Essay Rock Star–The Textual Analysis–a Review

Teaching writing to children can be a daunting task, especially during the middle school and high school years.  Lily Latridis, founder of Fortuigence, has created a thorough series of courses, collectively called “Essay Rock Star,” which take writing instruction from drudgery to delight.  Essay Rock Star consists of four separate courses:  The Personal Statement, The Persuasive Essay, The Expository Essay, and The Textual Analysis.  Each online writing course, designed for students ages 12-18, is able to be used as a stand-alone course equating to 1/8 of a high school credit.  The four courses combined constitute a complete semester writing credit (.5 credits).  We have been using The Textual Analysis course for the past several weeks.

     Latridis is a licensed educator who left traditional classroom teaching to offer her skills as a writing teacher to students nationwide through her internet-based writing courses.  Each course is available for $57 and the set of four courses is available for $197.  There is no software to download.  We have used the course successfully from a computer, a tablet, and a smart phone.  The Textual Analysis course, as well as the other three courses, follow the same basic format. Within the format, students work their way through several lessons under the umbrella of five simple steps to master writing. The five steps students work through are:  Brainstorming, Organizing Ideas, Free Writing, Revision, and Editing.

      Once course registration, username, password, etc. is setup, students complete the Course Introduction, Pre-Assessment, and Rubrics lesson.  Students view a brief introductory video and compose and submit a writing sample to their instructor. Students are also able to open and view the rubrics used to assess their writing.  If your child is not familiar with a rubric, you may need to take a little time and explain the concept.  I did that with my kids and it was very helpful.

     When the introductory lesson is complete, students are able to pursue Steps 1-5.  Students may work at their own pace, and new lessons remain locked until the previous lesson is completed. Using the program for thirty to forty-five minutes, several days per week, my son finished the course in a little over three weeks.  He is in the twelfth grade.  My daughter is about to work through the course.  She is quite a bit younger.  I anticipate her needing around six weeks to complete the course.

      As a person with a degree in English, I appreciate the inclusion of all five of the steps in the writing process.  Many students leave out steps when trying to write and, as a result, their writing lacks substance and polish.  Following the steps as laid out in The Textual Analysis, my son was able to produce quality essays with little trouble.  Textual analysis is a more difficult form of writing than the other forms addressed in Essay Rock Star.  With this type of essay, students not only have to apply their writing skills but also have to determine the purpose an author had behind a piece of writing and whether or not that author achieved his purpose.  This is the more critical thinking type of writing.  It is a crucial style of writing for students to master if they are going to go to college.

     The only issue my son has had with the program was that he really did not enjoy the videos.  He preferred to read the accompanying transcript and then do the assignments.  He felt that the videos were a little bit simplistic and elementary.  The actual skills presented are quite advanced, however. 

     I appreciated the way this course is laid out for students.  It is easy to follow and easy to complete the lessons and submit them to the instructor.  Students receive grades and feedback within twenty-four hours of lesson submission.  It really takes the guesswork out of grading, since I don’t have to do it!  I don’t know about you, but critically grading my children’s writing is one of the most difficult tasks ever.  I have always had trouble with that chore because I didn’t want to hurt their feelings.  By having a third party evaluating their writing and providing positive feedback as well as critique, I can be an encourager rather than an evaluator.

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Many other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew have been using courses from Fortuigence.  To read their reviews, click on the banner below.