This is the first of the two writing courses in the core. These writing courses are intended to supply students with a flexible, practice-based understanding of the learnings they encounter in other courses in the English core. In the introductory writing course, learning will run in tandem with the first Literature in Context course, using the practice of poetry and the short story to focus on formal and structural elements. This will involve building familiarity with contemporary and classic poetry and short story texts, critically engaging with them, and attempting to produce writing in a variety of forms and techniques. Students will learn to critique each other’s writing, offering feedback that is specific and useful. Accepting and responding to feedback from multiple sources and learning to effectively integrate it into rewriting subsequent drafts will be an important component of the writing process.

This course will work towards introducing students to both the tools of writing as well as the vocabulary with which to critically reflect upon and refine it, allowing them to experiment with and develop their own literary sensibilities.