Introduction
Writing
An equally important aim of this course is to help you develop your abilities as a writer. You will write frequently in response to a variety of formal and informal tasks. For the lessons in the Semester 1 portion of the course, you can expect to produce one formal essay and several journal responses. Your first response journal assignment will contain more information. You will work hard to produce writing that is characterized by:
- A wide ranging vocabulary, chosen for its precision and for its appropriateness for both the audience and the task
- A variety of sentence structures including effective use of subordination and coordination, periodic and loose sentence structures, and an understanding of how these can be used to create rhythm, balance, and emphasis
- Logical organization enhanced to increase coherence (transitions, repetition, and parallelism)
- An effective balance of assertions and support
- Thoughtful attention to revision and editing
- Overall mastery of grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation
- Attribution of sources using Modern Language Association conventions
- Focus, clarity, and substance, even under timed conditions
