Q. How does the Personalized Online Writing Course work?
A. I create a new writing lesson for your student every two weeks, based on what the student needs to work on next. This has proved to be a helpful approach whether the student struggles with writing or is a natural writer who needs more challenge.Q. What's the schedule?
A. Here it is:
- First Wednesday of each month -- I email my evaluation of the student's latest work (or the writing sample if the student is new) and a new assignment created for that student, targeting the particular skill the student needs to work on next.
- Second Wednesday -- Student emails me the completed assignment.
- Third Wednesday -- I send out my evaluation of the student's latest work and a new assignment created specifically for that student.
- Fourth Wednesday -- Student emails me the completed assignment .
- If there is a fifth Wednesday in the month, that's a week we both take off.
Q. Why only two lessons per month?
A. The student has a week to do the assignment, and I have a week to do my evaluation and create the new assignment. Lessons are more efficient than in a published curriculum because each lesson is created specifically for what the student needs to work on next. We won't spin our wheels practicing skills the student already knows. This schedule also allows me time to do my regular freelance work.Q. What kinds of writing does the course cover?
A. We start out in an area of the student's interest or current need (for example fiction, report writing, research or essays). Then we branch out into other kinds of writing. Through all forms of writing I will keep coming back to the basics of sentence and paragraph structure, variety, organization, and revising.Q. How much parental involvement is needed?
A. This is a student-directed course. However, we strongly recommend that you monitor anything the student does online, including this course.Q. Can we jump in at any time of year?
A. Yes, but new students always start on the first Wednesday of the month.Q. How does the student send in assignments?
A. Because I have had problems with email attachments, the student should type the assignment directly into an email to me or do the assignment as a separate document and copy it into an email to me. Please contact me with any questions about sending assignments.Q. What about grades?
A. I always write out a full evaluation, but I can also provide a letter grade or a grade based on 100 or any other system which matches your approach in other courses.Q. What does it cost?
A. Here are the fees and some sample schedules:One student:
- 1 month -- $60
- 3 months -- $165
- 8-month school year -- $400 (skipping the month of December)
Each additional student in family:
- 1 month -- $50
- 3 months -- $130
- 8-month school year -- $320 (skipping the month of December)
Q. What if an assignment is late or the student skips an assignment?
A. No refunds or credit will be issued. I do not accept late assignments. I will make exceptions for genuine emergencies, but you must notify me as soon as possible.Q. What do I do next?
A. If you are SERIOUSLY interested in the Personalized Online Writing Course, email me at dalesandylarsen@yahoo.com with at least a one-page sample of your student's writing, any type, any subject. Because I have had trouble with email attachments, please type or copy the student's work directly into the body of an email, or photocopy it and mail it to me at the address below. I will get in touch to talk about your student's writing, any curriculum or methods you have used so far, and your plans and hopes for your student's writing. I will let you know honestly whether I will be able to take on your student for the Personalized Online Writing Course.Yours for good writing,
Sandy Larsen
Merritt Park Press
325 36th Ave. NW, Rochester, MN 55901
dalesandylarsen@yahoo.com 888-372-8847