Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

write in a variety of forms for various purposes and audiences;

use the writing process, with teacher guidance, with an emphasis on peer and independent review of content and organization;

arrange ideas in logical order and present them in linked sentences and simple paragraphs;

use a variety of sentence patterns and conventions of standard English with some accuracy in written work.

Relating Purpose to Form

By the end of this course, students will:

make notes in some detail as preparation for writing on familiar topics;

compose stories, poems, and dialogues;

write expository paragraphs related to classroom assignments or on topics of personal interest;

write personal and business letters, using appropriate conventions for salutations and closings;

organize personal information, using a simple résumé format.

By the end of this course, students will:

revise first drafts to clarify ideas and improve organization;

link simple paragraphs about a central idea, using common transition words (e.g., first, next, then, both) to indicate relationships such as sequence of events or points of comparison;

edit their own writing, with attention to specific language features identified by the teacher (e.g., tense consistency, subject-verb agreement, use of articles);

use word-processing software to compose and edit their writing;

use graphics software to format and embellish their writing.

By the end of this course, students will:

use a variety of simple, compound, and complex sentences in their writing;

use appropriately, and with some accuracy, common tenses and verb phrases, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions of direction and time, and interrogative and negative constructions;

use passive voice, conditionals, and adverb and adjective phrases in some written work;

use a colon before a list of items;

use parentheses to insert an explanation or afterthought into a sentence;

use correct spelling and punctuation for common abbreviations;

use learner dictionaries, thesauri, and spell checkers to develop vocabulary and to check the accuracy of spelling;

use some visual features of text for emphasis (e.g., italics, boldface, and underlining).

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

write in a variety of forms appropriate to different subject areas, personal needs, and career goals, with teacher guidance;

use the writing process to prepare final drafts, with teacher guidance;

arrange ideas in logical order and present them in linked paragraphs;

use the sentence patterns and conventions of standard English with accuracy most of the time in written work.

Relating Purpose to Form

By the end of this course, students will:

write to carry out assignments in different subject areas (e.g., short reports, outlines, summaries, editorials, notes, essays, examination answers);

write for career-related purposes (e.g., résumés, covering letters, memos, e-mail messages);

select and use appropriate forms for personal and creative writing (e.g., diaries, journals, personal letters and e-mail messages, dialogues, poetry, narratives);

use descriptive words and phrases to convey mood, atmosphere, and emotion;

use the conventions appropriate to particular forms of writing (e.g., letter salutations and closings, cover pages and headings, bibliographies).

By the end of this course, students will:

write a passage of three or more paragraphs to develop a central idea;

use transition words and a variety of sentence patterns to express relationships such as comparison and contrast (e.g., similarly, on the other hand) and cause and effect (e.g., as a result of);

edit to improve writing style (e.g., to convey a personal voice, to stress objectivity);

use visual elements to enhance the effectiveness of published text (e.g., margins for ease of reading, headings and typeface for emphasis);

produce final drafts, using appropriate writing tools (e.g., dictionaries, editing checklists);

use word-processing software to compose and edit pieces of writing;

use graphics software to format and embellish pieces of writing.

By the end of this course, students will:

spell words accurately in final drafts, including subject- specific terms;

use periods, commas, apostrophes, quotation marks, colons, and parentheses correctly in final drafts;

use the semicolon to separate main clauses in a list of ideas;

use ellipses to show that words have been omitted from a quotation;

use common tenses and verb phrases, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions of direction and time, and interrogative and negative constructions appropriately and with accuracy most of the time.

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

write in a variety of forms, adopting a voice suitable to the intended audience;

use the writing process independently to produce a final written or electronic version of an essay or a piece of creative writing;

organize and link ideas logically and effectively in written texts such as narratives and essays;

use the sentence patterns and conventions of standard English in their writing with the degree of accuracy necessary for continued success in subject classrooms at the college and/or university preparation level.

Relating Purpose to Form

By the end of this course, students will:

write coherently on a range of academic topics, using appropriate forms (e.g., précis, reports, essays);

write creatively in a variety of forms (e.g., plays, narratives, poetry);

write to analyze, interpret, and evaluate information and ideas (e.g., a short essay introducing, developing, and concluding an argument).

By the end of this course, students will:

use a variety of connecting words and phrases to express logical relationships between and among ideas (e.g., prior to and subsequently to indicate sequence, however and whereas to indicate contrast);

use a variety of strategies to proofread, edit, and correct writing, focusing on effective style, relevant and interesting content, accurate spelling, and correct use of conventions (e.g., edit with a checklist; confer with peers and teacher; use electronic dictionaries);

publish written work, selecting a format suited to the intended audience and using technology such as graphics and desktop publishing software, as appropriate.

By the end of this course, students will:

use a variety of spelling strategies, rules, and patterns to spell words correctly;

use pronoun references correctly;

use appropriately, and with a high degree of accuracy, complex syntactical structures such as the infinitive and/or the gerund as object (e.g., hope + infinitive: I hope to go; enjoy + gerund: I enjoy going); phrasal verbs (e.g., put on, put off, put up with); and participial phrases (e.g., characters appearing in the first chapter, characters introduced in the first chapter).