Course Description

Most of us learned spelling and grammar in elementary school and brushed up on the rules occasionally in junior high or middle school.  Once we entered high school, it was assumed we knew and remembered all of the essentials -- and slowly we discovered that although there were some rules we just had to look up, we simply stopped worrying about "the minor details." It's time to relearn those "minor details" that can help you write and read more effectively.  But it's hard to fix something unless you know how it works. 
 
This self-paced, stress-free course is designed for students wanting to improve their basic writing skills as well as for business writers, creative writers and office staff wanting to improve poor work-related writing (and avoid embarrassing their bosses and themselves).
 
Our innovative course is designed as a refresher course for those who need to brush up on their skills and as a reference for anyone who wants to be able to look up the rules for confusing grammatical questions quickly and easily.  After you've reviewed the basic rules of grammar and spelling, you can move on to the lessons on writing style for tips on improving your sentence and paragraph structure, how to polish your writing and how to avoid common errors.
 
Although this course is completely online, it doesn't mean that you'll be left on your own.  The instructor will be grading assignments and tests and is available through email to answer any questions and provide guidance.  Why not join us, learn at your own pace and your own schedule and reap the benefits?
  • Completely Online
  • Self-Paced
  • 6 Months to Complete
  • 24/7 Availability
  • Start Anytime
  • PC & Mac Compatible
  • Android & iOS Friendly
  • Accredited CEUs
Universal Class is an IACET Accredited Provider
 

Learning Outcomes

By successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  • Define the basic rules of spelling.
  • Recognize commonly misspelled words.
  • Demonstrate proper use of plural forms for names, compound words and numbers.
  • Recognize "ie" versus "ei" and other spelling dilemmas.
  • Define prefix and suffix rules.
  • Identify common prefixes and suffixes.
  • Define homonyms.
  • Identify subject and predicate and demonstrate using them properly.
  • Identify verb tenses and demonstrate using them properly.
  • Identify nouns and pronouns and demonstrate using them properly.
  • Identify adjectives and adverbs and demonstrate using them properly.
  • Identify the phrase and clause and use them correctly.
  • Identify and properly use periods, commas, apostrophes, colons, semicolons, hyphens, and quotation marks.
  • Refine your sentence writing, identify types of paragraphs and form paragraphs correctly.
  • Demonstrate correct writing of dialogue.
  • Proofread and revise your writing.
  • Demonstrate mastery of lesson content at levels of 70% or higher.
 
 

Assessment Guide

Assessment Points
Introduction Assignment 1 points
Lesson 2 Exam 10 points
Spelling 3-1 Exercise 20 points
Spelling 3-2 Exercise 15 points
Lesson 4 Spelling Exercise A 20 points
Lesson 4 Spelling Exercise B 15 points
Lesson 4 Spelling Exercise C 20 points
Lesson 4 Spelling Exercise D 15 points
Lesson 4 Spelling Exercise E 10 points
Lesson 4 Spelling Exercise F 20 points
Lesson 4 Spelling Exercise G 20 points
Lesson 4 Spelling Exercise H 7 points
Lesson 5 Spelling Exercise A 20 points
Lesson 5 Spelling Exercise B 9 points
Lesson 5 Spelling Exercise C 20 points
Lesson 5 Spelling Exercise D 15 points
Lesson 5 Spelling Exercise E 10 points
Lesson 5 Spelling Exercise F 15 points
Lesson 5 Spelling Exercise G 20 points
Lesson 5 Spelling Exercise H 19 points
Lesson 5 Spelling Exercise I 9 points
Lesson 5 Spelling Exercise J 8 points
Lesson 6 Spelling Exercise A 10 points
Lesson 6 Spelling Exercise B 20 points
Lesson 6 Spelling Exercise C 20 points
Lesson 6 Spelling Exercise D 20 points
Lesson 6 Spelling Exercise E 12 points
Lesson 7 Spelling Exercise A 20 points
Lesson 7 Spelling Exercise B 20 points
Lesson 8 Spelling Exercise A 20 points
Lesson 8 Spelling Exercise B 10 points
Lesson 8 Spelling Exercise C 16 points
Lesson 8 Spelling Exercise D 10 points
Spelling Test 9 - Subject-Verb Agreement 10 points
Lesson 9 Exam 10 points
Lesson 10 Exercise: Find the Verb 15 points
Lesson 10 Exercise: Simple Present Verb Tenses 10 points
Lesson 10 Exercise: Irregular Verbs 10 points
Lesson 10 Exam 6 points
Lesson 11 Exercise: Find the Subject Noun 10 points
Lesson 11 Exercise: Using the Correct Pronoun 10 points
Lesson 11 Exercise: Pronoun Substitution 10 points
Lesson 11 Exercise: Correct Pronoun Use 8 points
Lesson 11 Exam 11 points
Lesson 12 Exercise: Identifying Adjectives and Adverbs 20 points
Lesson 12 Exercise: Comparative and Superlative Adjectives 10 points
Lesson 12 Exam 12 points
Lesson 13 Exercise: Identify the Preposition 20 points
Lesson 13 Exam 14 points
Lesson 14 Exam 11 points
Lesson 15 Exercise: Sentence Punctuation 10 points
Lesson 15 Exam 10 points
Lesson 16 Exam 19 points
Lesson 17 Exercise: Using Apostrophes 10 points
Lesson 17 Exam 12 points
Lesson 18 Exam 8 points
Lesson 19 Exercise: Hyphen Usage 10 points
Lesson 19 Exam 9 points
Lesson 20 Exam 8 points
Lesson 21 Assignment 10 points
Lesson 21.2 Assignment 20 points
Lesson 22.1 Assignment - Paragraph Writing 20 points
Lesson 22.2 Assignment - Paragraph Writing 20 points
Lesson 23 Assignment - Narrative Paragraph 20 points
Lesson 23.2 Assignment - Descriptive Paragraph 20 points
Lesson 23.3 Assignment 5 points
Lesson 24 Assignment - Dialogue Writing 20 points
Lesson 25 Assignment 10 points
Final Assignment - Three Paragraph Essay 25 points
The Final Exam 74 points
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