Welcome to the Course!

The goals of the course are to introduce students to college-level writing and critical reading, to give students instruction and practice in writing and reading college-level essays, and to make students aware of how various audiences and rhetorical situations call for different choices in language, structure, format, and tone. Students receive instruction and practice that allows them to clearly articulate their audience, purpose, and rhetorical situation for writing assignments. Reading assignments stress how and why authors make rhetorical choices and are designed both to immerse students in written language and to develop critical thinking, reading, and writing skills.

In this course, students practice processes appropriate for college reading and writing: identifying rhetorical contexts (audiences and purposes) common in academic discourse and writing about personal experience as well as academic readings. By writing and revising several essays, students refine their prewriting, drafting, and revising strategies to produce focused and detailed papers.
During the course of the class, you will create two portfolios, which mimic the Eckerd College Portfolio requirement. The first portfolio will encompass the first half of the course. This portfolio will include short annotated reflections for two writing exercises. The second portfolio will encompass the second half of the course. This portfolio will include short annotated reflections for two writing exercises.