School of Humanities

Build strategies and routines for writing about reading. Through short readings, demonstrations, and guided practice, students study writing about texts in a variety of genres, including the literary essay, personal narrative and memoir, and the researched essay. Requirements offer the opportunity to apply class exercises to reading and writing assignments in other courses.

Credits: 2

Students receive supplemental instruction in critical thinking and writing, writing mechanics, organization, and style. They also learn techniques for effective workshopping and provide regular feedback on each other’s work.

Credits: 1

The ability to express ideas clearly and effectively in writing is essential to success as a student and citizen. Students learn and practice these skills throughout their academic career at Purchase College, beginning with College Writing. This is an intensive course that teaches students to:

1. produce strong written work at the college level
2. read and think critically
3. take a position and develop an argument of their own
4. research a topic and write a well-organized paper that develops their claims in dialogue with the sources
5. revise and improve their papers
6. present their ideas orally

Credits: 4

How do we create meaningful writing for an online readership that scrolls quickly and relies less on the printed page than any other generation? Students will write essays, features, and criticism and identify online publications that suit each project, while guest lecturers offer insight on engaging social media to share reported stories. Students co-edit Expose, Purchase's online expository writing magazine.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: WRI1110

Students develop strategies for overcoming creative writer’s block. Through a series of physical exercises, visualizations, and writing prompts, students learn to overcome obstacles that prevent them from writing or completing a written work. By building a toolkit of simple tactics, students learn how to become more productive creative writers.

Credits: 2

What makes a person an insider or an outsider? Beginning with personal experience and writing, students explore the ways in which race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and social class affect individual, communal, national, and transnational identity and belonging in American culture. In connecting multiple levels of experience, students engage in critical reading, research, analysis, writing, and revision, building on their strong skills in preparation for upper-level work.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: Or WRI1110

Though often seen as simply a test of students’ knowledge and ideas, essays go far beyond what is generally required in courses. Students in this course read and experiment with a wide variety of critical, journalistic, academic, personal, and experimental essay forms. In the process, they further develop their skills as critical thinkers and writers.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: WRI1110 Or WRI2110

In the personal essay, writers adopt distinct points of view, moving beyond the emotional to analytical and reasoned positions. Topics can include personal reflections, thoughts on daily life, art analysis, and political arguments. Students read and analyze contemporary essays and “workshop” each other’s writing. Requirements include attending instructor-supervised events (films, performances, guest speakers) outside of class for some writing assignments.

Credits: 4

Students develop basic language skills through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. They learn components of academic writing, including paragraphs and thesis statements, and gain critical reading and analytical skills through work with basic texts. Students share ideas and experiences both verbally and in writing, and improve grammar and vocabulary through writing activities, academic exercises, and workshops.

Credits: 4

Students gain advanced language skills through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Working with more advanced texts, they further develop critical reading and analytical skills. They gain experience with the essay form, and learn to write definition, process analysis, descriptive, and opinion pieces. Students share ideas and experiences both verbally and in writing, and continue to strengthen grammar and vocabulary.

Credits: 4

Students develop advanced language skills through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Working with advanced texts, they further develop critical reading and analytical skills. They gain experience with academic writing, including cause and effect, comparative, narrative, and opinion pieces, and learn basic research skills. Students practice analyzing information and expressing ideas verbally and in writing, and continue to strengthen grammar and vocabulary.

Credits: 4