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Writing for College Success

You don't have to be from Florida to take the PERT test. (Or do you…?)

  • Course Length: 18 weeks
  • Course Type: Basic
  • Category:
    • College Prep
    • English
    • Writing
    • High School

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So you know how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich…but can you write about it?

You have to admit that there's more to writing than just telling someone how to satisfy the PB&J munchies. What if your reader isn't interested in getting their nom on? How are you going to convince them that it's absolutely vital they make that sandwich, and that they make it your way? How do you prove that PB&J is the way of the future?

What if your reader is allergic to peanuts?

The point we're trying to make is this: writing about how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a whole lot more complicated than making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Especially when you've got thesis statements, counterclaims, competing bits of textual evidence, and that one really unreadable 17th-century novella all up in your grill.

We're here to help.

That's why in this semester-long writing course for high school students preparing for Florida's PERT writing exam—or non-Floridians looking to brush up on their syntax, five-paragraph essays, and PB&J—we'll be studying

  • the art of explaining processes, in a way that sounds more interesting than "the art of explaining processes."
  • tips for pwning every argument you write.
  • grammar things that you wish you didn't have to read about again but which'll be a whole lot more tolerable now that they've been thoroughly Shmooped.
  • PERT prep galore—you'll handle those writing and language-based questions, no sweat.

Grab that sandwich. You'll need it by the time we get to Lesson 3. And that's a good thing—we promise.

Unit Breakdown

1 Writing for College Success - Grammar and Syntax Funtimes

Maybe you've heard, but grammar is a pretty important part of writing. In this introductory unit, we cover everything from dictionary use to dictionary abuse—with some commas and em dashes thrown in there for spice.

2 Writing for College Success - Describing a Process

This unit is all about writing (and reading) perfect expository texts. We take influence from classic Hemingway journalism to contemporary articles. By the end of the unit, after practicing explaining a process, crafting a "how to," and writing about cause and effect, students will be explaining like pros.

3 Writing for College Success - Description Addiction

As we get halfway into the course, it's time for a creative break. You're going to review your language skills while practicing the principles of descriptive writing. You'll get into the nitty-gritty about describing people, places and things as well as writing narratives—and you'll get down and wordy with some PERT prep on extraneous detail. After all, there is such a thing as too descriptive…and by the end of Unit 3, you will know the difference.

4 Writing for College Success - The Art of Argument

Now that you've gotten your language chops down, you'll need all that creative energy directed toward a good, wholesome cause. Because as we all know, language chops without an outlet is a dangerous thing. Enter the argumentative essay. Unit 4 will teach you how to upgrade your opinions by supporting an argument with evidence, internet research, and warrants and assumptions.

5 Writing for College Success - Writing to Read (The Analysis Paper)

In this unit, you'll get up close and personal with those stodgy old canonical texts [and oil paintings and classic poetry] you love to hate…all for the purpose of writing the perfect analytical essay. You'll master the art of writing on a college level, thinking about diction and tone, author's purpose, and theme; all the while mastering both analysis vs. summary and the compare and contrast essay.

6 Writing for College Success - Grammar Review and PERT Prep

In Unit 6, we come full circle and seal the deal through syntax and grammar. As the course concludes, students will find lots of grammar review, daily multiple choice and metacognition, and a PERT-preparatory obstacle course—metaphorically speaking.


Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 2.05: How Does That Work?

A Siamese cat in the grass.
How does a cat always manage to land
on its feet? Just curious.
(Source)

Good news—we've successfully put one essay to bed. Even better news? We're not about to stop there. Okay, maybe you don't think that's the greatest news in the world, but since we're engaged in a writing course, did you expect anything less? Moving on.

Raise your hand if you've ever wondered:

    • How your alarm clock goes off at exactly the time you specify every morning. Like, how does it know that it's 6:45 a.m.? And how does it make that annoying noise?
  • What makes the leaves on trees turn red and yellow and all sorts of beautiful colors? And why do they get all crunchy?
  • What keeps an airplane from falling out of the sky? We try not to think about this one any time we're actually on or about to be on a flight, though.

Your wonder about these—and other mysteries of the world—is based in sheer curiosity. It's not that you, personally, want to know how to turn red and yellow and crunchy. You just want to know how the leaves do it because you're human, which means you're curious. And we salute you for that.

And luckily for all of us wonderers, there's a whole genre of writing to satisfy our curiosity. This writing describes a process. How does DNA replicate? How do the leaves turn yellow? How does the alarm clock know when to go off?

Spoiler alert—none of these have anything to do with tiny elves.

In this lesson, we'll take a look at writing that describes a process. As with all of the reading in this course, we'll take it apart to see how it works. We do this because we want to use its secrets to become better writers. And also because we're human, so we're curious. The cat's got nothing on us.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 2.05a: How Companies Learn Your Secrets

Ever wonder if corporate America is spying on you? And if so, are you maybe just a little bit paranoid? And if not, did we just make you a little bit paranoid?

As it turns out, this facet of society is spying on you—sort of. Our reading for today, "How Companies Learn Your Secrets" explains just how.

We know you're just dying to read it—and you should be; this stuff is good—but hold your horses. This is an article about how something works, but to really understand it, you need to understand how it works.

Huh? Let us explain.

First, you should know that this article actually describes three processes:

  • How people form habits
  • How companies use the science of habit formation to trigger new consumer behaviors
  • How companies use data analytics to gather information about their consumers
    By the time you finish reading the article, you should be able to describe all of those processes, too. And spoiler alert—we will ask you to describe them in writing.

You knew it was coming.

  1. Section One: Setting up the Problem

    Start reading "How Companies Learn Your Secrets" here.

    Stop at the end of Section One, when you get to the bolded line that begins, "Inside the brain-and-cognitive sciences department…" to show off your understanding of what you've read so far.

    1. What did Target want to be able to do?

    2. Why did they want to be able to do this?

    3. What tools did Target already have?

    4. What did they need Andrew Pole to do?

    5. What does a company's "predictive analytics" department try to understand?

    6. Why is understanding how habits form important for companies like Target? Hint—what percentage of our choices do we make out of habit?

  2. Section Two: Describing the Process

    Read Section Two. Stop before the next section—the one that is bolded and begins, "Luckily, simply understanding…" to show off what you've learned.

    1. Describe the rat experiment. What surprised the researchers about this experiment?

    2. What is chunking? Give an example of one of your own behavioral chunks.

Representing Information Rubric - 25 Points

OutstandingProficientDevelopingNeeds Improvement
Content Understanding

All content is accurate and presentation reflects sophisticated understanding.

(10)

All content is accurate.

(9)

May contain minor errors.

(8)

Major errors.

(7)
Organization

Has a logical organizational scheme. Each piece of information flows logically and smoothly to the next.

(10)

Has a clear organizational plan. Information is presented logically with some sense of connection.

(9)

General sense of organizational plan. Information makes sense within it, but transitions are lacking.

(8)

Information appears disconnected or illogical.

(7)
Style

Language is clear and interesting. Enhances presentation of information. No errors.

(5)

Language is clear and appropriate to topic. Minor spelling or grammatical errors.

(4)

Language is occasionally unclear, but meaning is generally understandable. Frequent spelling/grammar errors that do not impede comprehension.

(4)

Language use makes writing very difficult to understand. Frequent spelling or grammar errors that impede comprehension.

(3)

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 2.05b: How it Works

Well, it's taken some time—18 paragraphs, to be precise—but our article's author has finally gotten around to describing a process. Now, we want you to do the same.

Re-read the section of "How Companies Learn Your Secrets" that describes the three-step loop of habit formation. Then explain it to us in your own words, and use your own example of habit formation to show us what you mean.
Here's a model you can follow if you want—using a completely unrelated example:

The process of digestion involves many organs—not just your stomach. It begins when the mouth produces saliva at the sight or smell of food. For example, when you smell the pizza in the cafeteria, your mouth starts to water. Then, when you put the pizza in your mouth, the saliva starts to break down the chemicals in the food, digesting it before it even gets to your stomach.

Your paragraph should be five to seven sentences and should describe all three steps in the process of habit formation using a concrete example to illustrate.

Here's a hint: open with a topic sentence, and explain the steps in the four to six sentences that follow as support. Type it up below, and press "submit."

Expository Writing Rubric - 25 Points

OutstandingProficientDevelopingNeeds Improvement
Evidence / Support

All support is clearly and logically connected to the topic. Examples, evidence, and details are thorough and relevant with effective explanation.

(10)

All support about the main topic is relevant. Examples, evidence, and details are explained.

(9)

Most support is related to the topic. Examples, evidence, or details are given.

(8)

Insufficient examples, evidence, or details. Support may be irrelevant.

(7)
Content Understanding

All content is accurate and analysis is interesting and sophisticated.

(10)

All content is accurate.

(9)

May contain minor errors.

(8)

Major errors.

(7)
Style

Language is clear and interesting. Enhances presentation of information. No errors.

(5)

Language is clear and appropriate to topic. Minor spelling or grammatical errors.

(4)

Language is occasionally unclear, but meaning is generally understandable. Frequent spelling/grammar errors that do not impede comprehension.

(4)

Language use makes writing very difficult to understand. Frequent spelling or grammar errors that impede comprehension.

(3)

Sample Lesson - Activity

  1. The following statement is an example of which part of a process essay: "Everybody needs to know how to dougie, because it's the coolest dance ever created."

  2. What is the point of using confidence boosters when writing process essays?

  3. What in the world is the point of using transitions in your essays?

  4. Which of these word sets is an example of homophones?

  5. Why do we use style guides when writing essays?