HuckleBerry
Center for Creative Learning
Andrew Holyfield
Hi everyone! My name is Andrew. I graduated Summa Cum Laude at UC Riverside in 2016, with a B.A. in Creative Writing. While there, I completed the Honors Program, published a thesis, was an editor for both the campus Research Journal and Honors Program literary journal, joined the Writing Program as a Teaching Assistant, and completed three MFA courses, all with a 4.0 GPA.
Tutoring started for me in the campus Writing Program, in which I tutored eighteen students per week. Around that same time, my younger brother, diagnosed with Aspergers, started college. I tutored him during his four-year journey to receive his Paraprofessional Certificate.
Nerdy as it sounds, I love Grammar and read often (in-between Netflix binges). Until my time at UC Riverside, I abhorred reading and preferred the trusty summaries from Spark Notes. I know English and writing can be both challenging and boring, but perhaps all a struggling student needs a little help and positive reinforcement. If that sounds like you or your kid, I'd love to help.
I’m a published songwriter with 20+ years experience in the music industry.
Writing and Literature
Using great novels to fuel our analytical essay writing
Homework: Yes! Homework is REQUIRED in this class. Our writers will need time to both read and to write to become better writers!
Ages: 11-13
Requirements: Students must be willing to participate in both collaborative work and in sharing their own writing. This class requires discussion, board work, worksheets in grammar & collaboration. While most students come out of their shells after the initial weeks, it is important that each writer brings a level of commitment to this course. Please do not sign up for this class if you do not have time to do the necessary writing work at home.
Note: Essays at HuckleBerry are run through AI generator detection services. Students and parents will be notified if AI generation has been detected.
The fall quarter will focus on learning to write an analytical essay. We'll be reading our novel out of class and then discussing different themes within the class.
The first essay will come in the form of a book report. Student will read a selected novel incrementally with Teacher and conduct guided discussions on craft, theme, character development, and plot. Once complete, students will write a book report. This essay will be broken into two halves: Summary and Analysis. This will develop the skill of summation (concise language, reciting a sequence of events) and analysis, extrapolating themes and connecting them to real life issues.
The second essay will be an Argumentative Essay, requiring a thesis (argument), research around a given topic, and cited credible sources. This will be structured in five paragraphs.
This is designed to help writers create strong and grammatically correct sentences, paragraphs with strong topic sentences, cohesive content and conclusions, effective transitions to new or expanded ideas, and strong conclusions to their essays.
We will focus on grammar and syntax from the sentence through the paragraph, reviewing parts of speech, how to recognize them, their functions and how they work together to form complete thoughts. We will study the four essay structures; Narrative, Descriptive, Argumentative and Comparative. The components of each essay type will be practiced with different topics, reviewed in class to look for audience impact and improvements. Once feedback has been received we will also be learning about the editing process and how to strengthen one's writing with meticulous revision in four simple steps: line edits, structural changes, addition/omission, and proofreading. We'll also work on transitions, proving our point with examples and quotes, connecting the dots for our readers, creativing strong conclusions and more. As we progress through the year, we will expand our experience in different essay types and in-class writing.
Writing only gets better when we practice writing! In this class, writing is required outside of the classroom.
Contact
Andrew Holyfield