2016-2017 Essay Grading Service

Hi everyone! With the 2016-2017 school year starting, I thought I'd re-post the steps for submitting student essays to me to grade.

You may click on this link for my Essay Grading Service if you'd like to read about my service in detail or you may click on the page "Essay Grading Service" just under the header. You may also click on this link to see some of my Sample Graded Essays or again you may click on the page entitled "Sample Graded Essays" under the header.

Please contact me via e-mail using the "Contact Susanne" link in the sidebar if you are interested in using my services. Let me know the age(s) and grade level(s) of your student(s) as well as your goals and/or concerns for him/her/them as writers. Please also alert me to any learning challenges, reluctance in writing, extreme interest in writing, or any other matters I need to know before I evaluate the essays.

I usually return e-mails within 24 hours, so you may expect to receive a return e-mail from me in a timely manner.

After discussing your student(s) and goals/concerns, I'll e-mail the following directions for sending me essays to be graded:

Simply e-mail me the essay you wish to be graded as a Word attachment, including the assignment either in the text of the e-mail or also as an attachment. Also let me know if you would like comments only or comments with a letter grade and anything else I may need to know (such as learning challenges, reluctant writing, etc.) so that I can respond to the essay in the most constructive and helpful way possible.

I will respond to let you know that I have received the essay and which day you can expect to have it returned, usually 3-5 school days. If you need an essay graded sooner than that, let me know, and I'll see if I can slip it into my schedule. Also, with each assignment, please include the writer’s age, grade level, and whether you want a letter grade since I grade for quite a few families. :) 

I then download the essay, marking corrections, noting excellence, and offering suggestions for improvement in the right margin. At the end of the essay, I write an overall summary of which elements of the essay were done well and which elements may need further attention. 

My overarching goal is to encourage growth in the art and craft of writing in our students.   

Then when I return the graded essay, which I attach as a Word document and also as a PDF (because some Apple computers and tablets don’t show the review comments in the right margin of Word documents), I will let you know the fee: the number of words in the essay times $.03 (3 cents per word, excluding the student's name, essay title, date, and notes for me). 

If you wish to have your writer revise the essay and re-submit it to be graded again, I charge half as much the second time around.

Then you may remit via PayPal, and I'll give you the e-mail address to do so when I return the essay. I definitely prefer to grade the essay first and then receive payment. 

So just send along the essay when you're ready, and we'll go from there. 

Please let me know if you have any questions; I'll be happy to answer them!


Writing with you,

2016-2017 Brave Writer Teaching Schedule

Although I just finished the 2015-2016 school year with Brave Writer a week ago with the summer Fan Fiction class, I'm now gearing up for the 2016-2017 teaching schedule.

I am so excited about our new Brave Writer Classroom for teaching our Online Classes that will debut this September. Julie showed us a mock-up of the classroom at June's Brave Writer Staff Retreat and Training, and it's simply gorgeous with very clean lines, more images, and more visual appeal...and a lot easier for us teachers to use. I can't wait!! :)

Now that I am no longer teaching my Expository Essay and other courses at Heritage Christian School's co-op Class Days, I'm taking on one more Brave Writer class this year (for a total of ten classes!), plus I've been receiving a steady stream of requests for essay grading through this site, so I should be plenty busy.

And here is my Brave Writer Teacher page although it needs a smidge of updating for this fall...Susanne Barrett at Brave Writer

So here's my Brave Writer Schedule for 2016-2017; follow the links for a complete course description, recommended student ages, and cost per course. Fall Registration opened on August 1; Spring Registration opens December 5, and Summer Registration should open around June 1.

FALL:

Groovy Grammar Workshop: September 6-30 (4 weeks)

Shakespeare Family Workshop: September 6-October 7 (5 weeks)

MLA Research Essay: October 3-November 11 (6 weeks)

Playing with Poetry Workshop: November 14-December 13 (4 weeks + a couple days extra for Thanksgiving holiday)

WINTER:

Groovy Grammar Workshop: January dates TBA (4 weeks)

MLA Research Essay: February dates TBA (6 weeks)

Playing with Poetry Workshop: March-April dates TBA (5 weeks)

SPRING:

Shakespeare Family Workshop: April-May dates TBA (5 weeks)

Literary Analysis: Shakespeare's Macbeth: May-June dates TBA (4 weeks)

SUMMER:

Fan Fiction: July dates TBA (4 weeks)


Please feel free to post below or e-mail me (see sidebar) if you have any questions about Brave Writer and/or Brave Writer online courses or if you're interested in my e-mail grading service.

Writing with you,

Shakespeare 400!

On Friday evening, I was skimming through Pinterest and saw the above image--and immediately loved it, pinned it to my "Bardilicious" Board, and "favorited" it...and then noticed my name below the image!!

The amazing graphic artists at Brave Writer designed this incredible Shakespeare 400 collage image to accompany my post for the Brave Writer blog which happened to be from my current online Shakespeare Family Workshop at Brave Writer. So here's the rest of my post on Shakespeare 400:

William Shakespeare: 23 April 1564-23 April 1616

To mark William Shakespeare's 452nd birthday this week, (he was baptized on April 26, 1564, and children at that time were usually baptized three days after birth) and the 400^th anniversary of his death, celebration is going on in the United States as well as in Stratford-upon-Avon.

In fact, yesterday, April 23, 2016 was World Shakespeare Day!!! 

When I was in a Shakespeare class in high school, we had a HUGE birthday party for Shakespeare with British food and drink (rather like a high tea). A month beforehand, we had each drawn the name of a fellow student for which we were to make a handmade gift. I remember hemming handkerchiefs in pink embroidery thread with the initials “M.A.” for one student, and I still have the floral wreath strung with ribbons (meant to be worn on the head) hanging on my bedroom wall…although I don't remember which young man made it for me (or more likely, his mother made it on his behalf, LOL). 


So how is the 400th anniversary of the death of the Bard being celebrated?

Celebrations in Great Britain:

• http://shakespeares-england.co.uk/shakespeare-2016
• http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/400
• http://www.shakespeare400.org/
• http://nypost.com/2016/04/12/britain-celebrates-shakespeares-400th-anniversary-of-his-death/
• http://www.stahome.org/2016/ 
• Look! They've even have a map with renamed London Tube stations after Shakespeare's plays and characters: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/map-renames-tube-stations-after-shakespeare-plays-to-mark-400th-anniversary-of-his-death-a3225006.html

At Folger Shakespeare Library (Washington, DC):

• http://www.folger.edu/press-release-april-2016-shakespeare-at-400-years

In New York City:

• http://www.timeout.com/newyork/blog/what-to-do-for-shakespeares-452nd-birthday-and-400th-anniversary-of-his-death-040816

Here in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre:

• http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/apr/15/old-globe-theatre-shakespeare-birthday-2016/

So let’s celebrate Shakespeare's birthday/deathday this week in our homes. Here are some ideas: 

• Talk Like Shakespeare! Have a “Talk Like Shakespeare”  Day (or even just an hour, if that’s all you can handle): http://www.talklikeshakespeare.org/  (This site also links to some hilarious Shakespeare Comic Relief with David Tennant and Catherine Tate of Doctor Who fame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxB1gB6K-2A&feature=share&list=PL0-dTQT1ZYP0qOhfTrEXc7PZI4Gmy5KT8) 

• Shakespeare Teatime/Meal! Gather around the table with scones and jam and some Earl Grey tea (or, if you want to prepare authentic Elizabethan fare, check out this site: http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/shak-feast.cfm ) and read some of Shakespeare’s sonnets aloud. You can find Shakespeare sonnet apps for your smart phone or check out this site: http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/). (Parents may wish to pre-read the sonnet choices beforehand as some get a bit too, um, romantic....) 
•  
• Shakespeare Character Party Game! Write the names of famous Shakespeare characters on 3X5 cards with a Sharpie (pick characters that the kids know) and without letting the person see, tape a card to each person's back. Then each person asks "yes-no" type questions of other players to try to determine which character's name is on his/her back. When someone guesses their character, tape a different character to his/her back. Several rounds may be played, depending on the number of players. (Sample questions: Am I male or female? Is my father dead? Is a play named after me?)

• Shakespeare Copywork with Quills! Make quills from feathers (either dip feathers into ink or insert the innards of a ball point pen into the bottom of a feather and wrap with florist tape if needed; see this link: Instructables) and copy some favorite Shakespeare quotations or insults onto parchment (or regular) paper. (Barnes and Noble carries a good selection of quills and calligraphy ink.)

• Shakespeare Trivia! Play some Shakespeare trivia games on Sporcle: Shakespeare Trivia Home Page such as "Shakespeare vs. Batman Quotes," "Shakespeare Threats & Insults," and "Complete the Shakespeare Quote." (Note: these quizzes are *challenging*--I missed quite a few!)  

• Shakespeare Monologues! Read some of Shakespeare’s famous monologues aloud dramatically, perhaps even in costume. Here’s a site with a listing of some of the best single-person speeches, one list for men and one for women: http://www.shakespeare-monologues.org/ Try performing them for family members and/or friends or at a co-op! 

• Shakespeare Scenes! Perform a Shakespeare scene as a puppet show or act out a scene in costume; either memorize parts or make copies of the scene for all the actors. No Sweat Shakespeare has some modern-language scripts for your family to practice and perhaps even produce! http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/shakespeares-plays/modern-english-translations/ 

• Shakespeare at the Movies! Watch your favorite Shakespeare play on film (mine is Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing).  Check your local library or Netflix for some excellent titles, and the International Movie DataBase (www.imdb.com) includes some helpful parents guides with advisory content for you along with ratings and information on most film versions. 

• Shakespeare Documentary! For older kids, check out Michael Woods’ in-depth documentary In Search of Shakespeare which first aired on PBS in 2004 (http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/). Both the DVD and the companion book should be readily available through most public libraries. 

• Shakespeare Live!! Best yet, see a live Shakespeare play as soon as possible. Check out college/university performances near you as they’re usually much less expensive than professional productions.  

How are you planning to celebrate??? 

So, Happy 452nd Birthday (and 400th Deathday), 

William Shakespeare!!

“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.” 

~Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Wishing you a Bardilicious weekend,