Online Class: English Composition 101

no certificate
with CEU Certificate*
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12Lessons
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25Exams &
Assignments -
3,450Students
have taken this course -
11Hours
average time -
1.1CEUs
Course Description
Acquiring and developing the fundamentals of English composition is a vital skill that can be used in a variety of settings and situations. Being able to competently compose an essay and organize a thesis is not only useful in academic environments, but is also useful for business and personal applications. Learning and practicing the basic components introduced in this course will assist those in high school and college; it will help those who will be taking college and/or graduate school entrance exams. It will also assist anyone who is currently job hunting by helping them create coherent, concise written material during the interview process. For those already in the business world, this course will help you create written presentations and other materials required on the job. It will enhance and expand your writing ability and thinking process in the world of business. This course will also benefit those in supervisory positions where a great deal of writing is required. Lastly, it will help anyone enhance their personal written communication skills.
Course Motivation
Essay writing, unlike fiction or poetry writing, is a method of addressing specific points that the author is trying to convey to their particular audience. While there is a myth that good essay writers are born that way, the truth is that this is a skill that can be learned. Just as with most skills in life or school, creating a well rounded, coherent essay is a process that can be learned, perfected, and developed with the right tools and information. And, as with learning other skills, practice allows you to become increasingly more adept at essay writing.
START EARLY
The first and most important part of writing a great essay is to START EARLY! It cannot be stressed enough that you must allow ample time to develop your argument, create an outline, perform research, create a rough draft, revise, and write a final draft. Most professors will tell you to start two to three weeks before your essay is due. However, if you have other obligations, such as work, children, household chores, and more, you should start even earlier. If you are one of the lucky few who has plenty of time on their hands, then you can start later. Never give yourself less than 10 day's time before the due date to start your essay though, no matter what your time freedom or restraints are. Last minute writing will receive a poor reception and most likely, a less than average grade.
EIGHT BASIC STEPS OF ESSAY WRITING
Whether your writing assignment is academic, business, or personal, the process of all essay writing can be encapsulated into eight basic steps.
- Choose a Topic or Focus on the Assigned Topic.
- Develop your ideas.
- Create an Outline.
- Write a tentative thesis.
- Research.
- Create the first draft.
- Revise (multiple times).
- Create a Final draft.
These steps will be covered in great detail in this course, but it is important to understand what they are and why they play an important role in essay writing. Let's take a closer look at each process individually.
PROCESS ONE. Choose a topic or focus on your assigned topic.
In some cases you will be assigned or will have a topic to write about. This is often the case with business or personal essay writing. In some academic situations you may be asked to select your own specific topic within a broader subject range. For instance, you may have to write about Shakespearian tragedy, but the topic may be anything you desire in that arena. Having to select your own topic adds an additional step to this process, but either way you will have to hone in on specific points related to your central thesis or topic so that you will begin to develop a clear idea of where you plan on going with your writing.
PROCESS TWO. Develop your ideas.
The best way to generate the specific ideas you want to convey, research, or cover in your essay is to use the standard writing rules. With every essay, answer the following questions clearly for yourself:
- Who are your audience and what are you trying to tell them?
- What is the main purpose of your essay?
- Who are you? What image do you want to convey about yourself as a person and a writer?
Brainstorming may be helpful to begin with. (List a bunch of ideas without regard to exploring or judging them at the moment).
PROCESS THREE. Outline.
Creating an outline helps organize your information, points, and components into a cohesive, clear format. Often, in an academic setting, an outline will be requested and required before your topic is accepted or your essay is handed in. You may use alpha-numeric headings or decimal. Alpha-numeric is acceptable for most uses but it makes no difference which you use. You may ask your educator which they prefer if you are unsure about which to use. You will also be supplied with a blank alpha-numeric and a blank decimal outline that can be edited to your needs and printed out for your use.
PROCESS FOUR. Write a tentative thesis.
PROCESS FIVE. Research.
Accurate, recordable research is vital in supporting the thesis you are presenting to your audience. Without research your essay is considered an opinion expressed by you and only you, and not supported by any other documentation or proof. Performing research is a time consuming task. It will be considerably less time consuming if your thesis or central idea is specific and clear. If your thesis is too broad, you will see this as you begin your research. If you are getting too much information, you probably need to narrow down your central theme. Think of research as an inverted pyramid process. Start with a wide range of opinions on your specific topic and then begin to narrow your reading down to those which are relevant to your thesis.
If there is a particular sentence or paragraph that you may decide to quote in your essay, you should make note of that passage. Although you probably won't use all of the information or materials you find, write down the information anyway. Later, during the drafting process, you can eliminate what is redundant or weak, keeping only the most relevant research for use in your essay. This course goes into more depth about the research process and teaches you the best methods of performing research for a well written essay.
PROCESS SIX. Creating the first draft.
It is helpful if you have your research materials, books, and other notes, on paper, and nearby as you write. This will make it easier to refer to them along the way. Just start writing.
PROCESS SEVEN. Revise.
The revision process is where you will put your rough draft into a clear, concise format and fix any errors or omissions. Prior to making revisions in your writing, you should use your spell check feature to correct any glaring spelling errors. Some useful steps for revision are as follows.
- Print out a hard copy.
- Read over and mark any sentences or paragraphs you want to change by deleting or adding to what you have written.
- Jot notes in margins or on a separate piece of paper wherever helpful.
- Rewrite (often).
- Check for spelling and grammatical errors again and correct.
PROCESS EIGHT. Create a Final draft.
The final draft is exactly that. It is the final printout of all your hard work and dedication. Don't be alarmed if you spot a few problems that need to be fixed in your final draft or a few things you may want to change. Just revise and reprint if need be. At some point, however, typos, spelling, and grammatical errors aside, you will need to reach an end point. Some writers are never satisfied with their work, and could go on editing and revising forever, but this is not possible. Your essay will need to be presented to its intended audience at some time. So, print out as many copies as you need and call it a day. Hopefully, you did the work you needed to do in the previous steps and your essay is exactly (or nearly) what you aimed for. Congratulate yourself for a job well done!
Conclusion
- Completely Online
- Self-Paced
- Printable Lessons
- Full HD Video
- 6 Months to Complete
- 24/7 Availability
- Start Anytime
- PC & Mac Compatible
- Android & iOS Friendly
- Accredited CEUs

Course Lessons
Lesson 1. Essay Writing as a Process
Lesson 1 Video
Lesson discussions: Reasons for Taking this Course
Complete Assignment: An Introduction
Complete: Lesson 1 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 1 Exam
Lesson 2. A Review of Grammar and Punctuation
Lesson 2 Video
Complete: Lesson 2 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 2 Exam
Lesson 3. The Structures of an Essay. Essay Writing
Lesson 3 Video
Complete: Lesson 3 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 3 Exam
Lesson 4. Outlining
Lesson 4 Video
Lesson discussions: Outlines; Writer's Block
Complete: Lesson 4 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 4 Exam
Lesson 5. Developing a Powerful Thesis Statement
Lesson 5 Video
Complete: Lesson 5 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 5 Exam
Lesson 6. Introduction to the Concept of Research
Lesson 6 Video
Complete: Lesson 6 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 6 Exam
Lesson 7. Rough Drafting or First Drafting
Lesson 7 Video
Complete: Lesson 7 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 7 Exam
Lesson 8. The Revision Process
Lesson 8 Video
Lesson discussions: Revising
Complete: Lesson 8 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 8 Exam
Lesson 9. Writing Effective Introductions and Conclusions
Lesson 9 Video
Complete: Lesson 9 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 9 Exam
Lesson 10. The Final Draft
Lesson 10 Video
Complete: Lesson 10 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 10 Exam
Lesson 11. Introduction to Style Guides
Lesson 11 Video
Complete: Lesson 11 Assignment
Assessment: Lesson 11 Exam
Lesson 12. Conclusion
Lesson discussions: Final Course Poll - Your Opinion; Course Comments; Program Evaluation Follow-up Survey (End of Course)
Complete: Final Assignment
Assessment: The Final Exam
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate correct usage of grammar and punctuation.
- Describe the structure of an essay.
- Create an outline.
- Develop a powerful thesis statement.
- Conduct research.
- Create a rough draft.
- Summarize the revision process.
- Write effective introductions and conclusions.
- Develop a final draft.
- Describe appropriate style guide usage.
- Demonstrate mastery of lesson content at levels of 70% or higher.
Additional Course Information

- Document Your Lifelong Learning Achievements
- Earn an Official Certificate Documenting Course Hours and CEUs
- Verify Your Certificate with a Unique Serial Number Online
- View and Share Your Certificate Online or Download/Print as PDF
- Display Your Certificate on Your Resume and Promote Your Achievements Using Social Media

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Time to complete | 6 months |
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Time to complete | 6 months |
No. of courses | 1 course |
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Time to complete | 12 Months |
No. of courses | 600+ |
Certificates & CEUs
Includes all 600+ courses
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Includes CEUs |
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Self-paced |
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Instructor support |
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Time to complete | 24 Months |
No. of courses | 600+ |
Student Testimonials
- "I found the course very challenging. I wasn't sure at the onset if I would be cut out for it and was amazed at how easily I was able to comprehend and complete the course requirements. That says a lot about the instructor, that I did so well." -- Laura G.
- "It was very helpful and effective, in a short time I refreshed my knowledge and it reminded me how I can write a great essay." -- Kelly Y.
- "This course has helped me expand my knowledge with essay writing Immensely!" -- Elianna S.
- "She is a knowlegeable and caring instructor." -- Joe O.
- "This was a fantastic course and I believe the Instructor was a large part of why that was. She was extremely helpful when I had any questions and always available!" -- Donna N.
- "I really enjoyed learning in this course. It helped improve my keyboarding skills and writing expereince." -- Carolyn W.
- "This was a very helpful class. My writing grades have improved after taking this course." -- Alaina C.
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