This course explores United States culture and history through the art of writing essays. Students will analyze renowned works by US authors while concurrently writing their own essays and focusing on essay structure, analytical writing, cohesiveness, conciseness, and the mechanics of grammar. The course is designed to prepare international students for the expectations their US professors will have for their academic writing. Assignments will involve reading and writing a variety of essays, pre-writing activities, journal entries, academic vocabulary exercises, and advanced grammar analysis. As models for their own work, students will study exemplary essays from a variety of essay genres by authors such as Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Reginald Rose. The workshop-style format of the class will encourage academic exchanges, critical analysis, and peer editing. The course is recommended for international students, students who immigrated to the US after middle school, and students whose dominant language is not English. |