Description

Writing Nonfiction is a course that explores the essay form. It is aimed at self-motivated students with at least an upper-intermediate knowledge of English. The emphasis is on content, style, and organization more than on grammar. Students should already be comfortable with English syntax and have experience writing their own texts of at least a paragraph in length.

The course uses long-form articles from top English-language periodicals to establish themes. The reading increases comprehension and exposes students to university-level vocabulary. They should be able to understand these articles with the help of a bilingual dictionary and respond to in-depth follow-up questions.

To further expand on these themes, students will write four original essays. The essays help students develop and express complicated ideas in a readable form. There is emphasis on structure at the sentence, paragraph, and essay level. Thesis statements are described and expected to focus arguments. Interviewing techniques are required for a character profile. And the basic elements of research are practiced for a short research paper. One assignment is to exchange feedback with peers as part of a writing workshop. The final assignment is to revise one essay such that it would be presentable in a final form.

The course is 10 weeks long, with one assignment per week.

 Instructor Bruno Zalubil says:

This is a 10-week course that mixes advanced reading and comprehension with a piece of writing every other week. It is a fast-paced course that will refine your writing skills and further prepare you for academic writing.

Course Structure

Study Scope and Sequence

01. Reading Analysis

Students begin the course by reading \"In the Name of Love,\" by Miya Tokumitsu, from Jacobin Magazine. They have several reading comprehension questions and a vocabulary-development exercise to establish the theme for the first essay.

02. Essay

The first essay of the course addresses the theme: common wisdom. Specific skills are developed with emphasis on structure and the writing of a thesis statement to organize and focus the argument.

03. Reading Analysis

Students read a story from The Wall Street Journal — \"The Chinese Dream: At 18, Min Finds A Path to Success In Migration Wave\" by Chang, Leslie T. — that describes a different country that has a lot of familiar characteristics for any contemporary society.

04. Essay

The theme for the second essay is: place/culture. Students are asked to elaborate on the ideas presented in the reading from the previous week in order to describe their own place in the world.

05. Reading Analysis

Reading comprehension and vocabulary development are put to the fore again when students read \"Marie Kondo and the Ruthless War on Stuff\" by Taffy Brodesser-Akner in The New York Times.

06. Essay

Similar to the previous reading, students will write a profile. The object of the profile must be researched and include a wide variety of information, including facts, observations, and descriptions.

07. Reading Analysis

The reading level increases a bit with a more scholarly look at \"The Luxury of Tears\" from 1843 Magazine, by Matthew Sweet.

08. Essay

The fourth essay asks students to address the theme “change over time” with another research project.

09. Essay Workshop

The ninth week asks the students to switch roles in order to get a different perspective on writing by critiquing the work of another student. Students pick an essay they wrote during the course and send it to a classmate; they, in turn, get essays from their classmates to critique. It is an effective way to reflect upon the writing process, and it helps to prepare for the final assignment of the course.

10. Final Essay, Revision

The final task is to select one of the four essays written during the course and revise it into a final form. The student will also use this final essay to reflect on the writing process and the new skills that were developed during the course.

Course syllabus

Materials required

No additional materials required.

Price

course fee: 338,- EUR / 8 050,- Kč