Welcome to the the lobby for English 4700. Offered by the Department of Languages, Literature, and Philosophy at AASU, this course in advanced composition examines the current movement away from traditional print, or literacy, toward electronic writing, or electracy. An advanced study of expository and argumentative writing, the course is designed to make writers aware of the processes and techniques of writing effectively for a variety of electronic presentations. By focusing on how the writer observes, explains, evaluates, and persuades, the assignments draw upon and sharpen the fundamental skills upon which academic writers rely. Regular practice and evaluation are supplemented by critical readings of contemporary essays about electronic writing. In plain talk, this course asks students to write often and to respond critically to writings by their classmates, to study published works about computers and writing, and to discuss how weak writing fails and how strong writing works. Major topics include invention, style, voice, audience analysis, arrangement, revision, computer-mediated communication, collaboration, word-processing, webpage design, and the rhetorical situation. The goal of this course, put simply, is the creation of original, readable, and interesting prose that is suitable for an Internet audience of educated readers.
Students completing this class are qualified to work in fields related to computers and composition. Not only are they fine academic writers, but they also possess significant technical expertise. They have experience uploading and downloading Email documents, working with Microsoft Word and other word-processing software, scanning images and saving graphics, navigating complex desktop protocols, and accessing Internet browsers for research and design, professional development, and recreational purposes. In addition, they are accomplished at putting together multimedia PowerPoint presentations. Moreover, these emerging specialists exhibit considerable talents as Web page designers; each has mastered basic HyperText Markup Language and has worked with browser editors and utilities.
Please join me in admiring the Webpages of these talented thinkers and congratulating them on jobs well done!
