English: Written Expression

A foundational composition course featuring a sequence of writing, reading, and information literacy assignments. Students learn to write and revise for different rhetorical situations while increasing their mastery of academic conventions. Some sections designed for specific student audiences.

First Year & Sophomores only; Juniors & Seniors who need this course to fulfill the General Education requirement FWIL, please contact Lise.Larose@uvm.edu for an override Students who have enrolled in a TAP/FYS, CAS integrated program or HCOL 1000 have already fulfilled this requirement Open to Degree and PACE students

The primary goal of ENGL 1001 is orientation and practice in writing from research -- and, specifically, the practice of scholarly research, the use of the library and its resources. If this section differs from the others, it will be primarily in our interest in what we might call the ethics or the politics of writing in our current moment -- and of using writing and research to seek the truth. You will read and prepare shared texts for each class, some of which will be difficult; you will pursue a research project designed with the instructor's feedback that serves your own curiosity and gets you that crucial practice in finding knowledge in the university's library. You will also write with the aim of clarity and insight. I think this will mean learning how to edit your own work for grammar, style, and accuracy. The fact that a course satisfies a requirement doesn't mean that it should be easy. After all, why would we require study in the subject if it's not worth some effort to learn?

You will write several formal assignments, mostly emerging from the process of your research in the library. These will include a substantial bibliography, an analysis of a critical argument, and a final research essay.

About two thirds of the grade will come from your formal writing assignments; the other third will come from your preparation for and participation in the seminar.