Los Angeles County Learning Academy

Enrollment Currently Closed

The Academy is offering this voluntary skill-building program to all County employees as a tool to aid in developing effective communications. This program is held on the campus of Los Angeles Valley College and is comprised of two series of courses: Basic Writing Workshops and Business Writing. Courses in this program have been customized for the County and will incorporate assignments that are relevant to the workplace.

The length of each course module is 6 weeks. Classes meet one day per week in the late afternoon for three hours. In addition to class time, you will be assigned reading and homework assignments to be completed on your personal time.

This program is intended to be a shared commitment, partially on County time and partially your personal time; however, management approval will be required to attend the program.

The Academy pays for your enrollment, books, materials, and campus parking. This program is open to all County employees who want to develop their writing skills and are able to commit the time and energy to these college-level courses.

Below are descriptions of the course series and their respective modules.


	Enrollment Currently Closed The Academy is offering this voluntary skill-building program to all County employees as a tool to aid in developing effective communications. This program is held on the campus of Los Angeles Valley College and is comprised of two series of courses: Basic Writing Workshops and Business Writing. Courses in this program have been customized for the County and will incorporate assignments that are relevant to the workplace. The length of each course module is 6 weeks. Classes meet one day per week in the late afternoon for three hours. In addition to class time, you will be assigned reading and homework assignments to be completed on your personal time. This program is intended to be a shared commitment, partially on County time and partially your personal time; however, management approval will be required to attend the program. The Academy pays for your enrollment, books, materials, and campus parking. This program is open to all County employees who want to develop their writing skills and are able to commit the time and energy to these college-level courses. Below are descriptions of the course series and their respective modules.

	The Basic Writing Workshop Series consists of three modules, reviewing basic grammatical concepts, paragraph construction, short compositions, and effective introductions/conclusions. Each workshop runs for 6 weeks in a 3-hour, once-per-week format. Basic Writing Workshop I - This workshop covers basic grammatical concepts, introduction to the writing of paragraphs and the topic sentence. Basic Writing Workshop II - Workshop topics will include how to write paragraphs having coherence and continuity, and how to solve problems of form, organization, variety and creativity in the writing of the paragraph. Basic Writing Workshop III - This workshop will cover short composition, including title and thesis statement, organizing and developing discussion paragraphs, and writing an effective introduction and conclusion. The Business Writing Series builds upon the fundamentals covered in the Basic Writing Workshops and focuses on the types of writing in the work environment. Subject matter will draw from your present work assignments and past writing challenges. You will be asked to create workplace situations and/or critique existing ones. Business Writing I - This course begins with a review of basic English grammar and usage, and then introduces the particular importance and problems of business writing. You will practice the three stages of writing, the use of transitions, sentence variety, and non-sexist language. Business Writing II - In this course, you will practice the effective writing of business procedures, business letters, memos, proposals and grants. Business Writing III - The final course in this series focuses on effective business report-writing, email-writing and business presentations. When you submit your application, we will schedule you for a placement test. Counselors will recommend the appropriate course(s) based upon your test results. We will fill each class by randomly selecting qualified applicants. (For those individuals not immediately qualified, prerequisite courses will be recommended.)

	Norma Gonzales: ngonzales@hr.lacounty.gov