This semester, we will investigate the nature of persuasive writing and answer questions, such as:
How do people persuade one another?
What sorts of assumptions do people make in their thinking and writing?
Why do people take different positions when they agree on the "facts"?
We will read a lot. We will critique what we read, looking at how people make claims, provide evidence for their claims, and connect their evidence to their claims. We will analyze how people embed values and assumptions in their writing.
We will write a lot. We will write syntheses of our readings, and we will apply what we learn about a persuasive argument to our own essays. Almost all of our writing will be published online with the possibility of creating a permanent website for future students as a resource. These artivities are not all we will do, of course. For other activities, see the syllabus and schedule.
"Writing is an adventure." Winston Churchill
"If we knew what we were doing, we wouldn't call it research." Albert Einstein
"You have to be confused before you can reach a new level of understanding anything." Dudley Herschbach