Thematically the class is structured around the question of how metaphor shapes the way we understand our world and, consequently, the way we write about it. However, the class is primarily structured around the writing process itself. You will be asked to write and rewrite four essays over the course of the semester with the benefit of careful criticism from your peers, yourself, and from me. The aim is for you to become a better critical reader of your own work. The central premise of this system is that writing is a process and revision is one of the most important elements of that process, so to become a better writer you must improve as a reader and a critic.
Attendance is mandatory.
More than two unexcused absences will have an adverse effect on your grade. Four unexcused absences are grounds for dismissal from the course. To be in class without having prepared the reading for the day is, in effect, to be absent and will be treated as such. All papers must be typed or machine printed, double-spaced, with one inch margins. Unless I have granted an extension in advance, papers received later in the day will lose a third of a grade.