Before registering for a course, double check the official Schedule of Classes for time, prerequisites, changes, or corrections. If you have questions about particular a course, talk with the instructor or the Arts and Sciences Division Chair, Ebenezer Afful. What English teachers frown upon as unacceptable grammar now may be accepted as common usage in the future. What has evolved is a pattern of speech behaviors which speakers of English immediately recognize and can use to communicate. The last portion of the course will look at and describe these patterns of behavior.
Students also have the opportunity to publish in The Villager.
This course attempts to revisit one meaning of the word essay-to assay, that is to test, measure, or weigh. More ambitious and imaginative in approach than courses that focus primarily upon the essay in an expository mode, this course emphasizes essay-writing as a means of testing ideas and experiences from varying perspectives and by means of a wide range of techniques, some of which test or exceed the essay genre itself. With conventional essay structure as our baseline, we develop our writing through drafts and experiments that focus intensively on language, style, and form and explore different possibilities of variation and innovation in the essay form. This course will enable you to combine the general principles of clear and effective writing with the development of personal style in the essay. The emphasis will be on finding your voice and discovering techniques that will make your writing interesting and accessible to your chosen audience.