? Lit? History?
These courses are primarily writing classes that teach IEW’s methods to prepare for college writing and beyond. They are not history courses even though the sources tell about history. Nor are these literature courses. They include literature to count for an English credit, but the goal with the novels is to learn how to write about literature, not to analyze them in depth.
How Hard?
IEW’s methods easily adapt to a wide range of writing ability. I gladly work with students at their level, seeking to challenge them to achieve the most they can without overwhelming them.
U.S. Writing is designed for high-school students grades 9–12 who are new to IEW or need more practice with IEW’s structure and style methodology.
Medieval Writing is designed for high-school students grades 10–12 who have successfully completed at least a year of IEW in high school and who will likely attend college. (See prerequisites at the top of this page.)