You should recognize from the beginning that this class will demand a significant amount of time because you will be reading and writing every day. However, you will not have to face such a challenging task alone. Much of the work you do this semester will be collaborative: you will be sharing both your writing and your ideas with the class. My goal is to show you that although writing can be hard work, it is an essential means of communicating in our culture, and it can be fun.
This course has been structured around the idea that writing is a process. (You will hear me use this phrase until you are ready to throw heavy objects at me.) This means that you will work on multiple drafts of your papers for this course, and that you will be expected to revise and improve your papers throughout the semester. Your papers will be collected in a portfolio which you will turn in to me in December and which will be assessed by the LL&C Portfolio Committee (of which I am a member); this is a process we will discuss throughout the semester.
Finally, let me stress that this is NOT a grammar class, and although I will be glad to help you with persistent writing problems, it is not my responsibility to spoon-feed you basic proof-reading skills. This is a college-level class, and students should be prepared and willing to actively participate in their own learning and development. This class is designed to help you better organize, substantiate, and craft your ideas. Only your active engagement with the course materials and discussions will assure that your individual needs are met by this class.