Hello, I'm Ellen Finnigan!
I've been teaching writing online to homeschooled kids since 2008. I like to say "I was teaching online before it was cool." In my work as a writing coach, I've seen my share of writing curricula, writing classes, and writing assignments, but most of my expertise comes from teaching classical literature at a writing-intensive high school for over 12 years. There, I was required to assign my students eight papers per year.
Unlike a writing curriculum company, which aims to expand the work of teaching writing to fill up an entire school year, I wanted to get the job done, to get the writing taught, and quickly, so we could get back to talking about literature.
I believe a lot of high schools and homeschools waste a lot of time when it comes to teaching writing, mainly because their teachers don't know how to teach it. I'm not trying to knock the teachers. Most of them don't want to teach writing anyway. ("I was hired to teach Kant, not the difference between cant and can't!") I'm only saying that schools and homeschooling parents end up relying on curricula provided by companies whose goal is anything but efficiency.
This guide offers my opinion on the kind of writing class that works best in high school: not the kind that works best in terms of giving teachers something to do all year, but the kind that works best in terms of doing something for the students.
I do realize "there is more than one way to skin a cat" though! This is just my opinion, based on my experience. I hope it is in some way helpful to you.
God bless.
