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.