The goal of this course will be the cultivation of persuasive, correct, and hopefully even elegant prose, a skill that will carry over into your future academic pursuits and professional lives. We will sharpen our critical thinking skills and learn how to form a thesis, to develop an argument, to conduct research on both primary and secondary sources, and to revise our own writing and assist others in their revision processes. Along the way we will also cover pesky grammatical issues, mechanics, and MLA citation. Revisions–often multiple revisions–are required for many assignments. No piece of writing is perfect, and learning how to recognize your weaknesses and revise your work is a huge part of this course’s goal: to make you a confident writer capable of tackling any writing task the university or workforce might present. Assignments will include frequent short essays, a research presentation, and an 8-10-page research paper, in addition to spirited and curious class participation.
- Teacher: Barnett Suzanne