Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0271 - Teaching Writing

The purpose of this course is to provide both broad and deep knowledge of the theory and practice of teaching writing, both academic and personal. We will examine composition theories that highlight the importance of writing as well as its diversity in multiple contexts-academic, creative, and personal. The course is based on two primary premises: 1) writing is a recursive process of reflection, revision, and feedback; 2) writing involves conscious choices made in response to the writer's purpose and the audience. We will learn what promotes good writing, what hampers it, what encourages creativity, what inhibits it. We will examine controversies in teaching writing so students will have the background to construct their own philosophy of and approach to teaching writing. We will study grammar and its relationship to clear writing. We will determine, learn, and practice effective teaching strategies for helping writers to become effective communicators. Prerequisites: one writing-intensive course.

Writing and Research Independent Work