WORDSMITH SCOPE AND SEQUENCE

Wordsmith is written for young people who are just beginning to explore their experiences, feelings and responses. The purpose of the book is to develop confidence in self-expression, first by learning some basic techniques of effective writing, and second by discovering that their own experience contains plenty of material to write about. Some of the topics that Wordsmith Apprentice touches upon are addressed more systematically here. Parts One and Two contain exercises and short assignments to reinforce the principles taught. In Part Three, the student moves beyond exercises into longer assignments, developed according to an orderly process of thinking, organizing, writing, evaluating, and re-writing. Every chapter includes a "Just Imagine" exercise or assignment, where the student is encouraged to apply what she has just learned to an imaginary situation.

PART ONE: WORD GAMES

Nouns
Nouns as a major "building block" of language; preferring concrete and specific nouns over general ones; proofreading.

Verbs
Verbs as the other "building block"; action and linking verbs; preferring strong action verbs over weak or linking verbs; using verbs to show emotion.

Adverbs
The function of adverbs; preferring strong verbs over weak verb/adverb combinations

Adjectives
The function and variety of adjectives; the difference between descriptive and qualitative adjectives; over-use of adjectives

Prepositions
The function of prepositions: to turn nouns into modifiers; the flexibility of prepositional phrases

Pronouns
How pronouns are used; the pronoun-antecedent connection; avoiding confusion with pronouns

PART TWO: BUILDING STRONGER SENTENCE

Basic Sentence Structure
Subjects and predicates; fragments

Successful Sentence Construction
Common "weak" constructions and how to avoid them (particularly "it has" and "there is"; sentence transformation techniques; preferring active voice over passive

Making Connections
Coordinating conjunctions; subordinating conjunctions; semi-colons

Combinations
Combining sentences through appositives, relative pronouns, relative clauses, participles and participial phrases

PART THREE: NOW WE'RE WRITING!

Exploring Sensory Experience
The importance of the senses in connecting writer and reader; writing sensory poems

Figures of Speech
What similes, metaphors and personifications are; how they are used

Special Places
The use of sensory impressions in describing a place; first steps in revision

Describing a Person
"Framing" a person at a particular time and place; descriptions of strangers and of people you know well

Narrative Writing I - Sequence and Detail
Telling events in order; the use of sensory images and details

Narrative Writing II - Focus
The importance of narrowing thoughts and impressions to a particular event; finding the focus and holding it; the difference between narrative and summary; writing about personal experiences; advanced revision

Dialogue
What dialogue and how it is indicated; using dialogue to indicate character traits, add interest, and move the narrative along; speech tags and when to use them; interviews; radio plays

Point of View
First, second and third person; imagining and including other points of view in personal narratives

Story
The difference between narrative and plot; basic story structure; re-interpreting personal experience as a story; effective opening sentences and paragraphs

Final assignment: incorporating word choice, strong sentence constructions, effective organization, sensory detail, dialogue, focus, and point of view, shape an incident from your life into a short story.

APPENDICES: How to Proofread; How to Revise; Action Verb List; Student examples; Four Review Quizzes

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WORDSMITH CRAFTSMAN SCOPE AND SEQUENCE

The purpose of Wordsmith Craftsman is to prepare students for college and beyond, with an emphasis on writing and thinking skills that will be useful to them for the rest of their lives. The approach is a bit more structured and serious than the other two books, but still friendly and accessible. High school is the target grade level, but Wordsmith Craftsman can also serve as a complete college freshman composition course.

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't's 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 clichés

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

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