Introduction to the Essay

Catalog description

This course treats a range of essay forms and considers some of the standard rhetorical devices used in writing nonfiction: persuasion, comparison and narration. We begin by reading classic essays by Montaigne, Daniel Defoe, and Samuel Johnson and end with a selection of literary non-fiction works by writers like Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, Tom Wolfe and John McPhee. In the course, you will be expected to write several short imitation essays in the style of an author we read. Your final project will be to craft, in several drafts, a long essay. Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1100 or ENGL 1200 .