The diverse cultural backgrounds of the student and professional authors whose work is collected in this book reveal the myriad ways of interpreting American Experiences. This collection is designed to get you thinking about your own experiences and ways you might respond in writing to the issues raised. Thus, in addition to introducing you to a variety of essay styles and perspectives on the American Experience, this text aims to inspire you to explore your own identity and discover ways to articulate your perspective of the American Experience. Like these writers, you'll be considering your own cultural identity as you work to develop your own writing style. Each chapter presents writing to illustrate a particular rhetorical approach to such cultural themes as environment, personal history, cultural images, concepts and issues, and how these factors influence your sense of self and your views of the American Experience.
Students learn to write by writing, and they write best when they are engaged in the material.
It is my hope that the reading and writing materials collected in our text inspire critical thinking, stimulating discussion and provocative writing. Writing For the most part, this course is self-paced. In this class, students read and write at their own speed, but must submit a final draft of each essay every two weeks. You may get ahead of schedule and submit papers more frequently. We will proceed in the text in sequence.