Writing with purpose: This advanced essay writing class will focus on the role of voice and audience in the continued development of your writing. We’ll read essays driven by a variety of voices and look at the strategies these writers use to reach particular audiences, and then try these strategies in our own writing. Drawing from current essays and online articles on politics, culture, health, technology, humor, and sports will allow us to consider audience and how it influences voice and style, and many of the decisions we make as writers. This course will build on your skills in finding and using primary and secondary research, and incorporating it into your writing. We will emphasize the roles of craft, creativity, and revision in the writing process.
You will write responses to readings on a course blog and four essays totaling 28-30 pages — including a scholarly exploration, an imitation, a cultural critique, and a profile. For each essay, we will practice a vital revising process to refine and produce our best work.