This class will offer an intensive study of and practice in writing processes. Students will learn skills ranging from invention and researching to drafting, revising, and editing, both individually and collaboratively. The class will emphasize the importance of effective rhetorical choices, including audience, purpose, arrangement, and style. To help students prepare for their college writing experiences, there will be focus on developing the academic essay as a vehicle for learning, communicating, and critical analysis. 

The Class Breakdown is As Follows:
Week 1: The Importance of Critical Reading and Writing Skills
Week 2: Personal Narratives (part 1): Frederick Douglass, “Learning to Read and Write”
Week 3: Personal Narratives (part 2): Maya Angelou, “Graduation”
Week 4: The Importance of Definitions; Using Dictionary Definitions
Week 5: Definition Essays (part 1): Zora Neale Hurston, “How It Feels to Be Colored”
Week 6: Definition Essays (part 2): Nancy Mairs, “On Being A Cripple”
Week 7: Argumentation and Persuasion; Rhetorical Techniques
Week 8: Persuasive Essays (part 1): Elizabeth I, “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury”
Week 9: Persuasive Essays (part 2): Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal”
Week 10: Argumentative Essays (part 1): Martin Luther King, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Week 11: Argumentative Essays (part 2): Matt de la Peña, “Why We Shouldn’t Shield Children from Darkness”
Week 12: Introduction to Research Papers
Week 13: Choosing Research Topics and Making Outlines
Week 14: Citation Styles and Why They Matter
Week 15: Writing Workshop
Week 16: Writing Workshop; End of Class Celebration

Each week, we will examine the target reading for the week, practicing analytical skills. We will also consider what we can learn from the individual texts and how we can apply what we learn from them to improve our writing. In particular, we will develop a practice for having critical reading develop critical writing skills. 

Class activities will be virtual and asynchronous, but students will have the opportunity to engage with the instructor and each other in various ways.