This writing course focuses on the creation of complex, analytic, well-supported arguments that matter in academic contexts.  Students work closely with their peers and the instructor to develop their written prose.  Readings cover a variety of different genres, with a primary focus on literary texts.

From memoranda to legislation to closing arguments, the art of writing is central to the practice of law — and, in turn, legal thinking holds a powerful place in literary culture.  In this course, we will engage critically with a variety of Anglo-American literary (and a few legal) texts in an attempt to tease out the forms and functions of persuasion.  A small amount of substantive law will be touched upon in the course of our investigations, but this course requires no previous knowledge of the law.  Although the course may be of particular interest to pre-law students, the type of writing assignments we will engage in should be useful for students in a variety of disciplines, from English to engineering.