Department of English

Note:  This course satisfies the entire College Writing Requirement.  

This course, on writing short non-fiction, will be conducted largely as a workshop: we'll write brief essays nearly every
week, and discuss several of them in detail in each class. We'll also read essays in a wide variety of styles, from the beginnings of the form in the seventeenth century through the avant-garde experimental styles of the twentieth, to prepare ourselves to take the essay into the twenty-first.
 
The specific topics we cover will be determined by the interests of the seminar participants, but we'll certainly discuss at least the following:
 
    *   Improving your prose style and writing clearly.
    *   Understanding your audience.
    *   The business of writing: finding a market, submitting
        your writing for publication, the role of the editor, and
        so on.
    *   Twenty-first-century technology and the writing process.
 
Although we'll be writing and discussion non-fictional essays, many of the topics we cover are essential to anyone interested in writing -- non-fiction, short stories, novels, poems, or plays. Even those without a professional interest in writing who think their writing could use improvement will benefit from the opportunity to fine-tune their prose style and to discuss writing techniques with others. Everyone is welcome, from beginners to advanced writers.
 
Requirements: Active participation in the essay-writing workshop (both writing your own essays and critiquing others') and discussions. No exams.