“We are what we find, not what we search for.”
– Piero Scaruffi
Winter Quarter, 2018
In WRD 104 we focus on the kinds of academic and public writing that uses materials drawn from research to shape defensible arguments and plausible conclusions. As the second part of the two-course sequence in First Year Writing, WRD 104 continues to explore relationships between writers, readers, and texts in a variety of technological formats and across disciplines:
- How does specific text content gain acceptance and prominence?
- What counts as “true” within the discipline, and who makes that determination? Why?
- How do particular text genres gain acceptance and prominence?
- What are considered “legitimate” modes of inquiry within the discipline?
- How do the content, genres, and modes of inquiry within a discipline affect the social relations of participants in the disciplinary community?
You’ll be happy to note, I hope, that we build on your previous knowledge and experiences; that is, we don’t assume that you show up here a blank slate. We assume that you have encountered interesting people, have engaging ideas, and have something to say. A good writing course should prepare you to take those productive ideas into other courses and out into the world, where they belong, and where you can defend them and advocate for them.
If you have a project from another course that you would like to continue, or a community project that would benefit from rigorous research, or a professional aspiration that needs research-based support, this is the course for you.
Writing Center
It’s no secret around here that students who take early and regular advantage of DePaul’s Center for Writing-based Learning not only do better in their classes, but also benefit from the interactions with the tutors and staff in the Center.
