Themester

English W350: Advanced Expository Writing is designed to lead advanced college students on a definite path of engaging in academic conversations by responding, analyzing, evaluating and characterizing works in different fields of academic study. A course that fulfils the Intensive Writing course requirement of the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS), W 350 gives students a range of experience in writing and reading across the curriculum. 

 It may come as a surprise to you that you are already engaged in expository writing without being conscious about it. The research papers, lab reports, professional memos and webpages that you probably composed for another class counts as Expository Writing. In this course, however, we will devote the entire semester to reading and writing, and to thinking about our reading and writing processes more consciously and consistently. By the end of the semester, you will have produced two short and three long expository documents that have been drafted, peer reviewed and revised more than once. Besides, you will also have the opportunity for in-class writing, post short responses to readings, and to participate in writing and critical reading workshops -- both individually and in groups. A two-part midterm exam is also scheduled towards mid-October. 

 Since critical reading is embedded in writing practice, W350 pays close attention to the interrelated activity of reading. An important part of the course entails learning how to respond to fictional and non-fictional prose, and to peer drafts in their various stages of development. In short, you will be exposed to a variety of readings to hone your critical inquiry skills. For the purpose of our conversations, the course, titled “Making Memories” is structured around the concept of memory and its opposite, forgetting.

Instructor: Mahasweta Baxipatra

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