Frequently Asked Questions
About Our Programs
All About Mentor
Teachers
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Computer Requirements
Course Requirements
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Confidentiality
Essay Writing
Hours per Week
Monitoring Progress
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Payment/Registration
The In-Person Seminar
Vocabulary Development
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Why Online?
About Our Programs
- College-Level Scholarly
Writing
This
online program is 8 weeks long.
Each student has a mentor teacher whose job is to read and analyze
written work and assign web-based lessons in writing based solely upon
individual student needs.
Students
learn how to do scholarly searches, find information in peer-reviewed journals,
learn how to write honestly and without danger of plagiarism, work on developing
strong thesis statements, and discover exactly how to make effective lawyer-like
arguments in their papers. This
program is a MUST take for any student about to enter college or who has already
taken college-level classes and who needs to improve their writing skills for
improved grades.
The
program is personalized for each student, with hundreds of lessons available
based upon student writing needs.
In just 8 short weeks, students are able to improve their writing dramatically, finally learning exactly what professors are
looking for in an "A" paper. The
entire research paper process is covered in-depth during this course. Expect to spend 2 – 3 hours per week
honing your paper writing skills.
Students
16 and over are eligible to take this course. Adults of all ages are welcome,
too!
The cost
of this 8-week online course is $459.00.
Back to About Our Programs
Write
Well, Write Now
USA offers several personalized
writing programs for adults.
8 weeks
of College Level Writing Instruction: $459.00
Writing
Test Preparation: CBEST, CSET, ACT, SAT, MSAT, and other
writing instruction test preparation in an online format. Adults wishing to pass any
writing test will receive individual instruction from a highly qualified mentor
teacher. We offer different
options, based upon the writing needs of the individual:
8 weeks
of writing instruction: $459** Our most cost-efficient
program.
6 weeks
of instruction: $399.
4 weeks
of instruction: $299
2 weeks
of instruction: $229.
Year
Long Writing Tutoring: This program is excellent for
second language learners or individuals who need personalized paper editing
and/or extensive instruction: $1,249.
Fiction
and Non-Fiction Writing Instruction: Price depends upon needs of individual
student. Call us for an evaluation.
Business
Writing: We offer group and individual
instruction in business writing.
Prices are the same as our Writing Test Preparation pricing. Companies with 10 or more employees
taking our courses concurrently qualify for a discount of 10%.
Back to About Our Programs
- Teen SAT Writing Preparation
We offer
two courses:
1-Day
Seminar:
Our
first course is a 7-hour in-person seminar designed to teach students all of the
elements of SAT writing, including writing four graded SAT-style practice
essays. This program is perfect for
excellent writers who need assurance that they truly understand the SAT writing
process and have practiced it several times so they are assured they will not
"freeze" during the actual 30 minute test.
It is also excellent for students who do not have the time in their busy
schedules to take the full 8-week long SAT course.
8-Weeks of SAT Writing Instruction and
Practice:
Our
second course is an online course that begins with a 6-hour seminar and
continues with 8 weeks of personalized online instruction. Students who are "A" or "B" students,
but who need increased writing instruction and immediate feedback, along with
suggestions for improvement would benefit from this course. Throughout the course, students write 10
complete SAT-style essays, have them graded, and receive substantial feedback on
each essay. Students are able to
develop their SAT writing skills thoroughly over the 8 weeks of the course and
exit the course knowing exactly what to expect in the SATs, prepared for
success.
Back to About Our Programs
- Any Age Paper
Editing/Revision/Tutoring
Write
Well, Write Now USA also offers a program designed specifically to give
intensive, yearlong writing instruction to developing writers. This program is designed for writers of
all ages. Any writer who is able to
use a computer may submit papers directly to a highly skilled mentor teacher,
who will then thoroughly edit each of up to 20 papers and submit them back to
the student for revisions. Papers
can be re-submitted to the mentor teacher for up to 5 revisions per
paper.
Mentor
teachers may also assign web-based lessons on the website to bring about
improvement in specific aspects of writing. Students enrolled in this program have
access to our website for a full year of writing
improvement.
Back to About Our Programs
- Who needs our Paper Editing/Revision/Tutoring
program?
This
program is perfect for those needing much more personalized writing instruction,
for students who need writing tutoring, and for students who would benefit from
long-term writing instruction.
College and graduate students would benefit greatly from this
program. An entire year of
intensive editing and writing instruction would greatly improve university
grades. High school students who
are struggling writers would also benefit tremendously. With each paper edited by a skilled
instructor, students are sure to see rapid improvements in their grades and in
their writing skills overall.
Included
in the program are two, 3-hour, in-home private tutoring sessions. The purpose of these sessions is to
build an interpersonal relationship with the student, placing a name to a face
in both directions, and allowing the student to know their mentor teacher
personally. The tutoring sessions
also allow the mentor teacher to get a good understanding of the needs of the
student and to provide invaluable face-to-face
instruction.
The cost
of this program is $1,249 – that comes to around $100 per month. The cost to go to a Sylvan learning
center or other similar tutoring program could be triple that amount or
more. We accept a $300 deposit to
begin the course and payments of $80 per month.
- Course Specifications/Restrictions
("The
Fine Print") for the
12-month
Paper
Editing/Revision/Tutoring
Students
must have a computer and DSL and be comfortable with submitting papers and
receiving edited papers by email.
Mentor
Teachers will travel a maximum of 50 miles or additional travel charges
apply.
Papers
submitted must be a maximum of 15 pages, including references. Papers longer than that will count as
two or more papers (every 15 pages is one paper).
Submitted
papers shorter than 15 pages still qualify as a paper. There is no minimum length to qualify as
a paper. Even a page submitted for
revisions will qualify as a complete paper.
Papers
may be school papers, junior high, middle school, high school, junior college,
college, university, or graduate level papers. Papers may also be assigned by the
mentor teacher from topics available on the website, as agreed upon by teacher,
student, and/or parent.
If you
are in graduate school, please inform Write Well, Write Now by email when
signing up for this service and you will be assigned a mentor teacher who has
completed your level of graduate education or higher. We have mentor teachers with doctorate
degrees for this very purpose.
Mentor
teachers may spend a limited amount of time coaching students over the phone, however that is at the discretion of the mentor
teacher. This program is designed
to be primarily web-based.
The
length of the program is 12 months, or whenever 20 papers are submitted. If that limit is
reached within a few months (not likely), the student still may have access to
assigned website lessons for the remainder of the
year.
If a
student does not reach the 20 paper limit by the end of 12 months, there is no
carry-over time. Our mentor teacher
will edit up to 20 papers. It is
the responsibility of the student to submit as many papers as necessary up to
this limit to reach their writing goals.
There is
no discount for students who live outside the 50 mile radius and/or who do not
wish to have face-to-face tutoring.
Instead, the mentor teacher will commit to up to six total hours of
telephone conversations at scheduled and agreed upon intervals. The student must call the mentor teacher
and pay for any long distance charges.
If at
any time a student has not paid their monthly cost, their account will be frozen
until that amount is paid. The
course is 12 months from the beginning of the first in-person tutoring session
or from the beginning of the first paper submission to the mentor teacher,
whichever comes first. If a course
is frozen due to lack of payment, this does not add additional time for website
usage or for mentor-teacher paper evaluation.
In very
special circumstances (grave illness, etc), it is possible to take a leave of
absence during the 12-month period of time of the editing/writing course. Please contact Write Well, Write Now USA
directly to make arrangements.
Write
Well, Write Now USA will make every effort to keep the same mentor teacher
through the entire 12-month course, however, recognizes
that occasionally a mentor teacher has extreme life circumstances that would
keep them from continuing with their students. Although this has not happened in the
history of our company, in the unlikely event that this did occur, Write Well,
Write Now USA would assign another mentor teacher to take over for the remaining
time. Likewise, if a student and/or
his/her parent wished a change of mentor teacher for any reason, a simple phone
call will bring that about. If one
or both of the in-person tutoring sessions have been completed, the new mentor
teacher will simply pick up wherever the previous mentor teacher left off. Again, this situation has never happened
in the history of our company for we work very hard to match student needs with
outstanding teachers, but in this unlikely event, we would certainly accommodate
the parent and/or student desires for a switch.
Back to About Our Programs
All About
Mentor Teachers
- Who will be my
child's mentor teacher?
Mentor teachers are all highly qualified instructors who are
gifted in teaching writing to students. Each mentor teacher was chosen, not only
because they are academically gifted, but because they enjoy working with high
school aged students and are able to communicate clearly with both students and
parents. Each
mentor teacher is given his or her choice of classes. Some mentor
teachers teach two or three classes each year, some teach every month. Generally, the
staff at Write Well, Write Now knows the mentor teacher assignments for the
upcoming quarter's scheduled classes. The parents will be emailed the mentor
teacher's name and biography after registering for a specific date. Rest assured, every
mentor teacher is outstanding, or they wouldn't have been selected to work with
Write Well, Write Now, Inc.
- How qualified are the mentor teachers?
All mentor teachers are credentialed teachers and/or
professional writers who have been tested in their own writing ability as well
as in their ability to teach essay writing to high school students. Each mentor teacher
loves working with students and is passionate about student academic and
personal growth.
They have been trained in an extensive course on how to handle student
questions, how to analyze essays and assign effective online assignments, how to
track student progress, and many other elements of being a successful mentor
teacher. All
Write Well, Write Now, Inc. mentor teachers are personable, excellent
communicators, outstanding teachers, and totally committed to helping your
student meet his or her academic goals.
- Will I meet my
child’s instructor?
Yes. Instructors will be available to meet with
parents for 30 minutes after the initial seminar at the beginning of the Write
Well, Write Now course.
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- If I need to
speak to a mentor teacher directly, is that possible?
Of
course.
Mentor teachers post their office hours in the
Parent Start Page and on the Student Start Page. It is best to email the mentor teacher first,
but if you need to speak with them feel free to call as well.
- How involved
are the mentor teachers?
The mentor teachers are present at
the initial seminar portion of each 8-week long Write Well, Write Now
course. They work directly with
students on a group and individual basis during the seminar, getting to know
each student personally.
During the online portion of the
course, the mentor teachers act as course facilitators. Their role is to watch over the learning
process and be available to answer questions and provide necessary
guidance.
Each mentor teacher personally reads
and assesses each of the handwritten monthly papers, grades individual
assignments, and stays in touch with students by email and/or telephone (as well
as on the student’s personal start page).
Mentor
teachers respond within 24
hours to email questions, usually much sooner. They are available by phone during their
posted office hours, as well.
- How many times
can my student contact his/her mentor teacher?
There is no limit to the amount of contact a student has
with mentor teachers.
Unlike online test-prep courses that limit students to a
maximum number of contacts per week or per course, the Write Well, Write Now
program recognizes that each student has different needs. Some students will
need very little contact to successfully complete the course and others will
need more. The
role of the mentor teacher is to be available to provide guidance to each
student at his or her own level.
- What will the
mentor teacher do if my student starts to fall behind?
Write Well, Write Now monitors
student progress very closely. The
mentor teacher checks student progress at least twice
weekly.
If a student begins to fall behind,
the first step is to send an email to the student asking for an explanation and
a plan for completion of the late work.
If the student does not respond, the second step is to phone the student
and make a plan on catching up. If
the student is not completely caught up within 7 days, the mentor teacher will
notify the parents via email. This
contact is in addition to the weekly email sent to each parent each
Saturday.
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- Will I be able
to make in-person meetings with my child’s instructor?
Mentor teachers are
available by email and by telephone during office hours only, as due to the
nature of online learning, they may live many miles away from student
locations.
- Can I get one-on-one tutoring for my student with the
mentor teacher?
Mentor teachers devote
their time to their entire class of fifteen students and generally will not
tutor on a one-on-one basis. Parents who desire concurrent tutoring for
their students will need to arrange this through their school or other local
tutoring organization. However, sometimes circumstances are
different depending upon the time availability and location of different mentor
teachers. If a
parent wishes to contract with a mentor teacher on an individual basis, this is
between the mentor teacher and the parent and is not handled through Write Well,
Write Now, Inc.
- Can the mentor
teacher come to my house to tutor my student?
Write Well, Write Now, Inc. does not have a private
tutoring program.
Any arrangements you make on an individual basis between you and the
mentor teacher are completely private and are not related to the website, the
Write Well, Write Now course.
Write Well, Write Now contracts with mentor teachers,
therefore this is between the mentor teacher and the parent and is not handled
through Write Well, Write Now, Inc.
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- Do mentor
teachers grade every single essay?
Yes.
All essays are personally
graded.
- Some programs don't
pay their staff very well. Do you?
Write Well, Write Now, Inc. retains
only the best and finest teachers available for our program. We pay at the top end of the industry
standards for college-level online instructors (and much more than many
universities). Our mentor teachers
are highly valued by our company and are treated with a great deal of respect
for their knowledge, abilities, and skills. Pay is only one indicator of respect, however we take that aspect
very seriously.
Some big-business "tutoring"
programs pay credentialed teachers $10 to $15 dollars per hour while charging
the parents $45 to $60 per hour.
The majority of the cost of the Write Well, Write Now goes toward payment
of the Mentor Teachers and staff of Write Well, Write Now,
Inc.
Pay is important, but not
everything, however. By offering
primarily online instruction, we enable our mentor teachers the opportunity to
be at home with their children and spend time with their families. In this hectic world, Write Well, Write
Now demonstrates our value and commitment to the family by offering work
opportunities that are flexible and can be completed primarily from
home.
Our core beliefs as an organization
include enabling everyone on our staff and our mentor teachers the opportunity
to stay home and still earn a competitive income, and in giving back to our
communities through charitable giving.
We tithe 10% of our proceeds to the educational development of inner city
children.
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Mentor Teachers
Computer Requirements
- We don’t have
a computer.
Can we still take the class?
All of our online writing courses
require the regular and weekly use of a computer. If parents/adults/students can arrange
for computer use at the library, at a friend’s house, or through some other
means, then it is perfectly fine to take the course.
Our
1-Day SAT seminars do not require the use of a computer. These seminars are
solely in-person and would be beneficial to those who do not have access to a
computer.
- What are the
basic computer requirements?
PC (not Mac)
Internet Access
Internet
Explorer 4.0 and above or Netscape 7.0 and above
Browser
scripting must be enabled.
Email account,
with the ability to send text files readable by MS Word.
Recommend
minimal hardware configuration of 450 MHz CPU and 128M of RAM.
It is
recommended to have DSL, as it makes it faster to access information, but
dial-up is certainly acceptable.
- Can my student use
a Mac?
No. Many of the graphics and formatting used
in the online course are available only through PCs. However, our 1-day SAT seminars can
still be taken by students who own a Mac, as we do not require computer usage
for these programs.
- Does my student have to be a computer expert to take the
program?
Not
at all.
Although most students are quite computer savvy, there are varying levels of
ability in students who take the Write Well, Write Now courses. Typing speeds of
40 words per minute or more are desirable, but not required.
- My student can't
type. Will
the course teach typing?
Students should know the basics of touch-typing when they
sign up for the course. Unconventional keyboarding may slow the
student's progress.
The decision on whether or not to take the course based upon typing
ability will be up to student and parent.
Minimum suggested typing speed is 30 words per minute.
Mavis Beacon teaches typing and other computerized typing
courses are very helpful toward this goal. Write Well, Write Now does not teach
typing. It may
be wise to learn to type first (it takes 2 - 4 months) and then begin the course.
If the student is on a tight timeframe (they're already a
senior, for example), then go ahead and sign up for Write Well, Write Now and
realize that it may take a little longer to complete the weekly written essays
and some of the vocabulary assignments. Almost everything else is done through
multiple-choice testing, so these lessons will still be able to be completed
quickly and easily with just the click of a mouse.
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Computer Requirements
Course Requirements
· What are the requirements of this
course?
Requirements change depending upon
the type of writing course being taken.
For our SAT or College Level Writing
Courses, any student who has an A or B in English in high school may take our
courses. Students who are 15 to 22
years old are eligible for these 8-week courses. The ideal time to take this course is
during the 10th or 11th grade year (before the SATs), however 11th
and 12th graders who have already signed up for their SATs would benefit from
our 1-day seminar if they do not have time for the full 8-week SAT preparation
course.
Students who have passed their SATs
already would benefit from our College Level Scholarly Writing Course.
Students of any age who need
intensive writing instruction would benefit from our yearlong tutoring/editing
course.
For our 8-week courses: Students need to be able to work between
two and four hours per week for our 8-week courses.
Students
also need to have a computer with Internet access, Internet Explorer 4.0 and
above or Netscape 7.0 and above, with browser scripting enabled. Students must have an email account (or
access to their parent's account), with the
ability to send text files readable by MS Word. Recommend minimal hardware configuration
of 450 MHz CPU and 128M of RAM.
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· Are these test-prep
courses?
The goal of Write Well, Write Now is
to prepare students for college-level writing. There are wonderful full-scale test-prep
courses available to help students learn the intricacies of taking the GRE, the
SAT, etc. These courses focus on
mathematics, language arts, reading comprehension, etc.
Our Write Well, Write Now SAT
courses provide excellent, specific, and directed instruction in the "30 minute
essay" and format for SAT success.
Our Write Well, Write Now
College-Level Scholarly Writing course is NOT a test-prep course but alongside
teaching college-level writing skills, do cover all of the skills and
requirements necessary for SAT writing success.
Students have multiple opportunities
to practice and revise SAT-style essays and will receive direct feedback from
course instructors and mentor teachers, all with the goal of helping them
understand the format and developing the skills critical to receiving the
highest possible scores on the test.
There is something that parents and
students need to understand about the SAT writing segment: The scores alone are not provided to
universities. The actual test
itself is provided with the scores.
That makes it all the more important for students to do an outstanding
job in writing. In a highly
competitive environment, the university who forced to select between students
may very well compare actual essays to help make their final decision
.
- Is this a tutoring
program?
We offer
one tutoring program – a yearlong intensive instructional program in writing in
which we carefully edit and submit papers back to students for revision. Our
other programs are not considered tutoring programs. They are designed for writers who
already know how to write, but who need specific instruction to hone their
skills and be assured of maintaining their grades in a rigorous college
climate. Instead, our 8-week
writing programs are intensive, personalized, carefully designed systems of
instruction designed to fill in gaps in writing knowledge and to increase
writing skills to the highest levels
.
- My child
only
needs a small amount of instruction to hone his or her skills. He or she usually get
A’s in English.
Do we still need this program?
Yes. The Write Well, Write Now programs are
designed to detect strengths and weaknesses in all student essay writing. College level writing is very different
than high school writing. Many high
school teachers (not all, of course) have very different grading systems and
standards for student writing than colleges do.
Just
because a student is getting an “A” in high school does
not automatically guarantee that they will have success in the more rigorous
college environment. Our
college-level scholarly writing course is designed to push students beyond a
high school level of ability and hone and sharpen their skills, enabling them to
be able to compete at the college level in writing.
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- My student gets
Bs in language arts. Is this course for him?
These are the perfect courses for
both A and B students. These are
the students who are most likely to make rapid progress in knowledge and
acquisition of college-level writing skills as well as be able to rapidly
assimilate SAT writing techniques and formats. A and B students often have a solid
platform of writing knowledge from which they can then spring forward and make
the leap to successful writing. It
is more difficult for this to happen in students who are unable to write at or
near the high school level already.
The Write Well, Write Now program is ideal for the B and A student.
- My child is
seriously behind in both writing and reading. Is this the right program for him or her?
Because our 8-week programs involve
a great deal of reading online, these would probably not be the appropriate
programs for your student. If your
student is able to use a computer, our yearlong writing/revision/tutoring
program would be outstanding help, and we would recommend that as a first line
of teaching and instruction in writing.
The format of our course enables students to get assistance at exactly
their level. Carefully edited
papers by an expert editor enable students to learn from their mistakes. We would recommend our yearlong
editing/tutoring program for any student who is struggling
academically.
However, it may very well be that
your child would also benefit from the services of a private tutor. After successful completion of
intensive, private tutoring, it may very well be that any of our programs would
be valuable to reinforce and supplement what was learned through tutoring. Our 8-Week programs would then be
outstanding to expand and hone their writing skills. Practice and instruction over time is
helpful to everyone. The Write
Well, Write Now program provides regular, systematic practice in writing skills
for students who are ready to accelerate their learning
.
- My student is a D
student in Language Arts and doesn’t write very well at all. Can they still
take the course?
Our yearlong intensive
editing/tutoring program is the appropriate course for your student. It is not likely that our 8-week courses
would be adequate to begin with, for they are challenging courses with a great
deal of reading and practice. On
the other hand, sometimes the reason why a student receives poor grades in
language arts is because they are bored by traditional classroom instruction and
a lack of personalized attention.
Some incredibly bright, capable students can get low scores in school and
on tests, simply because no one has ever "reached" them academically.
Some students find they thrive in
the online environment. Many
successful classroom students also succeed in online education as well. The benefit of having an 8-week course
is that it is not "too long" and captures and maintains the student's attention
for the duration of the course.
Speaking with your student about the possible benefits and advantages of
an online course may be the best approach.
If they wish to take the course, this is a good indicator of
future course success. Students
have to WANT to improve their skills.
However, for a student who is struggling educationally, if they are
uninterested in the course, it is probably best to search out other venues of
instruction, such as one-on-one private tutoring or our intensive
editing/tutoring program
.
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- My child has a
learning disability that makes writing very difficult. Will this program
be of benefit?
No program offers a silver bullet to
fix all challenges. Depending upon
the type of disability your child has, it may be that our programs need to be
used in conjunction with private tutoring or as a supplemental program to their
special education program in school.
A few disabilities (like a fundamental difficulty with reading or such
serious physical challenges in which the student cannot type on a keyboard or
write with their hands) may make it difficult for some students to take these
types of courses.
Other types of disabilities are
minor and possibly may have interfered with a students’ progress in writing, but
the student is now ready to take such a step and begin to make steady (and in
some cases, rapid), growth in writing ability. Write Well, Write Now courses are well designed and proven to teach
college-level and SAT writing to students.
If your student has a disability,
please discuss this with the Write Well, Write Now staff before signing up for any of our
courses. They will be able to give
you professional insights into your child’s opportunity for growth in writing
over the entire course. They will
NOT pressure you into signing up for the course. Instead, they will be able to discuss
the potential options and outcomes from our programs and do their best to
accommodate your child's disabilities in every way possible
.
- Can my
student take the course more than once?
Certainly. There are widely varying ranges in
writing ability in students as well as adults. Some students need more instruction and
practice time than others.
Write Well, Write Now programs have
been designed to bring the majority of A and B students up to the level of
college proficiency within the eight-week timeframe of the college-level
scholarly writing course, and, through our 8-week SAT course, to provide all
students with average or above writing ability the knowledge necessary to pass
their SATs.
Students who are seriously behind in
writing may have never heard of nor practiced some of the skills that are
introduced in our courses. Practice
across time is the only way to develop writing skills. It is best to start students who are
seriously struggling in writing with our 12-month paper-writing editing/tutoring
course. This will give the students
the background and practice they need to come up to speed in their writing
ability. After that point, taking
any 8-week course would be beneficial
.
- My child is
not self-motivated.
Will they still be successful in the program?
Self-motivation is a concern of
parents everywhere! Very few high
school students are self-starters.
Most need the support of their parents and teachers to get them moving
and keep them on the right path.
Write Well, Write Now has designed
the program to do exactly that. We
recognize that parents are a key element in student educational success. Parents get a weekly email on Saturday
afternoons that says exactly what has been completed, what the scores are, and
what still needs to be done. In
this way, they can follow through for their students, keep informed, and take
whatever measures are necessary to keep their student focused on successful
completion of the course. Parents also view student progress 24/7 on their
own Parent Start Page so they can keep abreast of student growth.
The mentor teachers play a prominent
role in keeping students on target, as well. They will be in close communication with
your child to ensure that all questions are answered, they understand the
assignments, and they are applying their knowledge directly into their weekly
and monthly essays.
Our programs are fun, uplifting,
carefully designed, and fast-paced.
We find that students become excited and involved when they see rapid,
immediate improvement in their writing skills. This is truly the best motivator of
all!
.
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- What can I do
to best maximize the benefit my child receives from this program?
Parental involvement is the key to
student success. There are several
simple things you can do:
1) Make sure their computer has the correct
operating system requirements (look up System Requirements on the first page of
the website).
2) Make sure that your student understands
there will be an average of 2 hours per week spent doing coursework. Sit down with them and work out possible
"blocks of time" in which they can complete their work each week. Keep in mind that online education is
designed to be flexible. There is
no need to keep the same schedule each week, only to be sure that there IS a
schedule so students don't "forget" to plan time for their coursework (our
mentor teachers will be contacting both you and them so this won't
happen!).
3) Personally supervise the administration
of the 30 minute paper-and-pencil weekly SAT written tests and mail them
immediately back to the Mentor Teacher; or, in the case of the college-level
scholarly writing program, ask to read their paragraphs and other written
work.
4) Read the weekly emails from the Mentor
Teacher and make sure your student completes all assigned work each
week.
- How does this program
compare to Kaplan’s,
Princeton Review, or
other test preparation programs?
Although our programs do teach
grammar, vocabulary, usage, and mechanics in an SAT test-taking format, our sole
purpose is to teach writing. We do
not focus on mathematics or the reading analysis portions of the
test.
Kaplan’s, the Princeton Review, and
other test preparation programs provide a valuable service to students and are
highly recommended. It is
recommended that students take the Write Well, Write Now course before taking
their Kaplan’s or other test preparation program. This will help them be totally prepared
for the intensive test preparation materials that come rapid-fire and in a
cram-style format. Taking a
test-preparation course immediately before taking the SATs is highly
recommended. Even if a test-prep
program has been completed, however, this does not mean that the student is
fully prepared for the written portion, especially if they are aiming for the
coveted score of "6". Extensive,
pointed instruction and practice are necessary. The Write Well, Write Now USA program is
designed to give that instruction.
We also offer a 1-day seminar that
can be taken the week before the SAT to review and refresh a student's writing
knowledge. (We offer these courses
two weeks before each SAT for students who are busy on the Saturday
before). The purpose of this course
is to rapidly and substantively offer 4 complete opportunity to practice the written essay in a test-taking
environment, with a 1:5 teacher ratio so there is immediate feedback for each
essay.
Back to
Course Requirements
Confidentiality
- Is
my student’s work shared with anyone?
Write Well, Write Now, Inc.
maintains the strictest confidentiality in student records. The student’s Personal Start Page is
entirely private and will not shared with anyone other than the mentor teacher,
specific Write Well, Write Now staff who have a “need to know,” and the
parents/guardian of the student.
Each student and parent has a unique
logon name and a password that only they know. It is in each student’s best interest
not to share their password with anyone.
Write Well, Write Now, Inc. will never disclose student or parent
passwords to any party. There is no
exception to this rule.
Student work, in part or in whole is
never shared with any other mentor teacher, with outside organizations, or with
schools, the press, or any other person or entity outside the Write Well, Write
Now program. All student work is
completely private and confidential.
Mentor Teachers are also not allowed
to discuss any student’s progress with other parents, other students, outside
organizations, schools, or any other entity without specific instructions in
writing from the parents. If a
parent wishes the mentor teacher to discuss writing progress with a private
tutor or with a school English teacher, for example, that is possible as long as
they put this request in writing and specifically name the person with whom the
Mentor Teacher may speak.
Employees of Write Well, Write Now,
Inc. will never share any information with any parents, other students, outside
organizations, schools or other entity at any time. In issues of child custody (in the case
of divorce), Write Well, Write Now makes the assumption that both parents are
equally capable of receiving information unless a parent sends a copy of the
court order stating otherwise.
Other than parents, no information is shared with anyone (including
grandparents, friends, relatives, etc. without the specific written permission
from the legal guardian/parents)
Back to
Confidentiality
Essay Writing
- Exactly how does
the Write Well, Write Now
program teach essay writing?
Write Well, Write Now uses a
combination of techniques designed to provide multiple opportunities for
learning, instruction, and weekly practice. In our scholarly writing course,
students begin by writing beginning paragraphs on several different essay
topics. Next, they write key
segments of those essays in order to demonstrate that they have learned how to
support their contentions and make scholarly "arguments."
Custom lessons are assigned by your
student's mentor teacher based upon your own child's strengths and needs in the
area of writing. If a student is
able to demonstrate strength in one or several areas of writing, we do not
assign lessons in those areas. We
value your child's time and do not ever waste it in boring, repetitious,
meaningless work. The Write Well,
Write Now program instead only selects areas
that your child needs to improve upon and focuses upon those.
We designed the program to be
cumulative and additive. As
students progress, we expect to see what they have learned applied directly into
their weekly writing. Any student
who does apply their learning into their writing will get "review prompts" that
pop up on their computer. These
prompts will help them review, solidify, and put their learning into long-term
memory. For students who complete a
lesson and do NOT then apply their learning into their written essays, these
students will be directed back to a second (and then third, if necessary) lesson
designed to give them additional information and support.
All students are expected to learn,
practice, and master ALL concepts across their course. We provide the solid teaching and
support necessary to help them achieve their writing goals
.
- How else do
students learn essay writing during the course?
Students read specific lessons, take
practice questions (test-taking style), take quizzes (tests to show what they've
learned), and practice their skills in writing. They also learn to critique the writing
of other students. This gives them
very important critical thinking and analysis skills and enables them to make
mental comparisons between their progress and those of other students.
Students set weekly goals and select
their lessons (from a monthly assignment list determined by the mentor teacher)
that they will complete. They
reflect on their learning at the end of each week and share this reflection with
their mentor teacher. This process
is important because it enables students to solidify and strengthen their
knowledge. In the end, "knowing
what you know" is very important to the learning process.
All students are assigned lessons on
using referenced material, academic honesty, plagiarism, writing footnotes,
making a bibliography, using academic connectors, and many other writing
techniques that are essential to collegiate success.
We deal extensively with moral and
ethical issues in writing. Our
programs encourage students to make moral choices in their selection on writing
topics and advise them in how to handle situations when "worldly" professors may
assign topics that are morally repugnant to the student.
Additional lessons are assigned each
month that strengthen areas of student need based upon individual
evaluations. In this way,
each student taking the course has a customized course designed to fit his or
her personal needs.
Each week the mentor teachers
evaluate student progress and assign additional web-based lessons. In this way, students get the
opportunity to learn, practice, and master one set of skills, then are moved on
to the next set as they are able.
Students move at their own
pace and yet are held accountable for their weekly and monthly
learning, ensuring that every student makes adequate progress over the
course
.
- Do mentor
teachers grade every single essay?
Yes. All essays are personally graded
.
Back to Top
- Why do
students have to critique other student essays?
When
students are called upon to critically analyze another student’s writing, they
are applying the very skills they need to know: What we can teach, we know very
well. Through this process,
students are able to develop skills of discernment, analysis, synthesis, and to
simply recognize what is done well and what is done poorly. This is a very important element in
college-level writing, therefore we require student
critique of essays in our 8-week college-level scholarly writing
course
.
- What if my
student doesn’t make rapid progress in writing on the monthly writing prompts?
Write Well, Write Now is a program
designed to support and increase the knowledge of the A or B high school
student. These students have
already proven that they are capable of writing to the high school level and now
need to advance to the college level in writing.
Our programs are very carefully
designed to efficiently and effectively teach writing to capable students. Most students will make very rapid
progress in writing ability. As
students see growth, they often get excited and make even more growth quickly
and easily.
If a student has not made progress
in applying the written online lessons to the monthly paper-and-pencils tests,
the mentor teacher has many tools and methods available to help get the student
on track.
Write Well, Write Now has the
ability to track all student work in every area at all times: We can tell how long they took on each
practice test and quiz, if they were “dormant” for significant periods of time
in between answering questions (an indicator that the student has left the
actual program and is playing games somewhere else), if they logged onto a
lesson and then immediately began their practice questions (a sure sign of not
reading a lesson first), if they have completed their work all in one day and in
a very short period of time (rushing and not really paying attention), and many
other variables that may lead to a student not applying him or herself.
Mentor teachers will have concurrent
discussions with the student and the parents/guardians if this is the case.
If a student is truly applying himself or herself to the program,
and is working diligently, regularly, and in a timely fashion yet still not
making adequate progress, it may be that they need one-on-one tutoring in order
to gain the maximum growth in writing skills.
The vast majority of students can
learn in the online environment. In
fact, 60% of education is currently done online throughout the
United
States.
Nevertheless, it is not for effective for every single student, and any
program that claimed otherwise would be a fraud.
Although very few students taking
the course need any private tutoring to experience writing success, we recognize
that occasionally individual students may need this extra level of help. If you determine your student needs
one-on-one tutoring, they can still complete their course work through Write
Well, Write Now in conjunction with an hour or more of private tutoring per week
(arranged by the parents and not by Write Well, Write Now, Inc.). This will help support and reinforce
their learning, give them regular practice, and continue to help them advance
more rapidly than private tutoring alone.
Write Well, Write Now,
USA provides a year of tutoring and
paper-editing through our 12 month program. This program costs $1,249 (approximately
$100 per month), and is a cost-effective way for students to get specific,
long-term practice and intensive, detailed editing along with free access to our
web-based lessons
.
Back to
Essay Writing
Hours per Week
- How many hours a
week should my student study?
About 2 hours per
week, depending upon many factors:
How quickly your student types, if they need to read every single link in
each lesson in order to understand key concepts, and how dedicated they are at
staying on-task and getting their work completed in a timely
fashion.
The average number of hours is
2. The good news is that students
are able to break apart those hours however they please across the course of a
week. They don't have to study at
the same time each day, nor on the same days each week. If they have a football game planned on
a Friday night and a date on Saturday, they can get their work done well in
advance, or can split it up so that some is done before the weekend, and the
rest is finished on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon
.
- How much of the
class is live instruction?
The entire 6-hour initial seminar
(except for the time when we are getting the initial writing samples from the
student) is live instruction.
During our 8-week courses, mentor teachers are available to interact with
students, as necessary.
Some weeks, your student may need no
help from the mentor teacher (especially in the middle of the course when they
are comfortable with the weekly flow of things). In other weeks, they will have several
questions.
Mentor teachers are
available by email 24 hours a day and by telephone during their posted office
hours.
.
- Is there a limit
to the number of hours a student can spend on the website?
There is
no limit to the number of hours a student can spend on the website during the
course. The course room is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
.
- My child has
very limited time to work on assignments. What type of progress might we expect?
Because the online environment is
flexible, students have the flexibility to go online and complete their work
whenever it best suits their needs.
If they are a night person, that’s fine. If they prefer to work in the mornings,
that is also acceptable. Students
can work every other day, do small portions daily, work for several hours each
Saturday and Sunday…whatever is appropriate to their needs and schedule. However, students need to put in
approximately 2 hours per week to be successful in this course. If a student has significantly less time
each week, it is not likely that they will gain the maximum benefits from the
program.
If there is a reason why a student
cannot complete a week’s worth of the course (family vacation or other
emergency), students simply have to contact their mentor teacher immediately and
let them know. If a student is
going to be out longer than a week, it is possible to go on inactive status and
pick up where they left off when things settle down.
Please plan on your student being
available each week for the 8-week course.
Illness, family emergencies, and travel do happen and we recognize that
and are flexible and able to adjust to many individual situations. However, if a student becomes
unavailable or stops taking the course with no prior notification to the mentor
teacher and/or the Write Well, Write Now staff, they will be placed in
indefinite inactive status. After
two months with no contact, they will be dropped from the course. Refunds will not be offered for this
event .
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- I have very
limited time to monitor my child’s progress during the week. How will this
affect their progress/success in the course?
Busy parents are the norm in today’s
society, not the exception. Luckily
Write Well, Write Now, Inc. makes it easy to help follow through with your
student. You may view your student’s progress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from
your Parent Start Page. You will
also get a weekly email every Saturday afternoon so that you can see at-a-glance
how your child is progressing.
Parental involvement in a child’s
education is key to a child’s
success. Just the fact that you
cared enough to sign your child up for this course is proof that you care for
his or her success. Ten minutes a
week will go a long way toward helping your child succeed. Make sure that you talk about the emails
you’re getting and how you’re watching their progress throughout the
course. Sometimes just knowing that
mom and dad are watching is enough to keep a student on track!
- Does my student
have to go to the six-hour seminar? Can he/she only do the online portion of
the course?
Yes. There are many reasons for this when
working with high school students/teens/young adults up to age 23. First, the student will get to meet the
mentor teacher personally and get to work with him/her. Putting a name to a face is very
important for students of this age.
Intensive instruction in writing is
provided during the six-hour seminar.
This same instruction is provided in writing on the website for
reinforcement and back-up, but the ability for students to ask immediate
questions is critical to their learning.
Third, the seminar builds excitement
in the remainder of the course. It
has been carefully designed to be up-beat, fast-paced, and stimulating.
Finally, it is during the in-person
seminar that students get to meet and interact with other students. They pick their buddy peer partner, and
they are placed in groups of fifteen for vocabulary building exercises. Without this ability to meet, they would
be “blind” in the course room.
Adults, however, do not necessarily
need in-person instruction. They are generally more highly motivated, have a
specific learning goal in mind, and do not need face-to-face instruction in
order to make rapid growth in writing.
We conduct the majority of our adult scholarly writing classes completely
online. By using this technique, we
are able to personalize our instruction for the needs of each adult
learner. We teach CBEST, ACT, SAT,
CSET, MSAT, and other writing test programs, as well as college-level scholarly
writing for adults returning to college or entering for the first time. Recognizing that each level of education
has different writing needs and requirements, we accept community college,
bachelors, masters, and doctoral level learners
.
Back to Hours per Week
Monitoring Progress
- How will
the Write Well, Write Well, Write Now, Inc. staff monitor my student’s
progress?
We have many ways of tracking a
student’s progress. All assignments
are posted to the website, as well as the scores for those assignments. Students have a My Progress page where
their grades and points are posted weekly.
Parents get a weekly email
discussing their child’s progress, assignments, scores, work completed, and work
still incomplete. Students also get
weekly emails with motivational messages from their mentor teacher, as well as
reminders to track their progress through their Personal Start Page.
Detailed statistics are kept on each
paper-and-pencil essay. We track
progress in content, grammar, spelling, usage, mechanics, punctuation, and many
other different areas. Progress on
each essay compared to the essays previously written is tracked both in writing
and in an easy-to-read graph
.
- Will I be able
to view my child’s work online?
Yes. Parents will be able to access their
student’s assignments, monthly written analysis of paper-and-pencil tests, and
My Progress pages from their Parent Start Page on the website
.
Back to Top
- How will
I receive updates on my child’s progress?
Each parent will receive weekly
emails from the mentor teacher describing exactly what the student has
completed, their scores on quizzes, their overall scores during the program, and any
incomplete work for the week. The
emails will come out on Saturday afternoons before the week is over (our week is
Monday to Sunday) so that there is opportunity for students to finish any work
that they have not completed for the week.
It is also possible to request this
email be sent to several different adults:
Two parents living in different households, for example, or a parent and
a grandparent who is concerned or paying for the course. This option is left up to the discretion
of the parents. Simply inform the
Write Well, Write Now staff of your need for this option and it will be handled
immediately. All emails will be sent to both individuals on a weekly basis if
this option is required. Private
emails from one parent to the mentor teacher will be answered privately,
however. It is the responsibility
of the parent to CC the other parent or forward a copy to them if they wish to
keep them “in the loop” on other, private matters
.
- Why get a
weekly email AND have the information on my Parent Page?
Write Well, Write Now recognizes
that parents are busy people. By
sending parents a weekly email with their child's progress for that week listed,
it enables parents to know "at a glance" how their children are doing. This enables parents to stay informed,
have no surprises, and be able to monitor their child's growth in this area of
critical educational importance.
The information is also listed on
the Parent Page so that parents can track their student's goals 24 hours a day,
7 days a week. If a parent is
curious to know if their student has completed an assignment, and it isn't
Saturday afternoon yet (emails come out every Saturday afternoon), they can go
onto their Parent Page and look directly.
This provides checks and balances for the parent and the student, as
necessary
.
- How many
times can my student contact his/her mentor teacher?
There is no limit to the amount of
contact a student has with mentor teachers. Unlike some online test-prep courses
that give students a maximum number of contacts per week or per course, the
Write Well, Write Now program recognizes that students have different
needs. Some students will need very
little contact to successfully complete the course and others will need a great
deal. The role of the mentor
teacher is to be available to assist each student at his or her own
level
.
- What will
the mentor teacher do if my student starts to fall behind?
The first
step is to send an email to the student.
The second step is a phone call to the student. If progress is not made within 7 days,
the mentor teacher will contact the parents via email
.
- If I want
to speak to someone else other than the mentor teacher, is that possible?
Yes. The entire staff of Write Well, Write
Now is available to answer questions and serve you at any
time.
Back to Monitoring Progress
Payment/Registration
- How much does
the program cost?
$549.00. – this cost is
for each 8-week writing course presented by Write Well, Write Now
USA.
$149 – 1-Day SAT writing
seminars
$1,249 – Cost of a full year of
paper editing (up to 20 papers) and personalized instruction by a mentor
teacher. Includes
2 3-hour in-person tutoring sessions.
- How do I register for the courses?
It's
easy. Just click on the "Register
Now" link on the first page of the website.
- Explain
the registration fee.
A registration fee of $49 reserves a
space for your child on a specific course start date. This amount is subtracted from the total
cost of each course, meaning that the total amount of the course includes the
registration fee, even when paid in full.
This is helpful to parents, as if it turns out that a student cannot make
a course start date due to unforeseeable circumstances (change in basketball
game schedule, for example), the parents can move the start-date to any course
offered within six months of the initial course selection. The registration fee is non-refundable,
but can be applied toward any Write Well, Write Now USA course start-date within
6 months.
Parents don't have to "prove" that
they have a valid reason for moving start dates. Simply send an email to Write Well,
Write Now, Inc. saying when you'd prefer the new start date to be and we'll make
that switch for you right away
.
- I
don't like giving my credit card out online.
Write
Well, Write Now uses PayPal,
which contains a secure server and absolutely safe. Nevertheless, sometimes people feel more
comfortable mailing a check. That
option is always available. The
check can be made out for the registration fee alone, or for the entire amount
of the course. If
the registration fee is paid, a check (or PayPal
payment) for the remaining balance must be received at least three days before
the course start-date
.
Back to Top
- Do I have to
pay the full price right away?
No. There is a $49 registration fee that
reserves a space for your child on a specific start date. The balance of the cost, is due three days before the start of class. We take Visa, MasterCard, and personal
checks. If signing up for a course
with 7 days of the start date, the full amount of the payment must be
sent
.
- Do you take
payments?
(Can I break up the cost over several months?)
Not for our 1-Day seminars or our
8-week courses. We do, however,
accept credit cards.
We accept payments for our 12-month
extensive editing/tutoring course.
The cost of the course is $1,249.
We accept $300 to begin the course, then $80 per month for 12
months. The down payment can be
made through PayPal, the monthly fee paid by check or
credit card .
- Do I get a
discount for more than one student at a time?
Yes. There is a 10% discount for the second
(third, fourth) student from the same family who enrolls and attends any class
at any time within 12 months
.
- Do I get a
bonus or a discount for referring another student?
Yes. Your son or daughter will get a 15%
discount on any one Write Well, Write Now USA course offered. This cannot be combined with any other
discounts or offers
.
- What if my
student has already finished their course and they refer someone else who
registers?
We offer
a variety of courses and are constantly expanding our offerings. The 15% discount can be applied at any
time toward any of our Write Well, Write Now USA courses. (One discount per
referral)
.
Back to Top
Yes. Any
student who registers and pays for the course, but cannot attend for any reason
prior to the initial start date, will get a full refund of the cost, less the
$49 registration fee.
There is no need to provide excuses – we understand that things come up
that sometimes stop a student from attending. People move, accidents happen… With that said, we will move any child
to another course start date at any time.
A quick request online will change the date of the seminar
instantly.
If for some reason a student attends
a seminar for our 8-week courses, but does not log on and begin the online
portion of the course, a refund of $300 will be promptly made. The $249 that is reserved covers a
portion of the cost of the seminar, the staff, the room rentals, the snacks, and
the teaching that is given during the in-person instruction portion of the
course.
Write Well, Write Now is committed
to providing the very best customer service, the finest writing instruction, and
the most personalized and flexible program available to high school
students. If for any reason your
child cannot complete their Write Well, Write Now course (emergencies do
happen!) we will work with you in every way to help meet your needs
.
- How does your
program give back to the community?
The Write
Well, Write Now program provides a scholarship to a deserving inner city child
for every 10 students who take the course.
These students are selected by their schools and must have extremely low
household incomes in order to qualify.
The high schools involved in selecting these students must agree to
provide computer time both before and after school so the student has access to
the online portion of the program
.
- Will we
register for the online portion during the initial live seminar?
No. Registration for the online portion is
automatically handled when the student is registered for the online
seminar
.
Back to Payment/Registration
The In-Person Seminar
- Where is
the seminar held?
We hold our 8-week seminars at the
University of
California at
Riverside. The conference room is in the lovely
Botanical Gardens in the heart of the UCR campus. The meeting rooms hold up to 60 students
and have comfortable chairs, air conditioning, projection screens, and windows
that overlook a lush, green garden.
Restrooms and drinking fountains are just across a short walkway directly
opposite the main conference room.
We hold our 1-Day seminars at
various hotels throughout
Southern
California
.
- Is there a
cost for parking?
No. Parking is included in the seminar
price. There is ample, safe parking
at the UCR botanical gardens, and at each hotel seminar location
.
Each Saturday seminar is six hours
long and includes ½ hour for lunch.
They begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday-Thursday seminars are from
6:00 – 9:00 on each day. (One
combination of Tuesday/Thursday equals one seminar).
Our 1-Day Seminars are 7 hours long
and are held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and include lunch .
- What will be covered
at in-person portion of the 8-week courses?
The Write Well, Write Now seminar is
the critical first piece to the entire Write Well, Write Now program. It is
during this exciting portion of the program that students will get to meet and
interact with their mentor teacher for the first time. For our scholarly writing courses,
students will also meet the other students in the program and select a "buddy
partner" for peer review and revision of future essays.
SAT Course: Students will receive direct teaching on
SAT essay writing, thesis statements, supporting facts, use of evidence and
references, use of quotations, how to weave in a personal story into an SAT
test, instruction on the SAT test taking format and tips for success. Students will write two 30-minute
initial writing samples in the SAT format-style, from a prompt similar to what
they would be writing on the actual test.
Students will also be provided with a list of famous quotes organized by
categories. They will select 4 – 6
quotes to memorize for use in SAT and in other essays.
The Write Well, Write Now seminar
also introduces students to the website, describes the online portion of the
course in detail, shows them how to chose and set their logon name and password,
and helps students understand how to proceed during the rest of the course. Students will see sample lessons, get a
chance to try them out, and will be able to ask questions and receive answers to
any questions they may have.
College-Level Scholarly Writing
Course: Students receive direct
teaching on how
to carry out scholarly searches, find information in peer-reviewed journals,
learn how to write honestly and without danger of plagiarism, work on developing
strong thesis statements, and discover exactly how to make effective lawyer-like
arguments in their papers. This
program is a MUST take for any student about to enter college or who has already
taken college-level classes and who needs to improve their writing skills for
improved grades
.
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- Should my student
bring a lunch?
Is food available?
Lunch is served at all
seminars. At UC Riverside, we
provide a brown-bag lunch of a turkey and provolone croissant sandwich (or
vegetarian sandwich with at least 24 hours notice), choice of potato or pasta
salad, fruit, soft drink, and large cookie.
Write Well, Write Now will provide
beverages throughout the day, plus two ample snacks (we know how much kids like
to eat!).
The Tuesday-Thursday seminars
provide beverages and snacks, but there is no break for dinner. Any student who is running late may feel
free to bring along a fast-food meal or a meal from home. There is a refrigerator and microwave
available to any student who needs them.
Our 1-Day seminars, held at hotels,
include the cost of a hot, served lunch.
There is generally a choice between chicken and vegetarian options, rice
or potato, breads, salad, drink, and dessert. Snacks are served at breaks as well, and
all food is included in the cost of the seminar
.
- What if my
student has to arrive late or leave early?
Each
seminar is packed with information – from the first moment to the last. The success of the seminar depends upon
complete participation. Please make
sure that your child arrives on time and stays until the very end. If there is an emergency and the student
must miss more than 30 minutes of the seminar, we'll reschedule them to begin on
another class date at no extra charge if you so desire
.
- May I stay at
the seminar?
The
presence of parents may hinder the ability of some students to work and learn
without feeling like they are being watched. Feel free to walk around for a moment or
two after arriving to familiarize yourself with the environment, etc. At the end of the seminar (when picking
up your child), you will have the opportunity to meet and greet their mentor
teacher
.
- What do I do
if I don't want to drive home?
Some
parents who are coming from distant locations may not find it practical to drive
back home and then return to pick up their student. A helpful map and list of local
Riverside activities (theatres, restaurants,
Starbucks, Borders, Internet cafés, libraries, etc.) is available on our website
on the Parent Page
.
Back to Seminar
Vocabulary
Development
- How does Write
Well, Write Now help students develop vocabulary?
Students will receive 10 new
college-level vocabulary words each week.
They will write sentences using the words correctly, edit peer vocabulary
sentences (thus getting to develop their critical thinking skills and work even
more deeply with their vocabulary words), and use these words in their weekly
essay assignments.
Students will have two
multiple-choice "quizzes" each week on their words. These quizzes are done "test-taking
style" so they get experience with vocabulary test-taking techniques. Finally, each week a "pop up" appears on
their screen that quizzes them on previous week's vocabulary words (randomly
selected from various week's work).
This review keeps the words and their meanings in the student's memory
and reinforces their learning so they won't forget the words as time passes
by
.
- How many
vocabulary questions are asked each week? How is the vocabulary section written?
There are
10 college-level vocabulary words assigned each week. Students will be writing a sentence
using each word correctly, then editing their sentences after receiving feedback
from other students. After their
sentences are posted (the first time, before re-writes), they will take a
10-question practice quiz. After
they’ve re-written and posted the final version of their sentences to their
course room, they’ll take a second quiz.
Each of these quizzes will have questions written exactly like they might
see on their SATs or California Exit Exam.
Finally, each week they’ll have a “pop up” that has 10 questions mixed
together from previous week’s vocabulary.
The purpose of the pop-ups is to keep the information fresh in their
minds and to reinforce their learning and retention of information across
time
.
- Why do
students have to critique other student's vocabulary?
Students get the opportunity to use
critical thinking skills when reading and critiquing other student’s vocabulary
sentences. Since each student is in
a different area of the course at any time (all students are assigned unique
vocabulary lessons based upon their levels in writing), this process means that
students will be reading additional vocabulary lessons. (It’s a rather sneaky way to get in more
vocabulary practice, but the goal is to develop the widest range of word
knowledge possible in the shortest period of time!)
Back to Vocabulary Development
Why Online?
- Why is the
instruction online, instead of weekly or monthly in-person classes?
Flexibility!
Write Well, Write Now designed their
program to provide the maximum flexibility for students and mentor teachers
alike. We recognize that high
school students have homework, sports commitments, music lessons, social
activities, jobs, and very busy lives.
But college bound high school students also need to learn to write at the
college level in order to have success in their higher education! We chose the online format so that high
school students could work when they wanted and how they wanted.
Six o'clock in the morning? No problem. Half
a day on Saturday? No
problem. One hour each day? No problem. Students work at their own pace, using
their own time schedules.
No Specified Time for Classes
One of the biggest problems with
teaching college level writing skills was the need for consistent, regular,
supervised practice. A program that
had weekly classes for 16 weeks would be prohibitively expensive. It would also mean that students and
parents had to block a specific time out of their busy schedules to drive and
sit in a class.
Students Work At Own Ability Level
Using the online format and
individualized lessons, students aren't held back by "slower" students who have
greater needs, or intimidated by students who are much higher in ability
level. Each student is only
assigned work that suits their particular needs. No student is "taught" something they
already know. We don't waste kid's
time..
Back to Why Online
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