Students who are interested in participating in the Scholastic Writing Competition
One-on-one and small group (Max. 7 students/class)
Class Introduction
One of the most important skills that young people can learn is the art of shaping writing for purpose and audience. What underpins these items is the creation of voice – a distinct, intentional and imaginative contribution to the conversation of human experience. Our ability to shape and use language is fundamental to our successes both inter-personally, professionally and beyond. The Scholastic Art and Writing Competition promotes these same values (and more) through the careful exploration of creative writing (and the arts), and so this course is built around their yearly competition.
Students in grades 8-12 wanting to learn how to shape their written English into effective and publishable creative pieces will find this particular Creative Writing course very exciting. The class will be shown a range of tools to learn the nuances of controlled, purposeful writing, including: figurative language, effective structuring and specific forms that they will apply to their own pieces. Students will work directly with both literary and media texts as they plan and write their own. Through the rigorous process of planning, writing, work- shopping, re-shaping and work-shopping again, students will refine their skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Their final portfolios will be a catalog of imaginative, thoughtful work. In addition to Scholastic, and with the guidance of their teacher, students will be encouraged to source their own competitions and publications for further submission and publishing opportunities.
Taught by: A professor with a Master’s from the University of London and a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing from Pepperdine. She has judged and taught for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, founded an award-winning literary magazine, and helped many students publish their work.
- Analysis and reading skills – students will read and analyse professionally published pieces to learn techniques to develop their own voices as writers, and to uncover topics/content that are fresh, imaginative and publishable.
- Writing skills – students will learn how to use new forms and craft language into meaningful text for audience and purpose. They will develop a multifaceted portfolio of nonfiction, fiction and poetic writing.
- Spoken/oral skills – students will present their ideas to the rest of the class, disseminating information in a concise manner and providing/taking in feedback during workshops.
June 11, 2025 – July 30, 2025: 8 group lessons, 2 hours each, a total of 16 hours of courses
These vary based on which region the student will be submitting from. Please note that the competition opens on the 1st of September, at which point students can figure out their specific region’s deadline.
Course Content
- The New York Times and other media outlets online
- Previous winning pieces from all competitions will be reviewed
- A range of published poems and flash fiction pieces – professional and student written
Feedback
Students and their parents will receive brief feedback after each class, regarding the student’s general participation in class. Students will also receive feedback on graded assignments via email. Individual writing assignments will receive continual and extensive on text feedback from the teacher as well as peer feedback.
