Course Goals

• To focus on three modes of essay writing: synthesis, argument, and rhetorical analysis

• To engage in formal and informal writing to practice and develop your writer's voice

• To craft compositions that introduce a complex central idea, develop it with sufficient and appropriate evidence drawn from personal knowledge and experience, and utilize secondary sources

• To identify and communicates a writer's target and purpose in an active, arguable manner, offering evidence of rhetorical tools and strategies

• To successfully synthesize sources, while ensuring your voice stays in the lead as you develop an interweaving of experts and evidence

• To correctly and consistently apply MLA 9th edition conventions, including page-formatting, parenthetical citation, and works cited constructions

• To move beyond competent in essay construction, with compelling and original openings, succinct, arguable thesis statements and topic sentences, and robust, well-supported body paragraphs

• To collaborate in pre-writing argument development

• To revise and improve all essays following detailed writing feedback provided by the instructor

• To develop and refine vocabulary, syntax, and mechanics

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