“Write, Read, Rewrite.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed”—Susan Sontag’s directions for writing—will be a
motto for our class, in which we will approach reading and writing as
interrelated processes. Learning to write well begins with close reading. We
will read short essays on relevant issues, not only for content but also for
form, as possible models for our writing. We will analyze how successful
writers use various rhetorical strategies to convey meaning. The essay
assignments will give you practice in using a range of strategies to achieve
specific purposes—to reflect, to inform, to analyze, and to persuade. You will
learn how to draw on your readings as relevant and reliable sources to be
integrated into your writing, following the MLA style guide. We will work on planning, drafting, and revising,
with an emphasis on rewriting in order to produce clear and concise
prose. We will also focus on issues of
style, grammar, and mechanics that are specific to your writing.
Essential to this course are our one-on-one conferences to discuss and guide
your composition.
Required Texts
·
Course Reader: ENG 100. Available at Marketing and Publication Services, on
the campus of the University Laboratory School, UHM College of Education,
956-4969.
·
A Pocket Style Manual. 7th ed. Available at UHM Bookstore,
Campus Center.