Welcome

Welcome to ENGL 087. In our class, we will explore writing as a way to express yourself, to convey your ideas to others, to demonstrate what you know, and to advance scholarship in your academic field. Most importantly, we will explore the ways that strong writing can help you to communicate your unique thoughts and opinions.

You already have good writing skills in your first language(s). To enter scholarly conversations in the U.S., the next step is to sharpen your academic writing skills in American English. This text aims to help you uncover the expectations of professors and scholars in the U.S. regarding writing and critical thinking, to help you succeed in college.

We invite you to be open to new ways of thinking about writing. Together, we will examine ways to use writing to discover what we think and believe. We will use writing to find our voice and power, and to create change in the world around us.

Good writing is both an art and a science. The best way to learn both aspects is to practice. The more you write, the better you will be at writing. Often, the key to full participation in academic work is writing – this is the way scholars communicate. Through our class, we want to make sure that you can communicate your ideas clearly. We know that this takes hard work and dedication on your part, and we applaud your choice to embark on this journey.