Composition II Parents' Page

Welcome, parents!

This page contains information for you!

As a teacher, I approach the teaching of writing like one would approach learning any other skill: by teaching the individual skills that lead one to master the craft. This is the approach to writing that has been a historical part of the classical and Christian tradition in education, and stands in stark contrast to the more contemporary educational philosophies of writing instruction that either teach thT writing exists solely for the purpose of self-expression, or that it is strictly a formulaic exercise. Instead, I try to teach my students that while not every one of them will be gifted artists with the written word, they can all become competent craftsmen. But learning any craft requires a disciplined use of the tools of the trade, and a certain dying to self in the process.

Overview of Composition I

In composition I, Semester I, we will review grammar, explore sentence and paragraph structure, and learn how to improve our writing through careful imitation and analysis of great authors. It will be an adventure that will stretch the imagination of your student, and begin his or her apprenticeship in the craft of writing.

In Semester II, we will continue our quick trip through grammar, and begin working on the first three progymnasmata. The progymnasmata (or progym for short) are the ancient classical writing exercises that prepared the student for study of rhetoric. You can read more about it here by clicking on the word "progymnasmata" in the left-hand column. Or see my own brief overview of it here.

Overview of Composition II

In composition II, during both semesters, we will continue to develop our growing awareness of language by defining and looking at examples of different kinds of figures of speech. The students will keep a commonplace book for recording these definitions and quotes that illustrate the different schemes and tropes. And we will continue on our journey through the progymnasmata.

If you would like to see the "scope and sequence" of our second year of study together, you can down load the file: CompositionIIScopeandSequence.xls.

Please look over the Composition II homepage and familiarize yourself with our weekly schedule, expectations, grading, and preparations for class. If you have any questions, please call or e-mail me any time.