CourseDescription
Asthecoursetitlesuggests,thisclassismeanttoacquaintyouwiththeliteraryandrhetoricaltraditionoftheessay,a
genrewhichhasbeendescribedbyonescholaras"themeetinggroundbetweenartandphilosophy,"andbyanother
as"theplacewheretheselffindsapatternintheworld,andtheworldfindsapatternintheself".Thoughtheessayis
partofatraditionofprosewhichstretchesbacktoantiquity,itisalsoathoroughlymodernandpopularformof
writing,foundinprintmediaandontheweb.Thisclasswillemphasizeaspecificrangeoftheessay'sfunctions:
● Theessayascommentaryonthewritingofothersandontextual/numericaldata.
● Theessayasthediscoveryofmeaninginpersonalexperiencethroughthenarrationofexperience.
● Theessayasavehicleconveyingspecializedknowledgetoageneralaudience.
Bytheendofthesemester,youwillbefamiliarwitheachofthesemodesintheclassreadingandinyourownwriting.
CourseRequirements
● Assignedreading(seeschedulebelow)
● 5essays(57pageseach),roughand
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finaldrafts
● 2oralreports(510minuteslong)
● Participationinclassdiscussion
● Inclasspeerreview(seebelow)
● Peerreviewrelatedphotocopying
● Inclassandoutofclasswritingexercises(12pp)
● Maintenanceofaportfolio(seebelow)
● Regularattendance(seebelow)
NOTE:Itisnotpossibletopassthecourseifyouhavefailedoneoftheessays,ifyouhavefailedtoparticipatein
peerreview,orifyouhavemorethan5absences.Failuretoparticipateinclassdiscussionwillresultinadeduction
ofonehalforonegradepointfromthefinalgrade,dependingontheseverityoftheproblem.
AttendancePolicy
Becausethiscourseisalaboratoryforcompositionandinterpretation,youmustbepresentateveryclassandarrive
inatimelyfashion.Only5unexcusedabsencesarepermitted.
Anabsenceonapeerreviewdaywillcountasaregularabsenceand
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resultinthedeductionoftwogradestepsfrom
thefinaldraft(e.g.BreducedtoC+).2latenesses=1absence.YouarelateifyouarriveatclassafterItake
attendance.
Incaseofpersonalemergency,seriousillness,orinjury
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,donotcometoclass,butinformmeofthereasonforyour
absenceassoonaspossible.[Adean'snotewillbenecessarytobeexcusedfromclassunderthesecircumstances.]
Absenceforreligiousobservanceisautomaticallyexcused;nonetheless,pleaseinformmebeforethefact.