rldAbout the class
Ink & Influence
Your words, your power.
A weekly writing workshop where collège students learn to write with power, precision, and purpose — where every sentence is a choice.
Writing is more than putting words on a page. It is how we make sense of our ideas, tell our stories, explain what we know, persuade others, and make ourselves heard.
Ink & Influence is a weekly workshop for collège students who want to become more confident, thoughtful and capable writers. Rather than simply teaching students to follow a formula or produce a five-paragraph essay, we explore what makes writing work — and why some words, sentences and ideas stay with us long after we’ve finished reading.
Students will write across a range of forms and purposes, including narrative, descriptive, persuasive, expository and creative writing, as well as poetry, journalism and other forms of real-world writing. Along the way, they will learn to brainstorm and develop ideas, organise their thoughts, explore language, choose precise and powerful words, build effective sentences and paragraphs, and revise their work with intention.
The five-step process
At the heart of the workshop is a simple process, worked in order:
- DiscoverFind out what you actually want to say.
- ShapeOrganise the ideas and give them an order.
- CraftChoose the language — every sentence is a choice.
- StrengthenRevise, edit, and work with feedback.
- SharePut the finished work in front of a real audience.
Because good writing is not about getting everything right on the first try. It is about making choices:
- What word says exactly what I mean?
- Where should this sentence end?
- What does my reader need to know?
- How can I make this idea clearer?
- How can I make my reader care?
Students will read great writing, experiment with language, take risks, make mistakes, revise, and discover their own voices as writers. They will also have opportunities to write for real audiences and real purposes, including writing competitions and publication projects.
Most importantly, students will learn that their ideas are worth developing, their voices are worth hearing, and their words can have an impact.
But this workshop is about more than writing. It is about exploring ideas, finding a voice, learning to organise thoughts clearly, discovering what words can do, and developing the confidence to express what you think and believe.
This is a workshop for becoming a writer — learning to explore ideas, find your voice, trust what you have to say, and have the confidence to share it with the world.