EN 11—Composition and Prose

     In this course we use two main textbooks:

     The first is an anthology of nonfiction prose. The readings are brief and provocative, introducing issues about diversity and multiculturalism. The book is Common Ground: Reading and Writing About America's Cultures, ed. by Kirszner and Mandel.

     The second text is a wonderful grammar handbook that will prove extremely useful from first year through senior year: Prentice-Hall Handbook for Writers, 12th edition, ed. by Kramer, Leggett, and Mead. Keep it. You'll need it again, whatever your major.

      Here is the rationale for this course:  Writing helps you to think.  There is no such thing as bad writing; there is only unfinished writing.

     This course offers practice in all the stages of the writing process: drafting, re-drafting, sorting out ideas, responding to feedback, re-designing paragraphs and sentences, choosing words, editing, and proofreading. 

     These stages can't be practiced in order, because the writing process is not neat and linear.  But there is plenty of opportunity to "think on paper" about topics and revisions and writing techniques.  And there are many chances to re-envision and re-draft papers.

     What should you write about?  Suggestions for paper topics, typically involving some kind of diversity, can be found in Common Ground, both after each essay and at the end of each chapter.  Your topics are not restricted to these suggestions, but your mode of writing for each essay is set by the course structure, which falls into four sections:

1. Recount an experience. 
2. Explain something. 
3. Describe something. 
4. Identify a problem on campus (involving diversity) and propose a practical solution.
   

     Every day you probably encounter aspects of cultural, social, racial, economic, class, and other diversities that would be intriguing and rewarding to write about.  These diversities can also be puzzling or uncomfortable to think about, and they are often hard to express.  Writing about them will help you think about them.

Course requirements:

Essay drafts and first revisions (submitted on time!), written peer responses to others' papers, homework as assigned, final corrections for each paper, and regular class attendance.