Academic and Professional Writing:
Little Red Schoolhouse (ENGL 13000/33000)
Academic and Professional Writing is our flagship course that has been affectionately nicknamed “Little Red Schoolhouse” (LRS). But make no mistake, LRS is an intensive, advanced writing course that helps writers learn to communicate complex and difficult material clearly to a wide variety of expert and non-expert readers.
Special Topics Courses
We offer a cluster of special-topics courses for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students. To ensure that students receive individualized attention to their writing, enrollment for each special topics course is strictly limited to twelve students.
Writing Argument (ENGL 11701)
Students in the course can expect three kinds of work: writing new arguments, analyzing arguments, and revising. The central goal is for you to use a method of analyzing arguments that will enhance your ability to write arguments, arguments that succeed with your readers, in your field. And you’ll revise the argument you make for your field, probably many times. Each week will be split between small-group workshops and plenary sessions that will expand upon, refine (and criticize) the rhetorical analysis of argument. In the final week, students will choose arguments for discussion and will be exposed to other approaches to argument. Instructor: Kathryn Cochran
Writing Speeches: Reagan and Obama (ENGL 11404)
Writing Persuasion: Environment (ENGL 12704)
This course will examine how writers on environmental problems have tackled these persuasive challenges when writing for non-scientific audiences. The readings will be short pieces and that attempt either to explain environmental issues or to persuade readers to adopt a course of action. Half of the assignments will analyze rhetorical techniques used the readings; in the other half, students will put these techniques into practice in their own essays. Over the course of the quarter, each student will develop a portfolio of pieces on an environmental topic of his or her choice. Readings will include selections from Rachel Carson, Robert Cialdini, Amy Harmon, Elizabeth Kolbert, Aldo Leopold, George Marshall, Bill McKibbin, and Cass Sunstein. Instructor: Tracy Weiner