Description: Dr. James Taylor is a renowned classical educator. Former head of Hillsdale College's School of Education and winner of the Russell Kirk Paidea Prize for teaching, he has taught writing for over 20 years and is now bringing his expertise to Memoria Press' Online Classical Academy.

Students will work from samples of good writing from prose and poetry, talk about and learn from them and, using imitation and good old-fashioned grammar rules, get down to work. They will first discuss the importance of words, etymologies, and context, then work on the construction of sentences and paragraphs, which both are organic entities with a beginning, a middle, and an end. With sentence and paragraph theory and practice in mind, the student will be prepared to write an essay or article or even a newspaper story for practice. Simpler and less structured than the Lost Tools of Writing composition class, the more organic approach of this course is still ideal for aspiring writers of all ages.
Suggested Age/Background: Grades 8 and up
Required Text: Elements of Style, by Strunk and White
Estimated Work Load: 45 min./day
Instructor: Dr. James Taylor
Class Chat Time: Mon. 2:15 pm, Wed. 3:00 pm, or Thurs. 4:00 pm EST (Students will only attend 1 chat time.)
High School Course Credit: One 1/2 year high school credit per semester, full one year high school credit for Fall and Spring.

Enroll in Writers' Workshop, Fall 2010-Spring 2011 ($474.95 for the year)