Writing is hard. Many people believe that good writers are born that way, that they have a gift that others simply have not. My goal in this course is to fight this notion. Instead, I argue that effective written communication can be mastered once we break it down into specific skills and tasks. In other words, writing is hard precisely because it is a long process involving a wide range of skills and steps, from planning and organizing a text’s content (catchy introductions, clear outline, original thinking, etc) to crafting its form (word choices, sentence structures, paragraph transitions, etc). In this course, I will familiarize you with these and related techniques. We will read and discuss a wide range of textual and audiovisual materials. I have selected these as models that will inspire and help you get started as a writer. You will learn by examining these materials but, first and foremost, you will learn by practicing writing in different forms. In addition to impromptu exercises, you will produce six formal writing assignments. These, together with in-class quizzes and overall participation will be the foundation of your final grade.