This class aims to make you a more compelling, confident writer as well as a more critical reader, meaning you’ll get more—information, knowledge, enjoyment—out of what you read. To achieve these goals, you’ll read, write, and talk…a lot.
Thursdays we’ll discuss a cluster of essays with an eye toward you writing your own on the same general theme. During these discussions, we’ll identify key elements of these essays as well as analyze their specific rhetorical strategies. Talking about essays prepares you to write them: you practice making claims, supporting them with evidence, and considering alternative perspectives.
You’ll then write an essay on the week’s topic over the weekend, posting it to the class blog by midnight on Sunday. While this is a blog, you should treat these assignments as formal (polished, interesting, complete) essays. We’ll workshop these essays and discuss craft readings on Tuesdays.