Sample Learning Contract

Learning
Contract
Contract Information
NAME
Sample Learning Contract
Contract #
Address
Begins on
Phone: Home Work Ends on
I. D. # Credit Expected 4
Mentor Herbert Shapiro Code: 404 Final Contract ®
Center Genesee Valley Center Status Full-time ® Half-time
Give description of : (A) PURPOSES of this study; (B) LEARNING ACTIVITIES to be undertaken and (C)
methods and criteria for EVALUATION. Use the underlined as headings for the three sections of the
Contract.
(A) PURPOSES:
College Writing: (4 credits, introductory-level, liberal study), Mentor Herbert Shapiro
This study is designed for the student who may have some college writing experience but wants to
become more confident and proficient in writing college-level essays. This plan will be implemented by
reviewing the principles and techniques of effective expository prose, establishing significant and
relevant ideas on which to write, developing a paper so that the subject is covered adequately for its
intended purpose, and preparing the student to, ultimately, become competent at writing for future
college assignments. The student will become familiar with various writing contexts and modes, moving
from a possible narrative essay (or reaction paper) to an academic research paper.
(B) LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
This study will operate on the assumption that writing is a process. The student will actively engage in
every stage of the writing process, thus improving analytical and critical skills, and the final composition
product towards which those skills are directed. The mentor and the students participating in this group
study will create an environment that focuses on encouragement and revision as well as on positive
and critical feedback. We will identify and analyze the following specific elements of the writing
process:
• building a supportive community of fellow writers;
• developing strategies to cope with writer s block;
• understanding the purposes of academic discourse;
• generating ideas for an essay;
• using various generative strategies to draft a formal essay;
• reviewing and assessing methods of organization;
Signatures
Student
Mentor
Center Director
Date
Date
Date

Learning Contract
Student S.S.# Contract #
• reviewing basic elements of grammar and mechanics;
• creating clear transitions between components of the essay;
• constructing an argument based on a clear and defensible thesis;
• developing both critical and proofreading skills in order to establish revision as a fundamental
part of the writing process;
• writing a research paper (choosing a topic, doing library research, outlining and drafting the
essay, revising).
The student will write a series of 800 to 1,000 word essays (3-5 typed, double-spaced pages),
concluding with a longer research paper (8 typed, double-spaced pages).
In order to understand the intricacies of the writing process more thoroughly, the student will also
examine various texts produced by established writers. By providing models of effective expository
prose, and by challenging student thinking, this reading material will help students to improve their own
written work. In studying others writing, we develop a greater awareness of how language functions
in the world--an awareness which can translate to a greater sensitivity to the function of language in
our own writing and speaking. Readings will be selected from The Bedford Guide for College Writers,
5 th Edition (X.J. Kennedy, et.al.) and we will review and discuss these as a group. Supplemental
readings may be provided by Mentor Shapiro to further provide the student with understanding of the
writing assignments required for our group study.
(C) EVALUATION:
Mentor Herbert Shapiro will evaluate the student s work by means of several individualized conferences
(one early in the study and one at the end of the study) and by close review of both drafts and final
copies of all written work. Essays will be evaluated by the basis of the student s improved proficiency
in establishing:
• a clear, effective thesis;
• a coherent organizational structure;
• fully developed and supported ideas;
• use of standard English grammar and mechanics;
• correct use of documentation (using either the APA or the MLA method) where applicable;
• submission of a final portfolio of written assignments.
Participation in the group study (weekly readings and group discussions) will also factor into the
student s final evaluation as we seek to develop a community of learners.
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