Spring 2026 Class: Composition IIB

Basis for Rating: This course gets five stars because it teaches well how to write.Before encountering U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons by Lori Verstegen, published by the Institute for Excellence in Writing, second edition 2019, my writing was not notably engaging. Every sentence started with the subject, which makes it boring for the reader, so the sentence openers helped particularly. Effectively this composition course teaches how to write extraordinarily well. At first the dress-ups seemed completely unnecessary, but when comparing before and after they were included into a paragraph the end result was strikingly drastic. Since there is so much practice with dress-ups and sentence openers it becomes second nature to include them in all your writing. This journey into quality writing is worth the work. The stylistic techniques I have learned from this course will be used throughout my life.

Basis for Rating: I thought that I learned so much from taking this course and that Miss Bethany really helped me understand everything much better and helped me improve on my writing skills.One important lesson that I think will have a lasting impact on my life would have to be the lessons on TRIAC paragraphs in the U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons Student Book. I had never learned about these kinds of paragraphs before and think they will definitely enhance my writing a lot. In lesson 30, it explains how these paragraphs help us write a great character analysis, and a well-structured one at that. It helps the writer focus on one character from a story and really hone in on how to structure the analysis on that character.

Basis for Rating: We enjoyed how clear Miss Bethany was for expectations for homework, behavior, assignments and class time. We loved how easy it was to see what was due when. We are so grateful for her thorough feedback on each and every assignment. Miss Bethany was kind, amiable and knowledgeable. Everything was well organized. The sheer amount of information that was packed into this course was incredible.Review: The lesson that I benefited from most, and continue to benefit from, was lesson five. This lesson contained the Story Sequence Chart. The Story Sequence Chart is a simple structure that uses simple questions to help break down telling a three-paragraph story. “Each paragraph has a distinct purpose. The first paragraph tells about the people or animals in the story and when and where they live. The second paragraph tells about the conflict or problem that occurs within the story. The third paragraph begins with the climax, the turning point in the story, and ends with the resolution, the events that occur after the climax.” (U.S. History Based Writing Lessons lesson 5 pg. 43) I felt that with this structure I gained new freedom. Everything came a lot easier when I asked myself the questions, "who is in the story? What are they like? What do they need/want? What do they say and do?" Writing became less overwhelming and more enjoyable. I feel confident that I will take this skill of breaking things down and accomplishing them step by step throughout my entire life.

Basis for Rating: This course really helped me understand how to write good papers and was really clear on how to do everything well. Miss Bethany is a great teacher.Review: There really wasn't one important lesson to me. I really enjoyed all of the lessons in the U.S History-Based Writing Lessons where we had to write the KWO. I had never done KWO before, and I thought it really helped me write a better paper.

Basis for Rating: The organization was excellent. The STAA Staff was extremely patient and helpful. The value was lasting. The course was enjoyable. And lastly, the difficulty was well-balanced. Overall, these qualities deserve five stars.Review: To begin with, I have throughly enjoyed this first semester of Composition. In my first live class for this subject, I learned that quality writing was extremely important because it was a way to clearly express one’s ideas and thoughts. This piece of wisdom has further deepened my love of writing. Jensen’s Punctuation and Jensen’s Grammar were indispensable in helping me navigate the English language. For instance, I used to have a difficult time finding which part of speech a word was in. But Jensen’s Grammar provided me with trustworthy test frames to correct my problem (Jensen 47). Above all, I savored the weekly discussions with Miss Bethany and the other students. In conclusion, the course exceeded my expectations and elevated my understanding and use of writing.