Hello all

I have searched and saw that the threads on this subject were closed, so I'm quickly starting a new one.

I haven't taken any English courses since high school, so my writing skills aren't to sharp. I did however enjoy writing essays in highschool and really enjoyed the critical thinking aspects of coming up with my arguments.

Can anyone who has taken this course before give me some insight on how technical your writing skills need to be to attain decent marks on the essays?

I loved this class! Obviously as an English class, your writing skills have to be pretty decent. One of the main focus of the class is essay skills, so the TAs spend time going through how to hone your writing skills through such asects as essay planning, reviewing, and most importantly, how to attain that well-structured thesis that both makes a statement/argument and is debatable at the same time. They're not looking for your essay style to be perfect because it's only a 1st year class, but rather are there to help you build on the skills you already have.

Also, the essay topics are pretty broad. You on't read actual novels in this class so you're not expcted to know any plots or themes. You can write on more traditional topics such as 19th century literary critic Matthew Arnold and Captial-C Culture and take a modern twist and write on iPhones.

I think this class is a great start for someone who enjoys essay writing but may not be entirely confident in their skills yet. But obviously, having some background in essay writing is an asset. If you enjoyed essay writing in hs and are open to learning a more structured essay form, then I see no reason as to why you won't do well or enjoy this course.

I hope this helps!