WRIT 210 - The Rhetoric of Style

In ancient Greece and Rome, teachers of rhetoric taught style (L. elocutio) as one of five essential canons, or considerations, for effective language use. Students study how the stylistic choices of non-fiction writers can affect readers’ reception and interpretation of texts. With the goal of improving the clarity and power of their own writing, students closely analyze published authors’ diction, syntactical structures, punctuation, and figures of speech. Students also study conventions of mechanics and usage to make increasingly conscious, informed choices regarding varieties of English and levels of formality across genres. Readings include writing by James Baldwin, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Brian Doyle, Chang-Rae Lee, Nancy Mairs, and Brent Staples. Writing assignments include homework exercises and peer reviews, as well as three essays composed and revised for a Final Portfolio. This course does not meet the writing requirement.

Credits: 1.00
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
Liberal Arts CORE: None

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