Required Texts and Materials:

How to Write Anything (4th ed.) John Ruszkiewicz. Bedford/St. Martin’s. 9781319282363

There will be a copy of this book available in the library.

Course Description and Objectives:

Writing is not just about transmitting ideas (although it does that, too). Writing is also a means of engaging with the world and of exploring and developing your own ideas. It’s easy to see how this works hand in hand with effective communication: if we don’t have good, well-thought out ideas that others want to or need to know, then there is nothing worth communicating. This class will focus on the connection between writing and critical thinking helping you to both think and write more clearly and effectively.

Required of all freshmen who do not take the EN110/EN111 option and prerequisite to all other courses in English, EN120 focuses students on learning to develop organizational patterns (e.g. narration, process, comparison, definition, and cause and effect). Students will practice these patterns through writing several essays, including a research essay. EN120 is also the study of grammar, syntax, and diction and their relationship to effective writing. Required of all Freshmen who score 20 or above on their ACT English subscore. Must be taken during the first two semesters of enrollment.