Writing II

Our goal in this course is to have you write clear, perceptive, and sophisticated essays in which your own voice and authority are well established. In our writing we often rely on topics of immediate concern and interest to us; for the purpose of this course we will concentrate on topics that revolve around the idea of “community.” Through assigned reading and responsive writing, we will explore such ideas as what makes something a community, what things strengthen a community, and what things threaten a community’s existence. We will read essays, comics, and fiction in an attempt to come to terms with these and other large ideas. In the process, we will develop analytical and research skills that will help one succeed in a university education and in a lifetime of active learning.

For additional expectations and class policies, consult the syllabus.

Required texts

• Franzen, Jonathan. The Corrections. New York: Picador, 2002.
• Harvey, Gordon. Writing with Sources: A Guide for Students. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998.
• Oates, Joyce Carol, ed. The Best American Essays of the Century. New York: Houghton, 2001.
• Strunk, William Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2000.
• Speigelman, Art. Maus. 2 vols. New York: Pantheon, 1986.

These materials, along with the recommended MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed., will be available at Beck’s. I also suggest you purchase a good dictionary if you don’t already own one. (In addition, Loyola requires you to purchase Your Introduction to Writing at Loyola and the Writer’s Harbrace Handbook, brief ed.)