For this first assignment, I’d like you to write a 500-750 word letter to me (“Dear Professor Wallace”). In that letter, answer three questions:
What is good writing, and when have you read it or produced it? Don’t just think school writing here—think personal writing, writing you’ve done on the job, stories and poems you’ve written, social media posts, and so on. If you’re combining symbols to communicate with yourself or others, it counts as writing.
What role will writing play in your future? Again, think broadly and widely here. What role will writing play in your college career? In your major? In the profession(s) you’re considering? In your personal and civic life?
How can this class help get you there? For this final question, you’ll want to interact with Liz Wardle’s chapter, “You Can Learn to Write in General.” Liz Wardle’s chapter is located in your Canvas module.As these questions suggest, your own life, experiences, aspirations, and career goals will supply the bulk of the material for this essay. However, in order to answer the second question, you’ll also need to do a bit of research. At a minimum, you’ll want to search online for resources that describe the kinds of writing that engineers, business administrators, nurses, psychologists, supply chain managers, microbiologists, anthropologists, or [insert-name-of-your-major-here] do on a regular basis. Purdue University’s OWL (online writing lab) website has a lot of resources to this end. And to answer the third question, you’ll of course need to engage with Wardle’s chapter.
