Writing+Workshop

**W****riting Workshop Essays**

In order to improve your writing, you must write extensively and with an understanding that writing is a process. In order to foster both habits, we will be writing essays in pairs throughout the year. For each pairing, one essay will be graded thoroughly for content and the other essay will be graded with respect to process. The catch is that you won’t know which essay will be the one graded for which aspect of writing. Occasionally, you will have the opportunity to chose which essay you believe is better from a content standpoint.
 * __Overview__**


 * __Timeframe__**
 * The entire double essay process will take approximately five weeks. **
 * __Week One__**: Write first Mad 40, upload to Google, obtain first peer edit and accomplish first rewrite.
 * __Week Two__**: Write second Mad 40, upload to Google, obtain first peer edit and accomplish first rewrite.
 * __Week Three__**: Obtain second peer edits on both essays; edit essays for two classmates.
 * __Week Four__**: Rewrite both essays based on second peer edits.
 * __Week Five__**: Do final run through on essay, at least 24 hours after second peer edit, and mark as final copy. NO ESSAY WILL BE GRADED UNLESS THIS PROCESS IS FOLLOWED.

1. Mad 40s: Every essay we write will begin as a Mad 40. Doing so ensures both that the writing is your own work and that you learn to write under pressure, a skill that will serve you extremely well in college. 2. Uploading to Google Docs: If you don’t already have a Google account, you will be required to sign up for one. It’s free, and most of our peer editing and grading will be accomplished on-line. It saves paper and it’s the way most of the real world now handles business documents, so you might as well become comfortable with the process now. After your essay is written in class, you will type it and upload the essay to your google docs account. You will then invite me and two other classmates to collaborate on the document. 3. Peer editing. Each essay will require two peer edits, which should be done separately. In other words, you will have one person edit your paper, you will revise your paper based on those edits and your own edits, and then you will arrange for the second peer editing. After the second peer editing, you will then rewrite your paper again based on your own review and your editor’s comments. ALL EDITING MUST OCCUR ON GOOGLE DOCS. IF YOUR PEER EDITOR FAILS TO EDIT IN TIME, PLEASE EMAIL ME. 4. Final pass and self-review. You must wait at least 24 hours between your third draft and the final. Before submitting the finalized paper, you must read your essay aloud (either to yourself or someone else) in order to catch careless errors and awkward phrasing. One essay will be graded with respect to content using the criteria set forth in the department rubrics available here. The other essay will not be graded from a content standpoint at all; instead, your adherence to the writing process will be reviewed and graded. The Writing Process Rubric is available here.
 * __The Writing Steps - Detail__**
 * __Grading__**