No-Hassle Expert Instruction
College-Ready Writing Essentials
Your Dress Rehearsal For Success
Are you headed to college? Responsible for students who are? Preparation is everything. You wouldn’t run through a stage performance for the first time on opening night.
Same with college. It’s not a good idea to show up on day one with no clue what you’re expected to do. College-Ready Writing Essentials is a one-of-a-kind online writing course designed specifically to build a bridge between high school & college academics.
Step Forward With Confidence
Am I ready for it? Can I do the work? These and similar questions understandably race through a student’s (and parent’s!) mind on the cusp of entering this new, unfamiliar world. Even the best teachers still want to make sure they’re focusing on EXACTLY the skills research proves most necessary for their students’ success.
Much of the college guidance available focuses on choosing a school…filling out applications…securing financial aid—but is there something that can address how a student will actually FEEL when they sit down in a college classroom for the first time? You’ve found it.
The #1 Skill Linked to College Success
We want you to experience confidence and excitement in that big transitional moment—not fear and/or dread.
Here’s a not-often-discussed-enough fact: WRITING is THE skill most linked to academic success. Who says so? “Just” ALL the research! And this has been proven true across disciplines, too, no matter your major.
The lack of college-ready writing skills is actually a huge part of why many students who begin college fail to complete it—or are forced to pay for expensive remedial classes just to catch up.
William Bryant, PhD
BetterRhetor’s Dr. William Bryant is the author/developer of College-Ready Writing Essentials. Before launching BetterRhetor with wife, Becky, Dr. Bryant spent ten years in test development at ACT, Inc., lastly as Director of Writing Assessments. Over the course of his three-decade-plus career as a writer, editor, and educator, he has worked extensively with student writing and has gained a deep understanding of the college-ready writing gap and its causes.
Unfortunately Unaligned
So what’s going on? A very well-documented problem in education is that high school writing instruction and college writing expectations typically do not align. The origins of this situation are complex; no one is at “fault.” The end result, however, is that entering college freshman often arrive not fully prepared for what their instructors may expect.
Take a look at this quick comparison chart—how do your writer’s current writing skills stack up?
Teachers, Parents, Students—Get Our FREE College-Ready Writing Skills Checklist TODAY!
Need to improve your writing skills but don’t know where to start? We’ve translated all the most important research for you!
BetterRhetor’s College-Ready Writer Checklist PDF lays out everything a college-ready writer must be able to do in easy-to-understand language! Whether you are learning the skills yourself…or teaching them to your students or child, this is THE “college-ready writer bible” you won’t find anywhere else!
An Online Course Built Just For This Moment
BetterRhetor wants to help you get confident, and get ready. To accomplish this, the instruction in College-Ready Writing Essentials centers around the task of composing a 3-5 pg authentic, research-supported academic essay—the EXACT kind of writing students will repeatedly be asked to produce as undergrads.
College-Ready Writing Essentials guides writers & their teachers or parents step-by-step through the process of outlining, drafting, revising, and finalizing a first-rate college-level essay, just like the ones you can read here.
For Schools
• Delivered online via Canvas
• 25 ready-to-use, teacher-facilitated lessons
• Targeted, flexible, deeply-researched
• Step-by-step guide through the writing of a 3-5 page research-supported persuasive essay
• TEKS-aligned version available; adopted by the Texas State Board of Education for SY 2020-28
• Recommended teacher resource in Utah, New Mexico
• Available nationally
• Connect with BetterRhetor + College-Ready Writing Essentials on EdCuration
For Home
• Delivered online via Teachable
• 25 ready-to-use, self-guided lessons
• Targeted, flexible, deeply-researched
• Step-by-step guide through the writing of a 3-5 page research-supported persuasive essay
• Favorably reviewed by Cathy Duffy
• Awarded 2019 Favorite Writing Resource by the Homeschool Review Crew
• Read dozens of positive reviews from homeschool moms
Creating a Bridge
The 25 lessons in College-Ready Writing Essentials are targeted to tackle writing readiness (and, in turn, overall readiness) head-on. BetterRhetor’s Dr. William Bryant has extensively studied the research and carefully-crafted a “bridge” to help you develop what have been proven to be THE most necessary skills.
It’s actually NO MYSTERY what goes into making a college-ready writer! Several frameworks already exist spelling out exactly what researchers have identified as the knowledge, skills, and abilities most important to master pre-college.
It’s just that no one has ever put it all together for students and teachers in an easy-to-use way. Until now.
Praise for College-Ready Writing Essentials…
For Schools
For Home
“College-Ready Writing Essentials offers homeschoolers who are unable to participate in a college-prep level writing class, the opportunity to receive excellent instruction… I highly recommend the premium package…. [College-Ready Writing Essentials] goes beyond the mechanics to help students understand such things as the expectations for college-level writing, the importance of critical thinking, how to express their own ideas based on information and research, how to present arguments, the importance of taking into consideration what a course instructor will be looking for, and how to work with peers.”
The Ultimate Life Hack
The truth is, writing doesn’t HAVE to be such a struggle. It IS possible to brim with excitement facing that first assignment in college, knowing you’ve got this.
Our goal is to permanently change your idea of writing. Rather than being intimidating and un-fun, College-Ready Writing Essentials will show you just how empowering killer writing ability can actually be. (There’s a reason why, year after year, employers list great communication skills as one of their most desired traits for new hires—see here.)
If your classroom or home does need College-Ready Writing Essentials, why wait? Get ready BEFORE the curtain goes up on the next, exciting stage of education—and life.
FREE Tools To Help Teachers, Parents, & Students Prepare
Please check out these additional high school to college transition resources from our partners too!
FAQ
How do I know College-Ready Writing Essentials will help me?
We designed College-Ready Writing Essentials on deeply researched, evidence-centered principles, so that teachers, parents, and students can all have a high level of confidence that they are acquiring the competencies most needed for college-level writing success.
If you’re interested, you can read about the underlying research and the design of College-Ready Writing Essentials in our White Paper.
What's the difference between the Canvas and Teachable versions of College-Ready Writing Essentials?
We offer our two versions of College-Ready Writing Essentials in order to accomodate multiple learning environments. The K12/Higher Ed “classroom” version is teacher-facilitated & is delivered via the Canvas platform, a popular LMS used by colleges & universities (and high schools too). The “home” version is self-guided & is delivered via Teachable for individuals who wish to work at their own pace outside of a traditional school setting.
How hard is College-Ready Writing Essentials?
To quote one of our favorite homeschooler reviews: “College-Ready Writing Essentials is not a course for the faint of heart.” Okay, fair enough…but this is intentional.
Studies show that academic rigor prior to college is perhaps THE most important factor in preparing students for college success. (See here and here.) Many high school graduates are unprepared for college precisely because their high school curriculum was not demanding enough.
Even so, it’s important to note that being prepared for college means being ready to learn at the college level—not already adept at college-level work. So, while College-Ready Writing Essentials is challenging, we also understand that you may be unfamiliar with some of the things you’ll be asked to do, and that you’re just starting out. Dr. Bryant’s instruction keeps all of the above in mind, and very effectively walks any committed student step-by-step through what they need to know.
How long will College-Ready Writing Essentials take to complete?
College-Ready Writing Essentials was originally developed as a five-week, intensive module. However, it is also completely customizable to anyone’s unique classroom or family schedule. Whether you are a teacher, parent, or student the program is yours to do with as you wish.
With the Canvas version, a teacher receives full access for the length of the purchased contract (lengths available from 1yr to 8yrs). Enrolling in the Teachable version provides families with immediate lifetime access—across any and all devices owned—so the timeline is completely flexible. College-Ready Writing Essentials can be repeated (or referred back to) as many times as needed.
Who can I contact with questions, problems, kudos?
Connect anytime via the links on this website. DM on our socials too! Our email is collegereadywriting@better-rhetor.com.
Someone—probably Becky—will get back to you asap (which usually means whenever Walker can take his nap)!
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Prescott, AZ 86301
