THIS IS A TWO-SEMESTER COURSE.

Designed for students in their middle school years, this course introduces young writers to the art of essay writing, guided by the award-winning Michael Clay Thompson language arts curriculum’s Essay Voyage text.

In this course, students will:

• Learn the basics of essay structure, thesis statements, and guided research
• Get a gentle introduction to MLA formatting
• Learn how to avoid plagiarism with good citation practices
• Practice writing essays on a variety of topics in literature, history, and architecture
• Practice supporting thesis statements with evidence
• Improve grammar and mechanics within the context of composition
• Receive extensive feedback on each essay, allowing them to improve relative to their own strengths and weaknesses

Because this course is writing-intensive, in-person meetings will occur once per month, with several exchanges of feedback by email between each meeting. Students are not required to attend the class meetings, and recordings will be available.

Class Meetings: First Wednesday of each month, 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Fall Semester: September 3 – December 3, 2025
Spring Semester: January 14* – May 6, 2026
*This course meets once per month. However, please note that the January 2026 class meeting will be held on January 14th.

Student Expectations: Students will submit four short writing assignments and four short essays. All work must be typed and submitted in one of the following file formats so that the instructor can add comments and tracked changes: doc, docx, odf, or rtf.

Student Support: The instructor is available via email. Struggling students can request up to four one-on-one meetings with the instructor throughout the year.

Feedback/Assessment: The instructor will provide extensive feedback on all writing assignments.

Materials/Supplies: Students will need to purchase Essay Voyage from the MCT language arts curriculum.

Prerequisites: Students should have a basic grasp of English grammar and mechanics.