One of the most useful skills developed in college
should be your ability to communicate written information effectively.
Thus, in English 100, we will spend significant time concentrating on
the process of how to write now, so you will be able to focus more of
your time on what your are writing in future work. This course is
designed to develop your college writing and critical thinking skills,
and in it you will often focus on writing about topics of your own
choosing. Thus, you should be interested in what you are researching and
writing and should concentrate on topics which will enrich your life
and understanding.
We will spend a large portion of our time together writing and
revising. Writing is a process, and focusing on the individual steps of
that process, such as brainstorming, creating a rough draft, editing,
peer review, and revising to the final draft, is a significant key to
creating a successful paper. This semester you will draft, and
eventually revise, four essays, each using a different approach.
Approaches include a personal narrative essay, a rhetorical analysis of a
documentary film, an op-ed argument essay, and a research essay with
citations. We will also be writing smaller pieces such as journal
entries and other assignments geared toward the process of writing.
Class will be discussion based, and students should expect to write and
talk about their writing every day. Thus we will benefit from the wide
variety of topics and ideas that each person bring to class and create
an interesting and rich environment in which to gain greater confidence
in writing.
Required Text:
Balenger, Bruce. The Curious Writer: The Brief Edition, 3rd Edition. Boston: Longman, 2011.
