This course will emphasize not only how to write well but why writing well is a vital skill, no matter what course of study or career you plan to pursue. From cover letters to office memos to tweets, we present ourselves to the world in writing. In this course, we’ll work to develop our best writing self. This development will take the form of short, in-class writing and revising exercises; longer essays addressing a series of topics; and reading deeply among works by masters of the form. We’ll learn just what an essay can accomplish, and how we can use the form to further our own arguments, interests, and skills.