This course is designed specifically for students who do little writing, who find writing difficult, or who lack confidence when they write. Informal lectures, small group discussions, and weekly short writing or revision assignments allow students to reinforce their skills; deal with common writing problems of grammar, organization, and syntax; and develop various methods for presenting information.
EXPO E-5 Fundamentals of Grammar
Fall term, Section 1 (13332)
Geraldine A. Grimm, PhD, Lecturer on German, Tufts University and Suffolk University.
This course is a review of the elements of grammar. We examine sentence structure, correct verb forms, case of pronouns, agreement, punctuation, and restrictive and nonrestrictive (that/which) clauses. Along the way, we learn something of the power and the pleasure of controlling grammar to make our words work for us exactly as we want them to. Short readings illustrate the basic elements—and the beauties—of grammar and style. Short writing assignments offer students opportunities to practice the lessons of the course. (4 credits)
EXPO E-5a Basic Grammar
January session (23629)
Naomi Stephen, MPhil, Coordinator, Harvard Family Research Project, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
If you're tired of worrying about the quality of your grammar and punctuation in your e-mails and written work, this is the course for you. This course teaches you the basic rules and patterns of good grammar and punctuation so that you can feel sure of yourself and the image you present through your writing. We examine and learn about correct verb forms (singular and plural); apostrophe use, comma use, and other punctuation such as how to punctuate lists like this one; and pronoun case. Steady homework is necessary to reinforce the lessons of the course, and short writing assignments allow you to put your grammar skills to work. (2 credits)
This course is designed for students seeking preparation for EXPO E-25 and for others wanting to review such basics of academic argument as thesis, evidence, and structure. Short writing assignments help students develop the skills essential for producing well-reasoned and substantiated academic essays. Students also learn strategies for reading and analyzing difficult texts. (4 credits)
EXPO E-25 Academic Writing and Critical Reading
Fall term, Section 1 (13338)
Thomas Akbari, MA, Lecturer in English, Northeastern University.
Marlon Kuzmick, MA, Associate Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University.
9 am-noon, beginning Tuesday, January 3. Week 1: T, W, Th. Week 2: M, T, W, Th. Week 3: T, W, Th. Final papers due between Jan. 27 and Feb. 3.
Course tuition: undergraduate credit $1,150.
Admission to this section is based on EXPO E-15 grades of B or higher from spring 2011 or
earlier, or on satisfactory scores on the test of critical reading and writing
skills taken by Dec. 11, 2011. Limited enrollment.
This course introduces students to the demands and conventions of academic reading and writing. It focuses on analyzing texts, building effective arguments, and using evidence and secondary source material. Instruction on the stages of the writing process, from prewriting exercises through rough drafts and revisions, forms a key part of the curriculum. Students applying to the undergraduate program at the Extension School must complete this course, but it is open to any student interested in gaining an understanding of academic writing. Prerequisite: a B or higher grade in EXPO E-15 or a satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills. (4 credits)
EXPO E-34 Business Rhetoric
Fall term (13648)
Julie Anne McNary, EdM, Director of Strategic Development at Emerson Collective.
This course helps business professionals improve their writing so they are better equipped to accomplish their educational and professional goals. While covering the primary forms of business writing (memos, cover letters, resumes, proposals, PowerPoint presentations, and longer reports), we focus on developing clear sentences, coherent paragraphs, and well-organized documents. Students become adept at the rhetoric of business writing—that is, those elements of writing that best persuade readers—and apply Aristotelian rules of communication to the writing they do at work. They hone these skills in short exercises, a full-length proposal, and a final project. (4 credits)
EXPO E-48 Multimedia Communication: Digital Storytelling
Spring term, Section 1 (23630)
Marlon Kuzmick, MA, Associate Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University.
Wednesdays beginning Jan. 25, 7:35-9:35 pm. Optional sections to be arranged.
Images now flood our writing lives, whether on the pages of newspapers, magazines and academic journals, or on the screens through which we access Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube. It now appears clear that visual literacy—the ability to "read" and "write" with images—will soon become as important as literacy proper. In this course, we learn how to decode the arguments that images make and make our own arguments with images. We study the emerging academic field of visual rhetoric as well as the examples of it we find in the media to become more effective visual communicators ourselves: we learn to think and to persuade with images. Students complete three projects, ranging from PowerPoint presentations to documentary films that analyze the rhetoric of an argument. The course is helpful to anyone interested in becoming a writer in the age of multimedia (and any of us with a blog or a Facebook profile is now such a writer) as well as those interested in related fields such as web design, film and video-making, and business communication. Prerequisites: students need access to some sort of image-producing device: a camera, a scanner, or video camera. Local students have access to Mac software in the classroom. Online students using PCs need to have access to a slide presentation program (for example, PowerPoint), a video editing program (for example, Windows Movie-Maker), and an image manipulation program (for example, Photoshop Elements). (4 credits)
EXPO E-90 Principles of Legal Writing
Fall term (13612)
Rosemary Daly, JD, Visiting Professor and Director of Advocacy Programs, Boston College Law School.
Legal writing comes in many forms, from classic judicial opinions that rank among fine literature to almost incomprehensible regulations. This course is designed for those who wish to acquire a better understanding of the broad range of legal writing from the viewpoint of the lawyer/author, as well as those who wish to develop their own skills. It is based on the assumption that good writing communicates well-considered ideas clearly, concisely, and accurately. Students use the elements of good writing to present facts effectively, to argue from precedent set by earlier court opinions, and to draft contracts and statutes. As preparation, in class we analyze judicial opinions, statutes, and briefs. Students then write a variety of basic legal documents, such as an analysis of case law, a complaint to initiate a lawsuit, and a legal memorandum presenting an argument to a court. The course does not assume any prior knowledge of law. (4 credits)
EXPO E-170 Principles of Editing
Spring term (23655)
Christina Thompson, PhD, Editor, Harvard Review, Harvard College Library.
Anyone who works with text, whether it's books and magazines, the PTA newsletter, or the company website, is engaged in editing. Many are not paid editors and have no formal training, and yet they are expected to produce good, clean copy and to know how and when to fix others' mistakes. This course is designed to address the sorts of questions that arise in every publishing situation, from blogs to brochures, and to provide students with a reliable set of editing standards and skills. Among the topics covered in this course: editing for style, space, and structure; copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading; contracts and copyright; and working with authors. At a more general level, we look at the differences implicit in different publishing environments (including print and electronic) and the fundamental relationships between author and audience that determines the shape of the text. (4 credits)