This intermediate expository writing course is designed for students with previous college-level expository writing experience and focuses on writing critical analyses of a range of texts in the arts and sciences as preparation for upper division writing tasks. In this course, emphasis will be placed on close reading, critical thinking, and managing the writing process to developing well-supported arguments within given time constraints.

For this course we will consider the theme of writing in a digital world. We will discuss the impact of digital technology on writing. We will look at specific writing contexts--like email, blogs, chatrooms, Facebook, and texting, as well as the big picture of how the internet at large is participating in changes around communication. Through the course we will read a variety of texts that debate about the role of digital technology in contemporary society—examining arguments from multiple perspectives—with the intention of uncovering how language is used to persuade. Daily writing assignments and discussions will prepare you to effectively make your own persuasive argument in relation to the course theme.

• Teacher: Riki Thompson