The Goal
Some people love to write; others detest the process. Regardless of how you feel about writing, the degree to which you master this skill will either enhance or hinder your career - no matter what field you pursue.
During the next fourteen weeks, you will be practicing and developing stronger thinking skills through critically analyzing and interpreting writing and information resources. You will work through this process individually as you write independent essays and collectively as you share those essays with your peers for review and comment. (Don't worry; we will establish rules for constructive interaction!) Your text provides an eclectic assortment of writings from which to draw your own ideas and practice new writing styles.
If you already enjoy writing, this course will provide you with plenty of opportunity to hone your skills. If you don't currently enjoy writing, you may find that the process is more rewarding and less daunting after this series of writing experiences. In fact, it is my experience that writing pains are really caused by incomplete thinking; if you can't write about an issue, you probably haven't thought through it well enough yet. The physical act of writing forces us to identify strengths and weaknesses in our thought process. In other words, effective writing equals effective thinking - a win-win process for all of us.