Composition I

The aim of
this course is to make you a better writer, which means becoming a better
reader. We will read essays by successful writers and discuss what they do and
why they succeed, with an eye toward appropriating and using their techniques.
You will write five essays. You must have something to write, and so we will
discuss issues of substance. We will emphasize craft, which means revision, the
heart and soul of writing. Presentation matters, in writing as in speech and
dress, and so we will address your problems in grammar and syntax. Lastly, we
will meet one-on-one regularly to discuss your work and guide your writing.
This course will better prepare you to meet your future writing needs for your
academic career and for life in general. Required texts are Diana Hacker’s A Pocket Style Manual, 6th
edition, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012, and 75
Readings: An Anthology,
Santi V. Buscemi and Charlotte Smith, eds., 11th
ed, McGraw-Hill, 2010. Both are available at the UH Bookstore. You also need
the Course Packet, which will be available at Campus Copy.