Individualized Writing Courses for Homeschool Families...

"Our goal is to address the precise needs, interests, and skills of students who have chosen to learn at home."

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can you help my son or daughter prepare for the essay section of the new SAT?

Of course we can.  We have many, many families who enroll in our course for that very reason.  All our writing consultants are able to teach students how to approach short-answer essay prompts, which are the type that appear on the new SAT, and also on the ACT as well.  Simply let your writing consultant know what sort of test your son or daughter is taking, and he or she can easily help your student prepare.

When can I start my writing course?

We are open year-round, and enroll new students every day.  When you enroll (at http://www.writeguide.com/order.htm) you'll be asked when you'd like the course to begin.  Generally, we can have your course begin within 24 hours.  

How do you choose a teacher for my child?

On our Enrollment Page (http://www.writeguide.com/order.htm) we ask you to provide some background information to aid in the selection process.  That information, along with the child's age, helps us make the right selection.

I want a specific list of projects and assignments for my child.  Don't you have one?

Your writing consultant will gladly generate a complete hand-tailored, individualized writing program for your son or daughter.  BUT, such a program cannot exist until your writing consultant obtains some important information about your child.  Other writing courses and teachers design programs of study based on what they perceive to be "age-appropriate" skills.  We believe that because all students are individuals with unique aptitudes and backgrounds, the only way to provide a list of projects and assignments is to have the teacher design the list according to the student's individual skills and needs.  This requires a lot of time and work, but it's the best way to teach.  Otherwise, you end up with a "one-size-fits-all" writing course, and all of us know that one size does not fit all.  If you ask your writing consultant to design a program for your son or daughter, be prepared for that program to change after the first assignment is completed.  Why?  Because your writing consultant may very well observe skills and features in your child's writing that he or she didn't observe earlier, and that newfound information may prompt him or her to lead the student into a more productive direction.  Just as a sailor needs to constantly adjust the sails on his ship in order to reach the desired port, a good teacher needs to constantly adjust his or her techniques and direction in order to maximize student learning.

Do you work with adult students?  How about students who attend public or private schools?

Yes, we work with adult students, and with students who attend public and private schools!  We work with adults who want to be writers themselves, and also with adults who simply want to improve their writing.  Students who have trouble in English class often enroll with us, as do students who need regular feedback on papers from other academic disciplines (such as social studies). 

If I order a course now, can I schedule it to begin at some point in the future?

Yes!  When you place your order, you'll be asked to specify a starting date.  The starting date can be as soon as "tomorrow" or at any future date.  If you're unsure about whether or not your desired starting date is acceptable, you can always send us an e-mail at office@writeguide.com to ask.

When does the course start?

The course starts when you want it to start.  You can begin on any weekday during any calendar month.  When you order the course, our office staff will ask you for a starting date.  We can have you up and running within 24 hours of placing your order - or you can schedule the course to begin on any date in the future.

What age students do you work with?

Any and all, but the most common are grades four through twelve.  We ask that parents of younger children (grades three and four) make sure their children are proficient typists before signing up for our course -- or that the parents are willing to do the typing for the students.  

Can I send in my children's finished papers to be edited, or do they have to work on some sort of formal project?  

You can definitely send in finished papers to be edited.  When you enroll in our Individualized Writing Course, you truly are enrolled in a course that is individualized:  you can 1) have your writing consultant teach various forms of writing  to your children, or 2) have your writing consultant work with your children on papers and assignments that you assign from a particular textbook or curriculum that you happen to be using in  your homeschool studies, or 3) send in finished papers for comments and feedback, or to be edited.   The format of the course changes on a daily basis, depending entirely on your needs and desires. Read through some of the comments from families who have enrolled to see just how individualized the course can be!

Can I really use one course with two or more students?

Yes, you can.  As long as the students happen to be your children (cousins and friends can't share a course - just siblings!), and you only send one e-mail per day to your writing consultant, you're welcome to have as many of your children share the course as you want.  Do keep in mind, though, that the course was designed so that one course would provide one student with writing instruction for a given period of time.  If you have your children share the course, they won't be getting the full level of intended instruction.  Another essential thing to keep in mind is that every time you send a piece of mail to your writing consultant, you must wait for the writing consultant to respond to that "first" piece of mail before sending a second one.  If, for example, you have a student send a piece of mail to your consultant late on Monday night, you shouldn't wake up on Tuesday morning and have one of your other children send a piece of mail to the writing consultant UNLESS the writing consultant has already written back to the student who sent the mail on Monday night.  

Can I send an attachment to my writing consultant, instead of sending my paper in an e-mail message?

Yes, you can.  However, the only type of attachment you can send to your writing consultant is one in MS Word format.  

Can I have copies of the e-mail sent to my own personal e-mail address so I can monitor the course?

Copies of mail cannot be sent to parents’ e-mail addresses, or to any other "second" e-mail addresses.  The reason is because doing so encourages parents to remain silent observers of the course -- and our course is not meant to be observed, but instead to be participated in by parents.  Our writing consultants are called “consultants” instead of “teachers” for a reason: though they are experts in their fields, you are your child’s teacher.  From the moment you chose to homeschool, you became (in our eyes, at least!) a professional teacher.  And as your child’s teacher you should not merely oversee your children’s learning, but should be an active participant in it.  We realize that that idea isn’t supported by some people, but our company and course are based upon it.  In fact, when you enroll in our course, YOU, the homeschool parent, are enrolling as well! 

Think of it this way:  Why would a homeschool parent enroll his or her child in a course taught entirely by someone else?  To do so would be to cease to homeschool! 

Our company was created not to replace the homeschool teacher, but to give her the capacity to provide her children with skills that she herself might not have, or to deliver instruction in a way that she might not be able to deliver.  Just because a homeschool parent isn’t a master in all academic fields doesn’t means he has to give up her right to educate her own child.  For this reason, we don’t send copies of mail to parents, but instead send mail to one single e-mail address, which we hope is an address that both parent and student are using together.

Do we get to stay with the same teacher the whole time?

Yes, you do!  If you sign up for a course, you'll work with the same writing consultant throughout the duration of the entire course.  Students and parents quickly develop a strong relationship with their writing consultant.  If you decide to order a second course when you finish your first, you'll most likely want to request the same writing consultant again.  We do our best to honor such requests.  

Can my son or daughter work at his or her own pace?

Absolutely.  WriteGuide.com imposes no deadlines, and puts no time restraints on its clients except for the duration of your course.  Whenever you write to your writing consultant, you'll receive a response in 24 hours.

How many papers can I complete if I choose the one-month version of the Individualized Writing Program?

If you're working on the project "from scratch" (meaning your writing consultant is guiding you through EVERY step of the writing process, from start to finish), you can probably complete one full writing project per month.  But if you're sending in completed drafts for feedback, you can move through quite a few more!  The speed of the course depends on the individual writer's abilities, and the frequency with which he writes to his writing consultant.   

Should I use a word processor, or do I just need to use e-mail?

To use our course, all you technically need is an e-mail course.  However, it's definitely a good idea to work on the paper you're writing in a word-processor document.  That way you'll always have a fresh, clean copy of it, and it's less likely to get lost in your computer.  Students who type their papers in an e-mail course end up losing mail all the time, and often have to retype significant portions of the paper.  Also, keep in mind that if you use a word processor to work on your papers, you can very easily attach them to an e-mail when it's time to send one off to your writing consultant.  

Do we need to know how to type to use your course?

Most of the time, yes, you should know how to type if you're going to use our course.  However, some parents choose to have their children write their papers by hand, and then they (the parents) type the paper into the computer.  Whatever works for you is fine with us, so long as we can read the student's work in plain e-mail text or as an attachment in MS Word format.

What about grades?

Ordinarily our writing consultants don't grade papers.  Instead, they provide in-depth, daily feedback on how to improve them.  However, since many families request grades, we've developed an optional grading system.  To make use of the grading system, simply ask your writing consultant to grade whichever paper your son or daughter happens to be working on.  

How can I implement your course?

Our courses were designed to provide all the writing instruction your child needs for a given period of time (the courses have varying lengths).  When you order a course, your child's writing consultant will ask you how you'd like the course to function.  You can work with the consultant to plan a project, or you can simply tell him or her what sort of paper you'd like your son or daughter to write.  Either way, the consultant will then take over, and will work directly with the student through whichever course you've chosen.  It's a lot like having a private writing teacher in your home, except it all takes place via e-mail.  We encourage parents to be as involved as possible in planning papers and providing the consultant with input. 

Can I use the Individualized Writing Course for a while, take a break, and then "tack" the lost time on to the end of the course?

No!  Your writing consultant commits him- or herself to work with your family throughout the duration of the course.  It's up to you to use the course during that time.  If you don't use it, that's your prerogative.    

What sort of writing projects are handled through your courses?

Why, any and all!  We have a specific list (see the chart below) of general writing projects that our consultants regularly conduct, but oftentimes students work on projects of their own invention.  Most people use our courses to integrate writing instruction into content areas such as history and science.  

What happens if I send more than one e-mail to my writing consultant on a particular day?  

When you send an e-mail to your writing consultant, our office system marks your mail as "received" for that particular day.  If at that point you send a second piece of mail to the same writing consultant using the same client code, the office system will send you an automated response explaining that you can only send one e-mail to your consultant per day.  Then, the second piece of mail you sent will be deleted, and your writing consultant won't know it ever existed.  

If for some reason you accidentally send only half of your intended message to your writing consultant, or you forget to attach the attachment you wanted to send, you should e-mail our office staff at office@writeguide.com and explain the situation.  Assuming you realize the problem and contact us right away, our office can fix the problem and make sure your writing consultant receives the e-mail you wanted him or her to receive.  

What if the course comes to an end and we're still in the middle of a paper?

If your course comes to an end on a certain date and you still aren't finished with your project, then the course still comes to an end.  You can either choose to renew the course, or you can walk away from it.  Our course is self-paced.  That means parents and students are in control of how much work gets done.  Our courses are based on time limits, not on the number of projects you can fit into a given period of time.  

I'm from an independent-study charter school in California (or -in Alaska - IDEA,  or Connections).  How do I place an order?

Take a look at http://www.writeguide.com/schools.htm, and you'll find a set of instructions specifically set up for you!  The straightforward answer, however, is that if you want the school or organization to pay for the course, you'll need to send us a purchase order.  

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