Dr. Leah Zuidema
http://homepages.dordt.edu/~lzuidema/
Dordt College, Fall 2009
MWF 9am (section 01) & 10am (section 02) in CL 1302

One of the few ways I can almost be certain I'll understand something is by sitting down and writing about it. Because by forcing yourself to write about it and putting it down in words, you can't avoid having to come to grips with it. You might be wrong, but you have to think about it very intensely to write about it. So I use writing as a learning tool."  ~Hunter S. Thompson

English Composition is a workshop course centered on rhetorical approaches to academic writing. In this class, we will focus on developing your writing while also exploring what it means to join the academic conversation through writing. We’ll study writing processes and strategies for invention, arrangement, style, and delivery, approaching composition not only as a technical subject, but also as a craft. You will be introduced to resources, research, and theory about writing, and along the way, we’ll consider how composing is an ethical act.

Writing, as Hunter Thompson observes, is a learning tool. Much of what you learn about writing in this class (and beyond) will be by doing writing. Along with the work of writing, we will also study about writing through readings, discussions, and activities. Through the writing as well as through the “meta” work, we will explore answers to a few deceptively simple questions:

• What do writers do? What processes and strategies do skilled writers use? How do writers learn to write in new genres and for new audiences, purposes, and situations?
• In academic settings, how do skilled writers use reading and research in their work?
• How is written style shaped by choices about grammar, usage, and mechanics? How can we expand our stylistic repertoire and effectiveness?
• When is writing “good,” and how do we know? Who decides? What is “creativity,” and when/how is it successful in academic genres?
• What can/should we do with or through our writing? And how can/should we respond to others’ writing?

In order to develop thoughtful, informed answers to these questions, I will regularly ask you to discuss your in-process and polished work and to participate in small-group discussions and activities. Our work toward answering the course questions should inform your understanding of writing at applied, theoretical, and evaluative levels. Upon completion of English Composition, you should be able to (1) demonstrate your knowledge about writing through practice and reflection, (2) offer in-depth answers to the focus questions, and (3) critique and respond constructively to approaches to writing that you encounter.

Students who pass this course may meet Dordt’s requirements for Core Competency in Writing. See details about these requirements at https://denis.dordt.edu/documents/core_writing_requirements_for_students.pdf.