Class activities in the writing link reflect the importance of writing as a means of learning.  Students will write to think through particular issues or problems as well as to articulate what they already know.  Students will do much of this writing as homework assignments that may include analyses of films and readings and short pieces leading to a longer paper.

English 197 is computer-integrated.  The computer lab setting allows students to participate in inclusive electronic discussions, offer feedback on their peers' work, complete multi-media assignments, and incorporate visual aids into their papers.  However, technical savvy is not a course prerequisite; students will receive instruction in all technical tools used in the classroom.

Although English 197 shares some assignments with Comparative Literature 272, the writing class has separate reading, discussion, presentation, and writing tasks.  I attend lectures and meet with cinema studies course staff, but you serve as the primary link between the courses. To do well in English 197, you will need to keep up with cinema studies course lectures, discussions, and films. Occasionally, we will screen films and complete readings before they are due in Comparative Literature 272.

My role in the writing course is to provide the tools and resources you will need to advance your own thinking about film through your writing.  I will pose questions, design activities to help you think through those questions, and respond to the substance of what you write.  Your role is to do the hard work—the critical readings, analyses, and research.  You will generate ideas, evaluate evidence, and construct arguments relevant to issues raised in the cinema studies course.  You will revise your papers until they are as good as you can make them.