Grading and Writing Coach

Students taking a Roman Roads Old Western Culture course may receive personalized grading for the Old Western Culture exams, and grading on four persuasive research papers written throughout the year.

The four persuasive research papers will progress in length and depth throughout the duration of the course. The first semester will focus on producing two shorter essays (750-1000 words). Depending on the Old Western Culture course requirements and the student’s ability, the second semester’s writing will focus on two potentially longer papers (750 - 1,500 words) written in two stages, the rough draft and the final draft.

The teacher will guide the students through each stage of the writing process for each paper. Students will receive general teaching on writing during the weekly meetings and should schedule a Zoom appointment at least once a quarter to discuss progress on each paper.

The primary focus of the course will be to advance student writings in two areas, organization and defense of a thesis as well as concision and precision in writing style. Students will develop a thesis around something they are studying in their current year of Old Western Culture.

At the end of the year, the advisor will assign each student a grade for the course based on the four exams and the four papers.

No writing experience or prerequisite course necessary. Although attendance is required, this is not a class unto itself. The teacher will work with students to give advice and feedback tailored to their level of experience.

Course Objectives

Students will grow their writing skills, including practice in:

• developing a thesis statement and organizing a paper in defense of the thesis
• writing a rough draft
• editing for concision and precision
• polishing a final draft
• creating academic citations and bibliographies (using the Turabian style)

Note: Students are responsible to submit drafts and papers that have been carefully proofread and edited. The class portion of the course is meant to aid students in their ability to self edit, and they will be given resources on basic grammar, punctuation, and word usage, but this will not be an primary focus of the course. If an error seems to be persistent and common, I may take time as needed to address it with the class and show students how to find it and correct it themselves. Most of my corrections will be larger issues regarding what the student is saying and how to arrange their papers.

Required Text (see Book List and Links file for links to recommended editions)

• The Elements of Style - by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
• Writing with Style - by Lane Greene

Recommended Texts

The following texts are suggested for use as a secondary source when writing research papers that rely on sources outside your Old Western Culture readings. Note these are not required, nor is it recommended to purchase every potentially pertinent source to your student's particular course, but suggested for your student if they need a place from which to begin compiling useful research.

For all sections of Old Western Culture:

• Invitation to the Classics - by Louise Cowan and Os Guinness
• The Tragic Abyss - edited by Louise Cowan (most useful for The Greeks or The Early Moderns)
• The Epic Cosmos - edited by Louise Cowan (most useful for The Greeks or The Romans)
• The Terrain of Comedy - edited by Louise Cowan (most useful for The Greeks)
• The Prospect of Lyric - edited by Louise Cowan (most useful for The Greeks or The Early Moderns)

For those working through The Greeks:

• Heroes of the City of Man - by Peter Leithart

For those working through The Romans:

• Know the Creeds and Councils - by Justin Holcomb
• The 12 Caesars - Suetonius

For those working through Christendom:

• Ascent to Love - by Peter Leithart

• The Unquenchable Flame - by Michael Reeves

For those working through The Early Moderns:

• Reflections on the Revolution in France - by Edmund Burke
• The Penguin Book on Romantic Poetry - Edited by Jonathan Wordsworth and Jessica Wordsworth