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Writing and Editing: Structure and Organization

Writing and Editing: Structure and Organization

This course is part of Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization

Instructor: Patrick Barry

40,894 already enrolled

Included with

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4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

571 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

98%

Most learners liked this course

4 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

571 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

98%

Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

Learn how structure can be used to generate content
Place corresponding ideas in corresponding forms
Add nuance to your writing by using anadiplosis
Identify and assess when to use sentences with varying lengths

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

27 assignments

Taught in English

91%

of learners achieved a positive career outcome

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This course is part of the Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

This second course in the Good with Words: Writing and Editing series will help you become an effective architect of information, both with your sentences and with your paragraphs. You’ll learn that the traditional advice to “Show, don’t tell” is incomplete and that skilled writers actually switch back and forth between showing and telling.

You’ll also learn more about the menu of time management techniques introduced in the first course of the series, including “deep work,” “studio time,” and “the Animal Farm Principle.” And as with the other three courses in this series, you will get access to a wide range of books and other resources you can use even after you finish the course. These include: (1) the readings and exercises provided to the students who have taken the in-person version of this course at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago; (2) two digital libraries of excellent writing from a diverse collection of journalists, scientists, novelists, poets, historians, and entrepreneurs; and (3) a monthly “Good Sentences” email.

Module details

In this first week, you will be introduced to instructor Patrick Barry and begin to learn about sentence flow and structure. In-video questions will direct you to content previously covered in the first course of this specialization.

What's included

9 videos14 readings7 assignments4 app items2 discussion prompts10 plugins

9 videosTotal 14 minutes

Introduction1 minute
Sentence Flow1 minute
Architects of Information2 minutes
Architects of Time3 minutes
Punctuation and Professionalism: Deviations from Coordinating Conjunction Rules2 minutes
Notes on Nuance: "If"2 minutes
Takeaways1 minute
Student Takeaway: Old Friends1 minute
Student Takeaway: Architects of Time1 minute

14 readingsTotal 108 minutes

Teaching Style + Resources3 minutes
Meet Professor Barry 2 minutes
Syllabus10 minutes
University of Michigan Survey10 minutes
Good with Words Chapter 8 ("Clarity and Coherence")20 minutes
Introduction to the Gamut Workbook Tool10 minutes
Gamut Workbook FAQ: Locked Exercises3 minutes
Gamut Workbook FAQ: Error 40310 minutes
Spotting Sentences3 minutes
Edit Our Edits2 minutes
Good Writing, Good Teacher5 minutes
Punctuation and Professionalism: Introduction and Review10 minutes
Notes on Nuance: Introduction and Review10 minutes
Notes on Nuance: "If" and "If Not"10 minutes

7 assignmentsTotal 55 minutes

Weekly Review (Graded)20 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice5 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice5 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice10 minutes
Punctuation Practice: Positive Deviance5 minutes
Nuance Practice: "If" and "If Not"5 minutes
Nuance Review: "If Not" and "Almost"5 minutes

4 app itemsTotal 75 minutes

Exercise—Old Friends30 minutes
Exercise—Spotting Sentences (Percentages)20 minutes
Exercise—Good Sentences (Finance)20 minutes
Exercise—Takeaways5 minutes

2 discussion promptsTotal 20 minutes

Good Writing, Good Teacher10 minutes
Positive Deviance10 minutes

10 pluginsTotal 17 minutes

Sentence Flow: Sentences → Ideas → Persuasion1 minute
Sentence Flow: Make Your Reader Feel Smart1 minute
Sentence Flow: Benjamin Franklin1 minute
Sentence Flow: For Want of a Nail2 minutes
Sentence Flow: Mix of Old and New1 minute
Sentence Flow: Bored and Confused1 minute
Sentence Flow: Too Ignorant to Talk to3 minutes
Sentence Flow: Principle 1, Principle 21 minute
Sentence Flow: Audience and Function2 minutes
Sentence Flow: The Curse of Knowledge4 minutes

This week's content will focus on how structure can be used to generate content.

What's included

8 videos7 readings9 assignments6 app items3 discussion prompts6 plugins

8 videosTotal 11 minutes

Previously On1 minute
Previously On: Venn Diagram3 minutes
Previously On: Architects of Information1 minute
Punctuation and Professionalism—Coordinating Conjunctions (Deviation Part II)3 minutes
Notes on Nuance: "As"2 minutes
Takeaways1 minute
Student Takeaway: Nifty Not0 minutes
Student Takeaway: Agreement0 minutes

7 readingsTotal 55 minutes

Previously On: Introduction and Review5 minutes
Good with Words Chapter 7 ("Corresponding Ideas in Corresponding Forms")20 minutes
Nifty Not: Fan Favorite?2 minutes
(Optional) Rhetorical Repetition10 minutes
Rhetorical Repetition: Fan Favorite? 3 minutes
Resource Request (Structure and Organization)5 minutes
Notes on Nuance: "As"10 minutes

9 assignmentsTotal 57 minutes

Weekly Review (Graded)15 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice5 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice 7 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice5 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice5 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice (Awkward Repetition)5 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice (Rhetorical Repetition)5 minutes
Punctuation Practice: Positive Deviance Part II 5 minutes
Nuance Practice: "As"5 minutes

6 app itemsTotal 85 minutes

Exercise—Previously On10 minutes
Exercise—Agreement15 minutes
Exercise—Omit20 minutes
Exercise—Nifty Not20 minutes
Exercise—Good Sentences (War)10 minutes
Exercise—Takeaways10 minutes

3 discussion promptsTotal 30 minutes

Nifty Not: Fan Favorite?10 minutes
Rhetorical Repetition: Fan Favorite?10 minutes
Resource Request (Structure and Organization)10 minutes

6 pluginsTotal 15 minutes

Parallel Structure: Corresponding Ideas in Corresponding Forms2 minutes
Parallel Structure: Dickinson, Frost, and Pope1 minute
Parallel Structure: Name That Tune3 minutes
Parallel Structure: Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo, and the Apple Store2 minutes
Parallel Structure: Better at Words5 minutes
Parallel Structure: Better Writer → Better Lawyer2 minutes

What's included

7 videos5 readings6 assignments6 app items1 discussion prompt

7 videosTotal 11 minutes

Previously On1 minute
Previously On: Symmetry is What You See at a Glance1 minute
Show and Tell1 minute
Punctuation and Professionalism: Conjunctions Affect Other Conjunctions3 minutes
Nuance Spotlight: Jane Austen3 minutes
Takeaways1 minute
Student Takeaway: Summary and Scene1 minute

5 readingsTotal 60 minutes

Show and Tell10 minutes
Student-->Teacher (Optional)20 minutes
(Optional) Word Choice, Word Confusion10 minutes
Nuance Spotlight: Jane Austen10 minutes
The Jane Austen Centre (Quizzes and Movies)10 minutes

6 assignmentsTotal 40 minutes

Weekly Review (Graded)15 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice5 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice5 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice (Who vs. Whom) 5 minutes
Punctuation Practice: Conjunctions Affect Other Conjunctions5 minutes
Nuance Practice: Jane Austen5 minutes

6 app itemsTotal 70 minutes

Exercise—Previously On: Reflection10 minutes
Exercise—Summary and Scene (Optional)20 minutes
Exercise—Reverse Outline (Optional)10 minutes
Exercise—Who vs. Whom5 minutes
Good Sentences (Intellectual Property)15 minutes
Exercise—Takeaways10 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Student-->Teacher10 minutes

What's included

7 videos6 readings5 assignments6 app items3 discussion prompts

7 videosTotal 10 minutes

Previously On1 minute
Previously On: Old Information to New Information3 minutes
Punctuation and Professionalism: Nonrules ("And" and "But")3 minutes
Notes on Nuance: "At Once"2 minutes
Takeaways0 minutes
Student Takeaway: Paragraphing0 minutes
Next Course1 minute

6 readingsTotal 49 minutes

Paragraphing15 minutes
Raindrops vs. Waterfalls: What is the Structure of Your Text Messages?10 minutes
Notes on Nuance: "At Once"10 minutes
Book Recommendations (Travel)3 minutes
Course Feedback10 minutes
Keep Learning with Prof. Barry and Michigan Online1 minute

5 assignmentsTotal 35 minutes

Weekly Review (Graded)15 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice5 minutes
Low-Stakes Practice5 minutes
Punctuation Practice: Starting a Sentence with "And" or "But"5 minutes
Nuance Practice ("At Once")5 minutes

6 app itemsTotal 63 minutes

Exercise—Previously On: Reflection10 minutes
Exercise—The Rhythm of Roth (Optional)15 minutes
Good Sentences (Medicine)15 minutes
Exercise—Takeaways10 minutes
Exercise—Thank You Letter (Optional)3 minutes
Course Discussion10 minutes

3 discussion promptsTotal 25 minutes

Post a Paragraph10 minutes
Raindrops vs. Waterfalls5 minutes
Book Recommendations (Travel)10 minutes

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Instructor

Instructor ratings

(121 ratings)

Patrick Barry

University of Michigan

16 Courses260,792 learners

Offered by

University of Michigan

Learner reviews

5 stars
81.64%
4 stars
13.28%
3 stars
2.97%
2 stars
1.04%
1 star
1.04%

Showing 3 of 571

Reviewed on Nov 21, 2020

Great course! There's plenty of materials and opportunities for practice. There's a sense of continuation from one topic to the next; coherence is impeccable.

Reviewed on Feb 5, 2021

This course helped me understand how to write good sentences. I knew writing good sentences is important but, being shown how to write was very helpful.

Reviewed on Feb 9, 2021

Although the courses are designed to be taken in any order, the order taken does support a nice gradual approach.

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