Rhetoric Writing I

Full-year course.  Rhetoric I is the first year of a three-year high school sequence. Students are introduced to the techniques of persuasive writing. The initial focus of the course is on sentence and paragraph construction; students then move on to the progymnasmata exercises (narrative, description, fable, proverb, anecdote, refutation/confirmation, commonplace, praise and blame, comparison, speech-in-character) to teach thesis establishment, development, and support; the year concludes with the construction of a persuasive piece following the pattern established by Aristotle in Rhetoric. Click here for an explanation of our writing and grammar curriculum, and sample course sequences.

Prerequisite: Preparation for Rhetoric Writing, or, at least two years completed study in Expository Writing, using Writing With Skill, the Institute for Excellence in Writing, Classical Composition, or a comparable program. For help in placement, see our writing assessment, which will be evaluated by Academy writing instructors.

Grammar Preparation: Students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in composing essays that are grammatically correct at both sentence and paragraph levels. They should also possess the ability to recognize and utilize common grammatical principles, including identifying parts of speech, composing complete sentences, identifying sentence fragments and run-on sentences, and effectively using grammatical phrases. Students who need a review of the most practical elements of grammar should sign up for Practical Grammar for the Rhetoric Stage, or review the following lessons in Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind.

Students entering Rhetoric I should be able to

    • identify the parts of speech and understand their usages (noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection)
      • Week 1: Introduction to Nouns and Adjectives, All Lessons
      • Week 2: Introduction to Personal Pronouns and Verbs, All Lessons
      • Week 7: Compounds and Conjunctions, Lesson 26
      • Week 8: Introduction to Objects, Lesson 30
      • Week 9: Adverbs, All Lessons
      • Week 24: Floating Elements, Lesson 93
    • compose complete sentences and identify sentence fragments and run-on sentences
      • Week 20: Constructing Sentences, All Lessons
    • identify and proficiently use grammatical phrases (verb phrase, prepositional phrase, participle phrases, appositive phrases, and infinitive phrases)
      • Week 5: More About Verbs, Lesson 17
      • Week 11: More About Prepositions, All Lessons
      • Week 16: Imposters, Lesson 64
      • Week 24: Floating Elements, Lesson 94
    • identify and correct misplaced, dangling, and squinting modifiers
      • Week 11: More About Prepositions, Lesson 43
      • Week 26: More Modifiers, Lesson 103 
    • understand how and when to use commas
      • Week 26: More Modifiers, Lesson 101
      • Week 33: Mechanics, Lesson 122



My son’s writing skills really improved because of this class. - Parent Course Evaluation




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    Rhetoric Writing I Information




    • Example Syllabus
    • Class meets twice per week for 50-55 minutes.
    • Class cap: average 12 students.
    • Designed for grades 9-11.
    • High school students may be awarded 1 Language Arts credit upon completion of this course.

    Course Materials




    • Click here to purchase the course texts.
      • Paragraphs for High School: A Sentence Composing Approach, Don Killgallon
      • Durable Design: Classical Oration for Speeches and Essays, Michael Larson


    Expand for More Course Resources


    You may also like...


    History of the Ancient World

    Full-year. For high school students.


    Learn More

    Practical Grammar for the Rhetoric Stage

    One-semester. For high school students.


    Learn More