Title: ADVANCED ESSAY COMPOSITION -- General

PRQ:

This course is for strong student writers looking to edge closer to the professional level. It is also for those who understand that any level of writing can be improved upon and benefit from feedback and revision. Keeping in mind that what we call “good writing” may vary depending on the genre, purpose, and audience, we will approach the essay in a variety of forms, including personal narrative, literary analysis, and music review. Our class time will be divided between discussion and analysis of readings, exercises to improve clarity and correctness, various composing and research activities, and peer review. My hope is that you will finish the course as thoughtful and crafty composers, who possess the kind of heightened audience awareness and decision-making skills that distinguish one’s work from the norm.

Four formal essays (60%--15% each): a personal narrative, a literary analysis, a music review, and an essay that transforms a previous project into a longer, richer piece that makes extensive use of source material (15%).  Peer reviews (20%--5% each): In additional to in-class verbal feedback, each of you will compose a written review of a classmate’s work for each of the four assignments. Reading response/presentation (5%): Each student will be in charge of starting discussion in relation to one of the essays in The Contemporary Essay. This means sharing your thoughts and observations about the content and/or form, and developing a few questions that the rest of the class can respond to. Class participation (15%): This course is designed to be an interactive one, and your regular participation will be crucial.

1) The Contemporary Essay. Donald Hall. Third ed.;  2) Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Joseph Williams. Eighth ed.;  3) They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein.