Course description

In The Personal Essay, our topics are autobiographical in their origins; we write from personal experience, to think about it and to articulate it, in a style useful in all modes of college-admission and college-work. Our writing practice is both creative and analytical. We discover how writers use drafting and revision as a process of thinking, and in weekly workshops we practice the kind of revision that can make us more independent as writers and more capable of giving helpful suggestions to friends who are also writers. The most important texts for the course are the essays of students enrolled in it; but we also read and discuss personal memoirs. This seminar offers students from diverse backgrounds a forum in which to move beyond accustomed boundaries, finding agency not only through use of the first-person voice but through increased confidence in their abilities as writers.

In general, Cornell students are required to take two semesters of First-Year Writing Seminars. Also see your college requirements.

No upcoming classes were found.

Previously offered classes

Summer 2023: Ithaca campus

Kevin Attell
Kevin Attell
Professor
Section ID:ENGL 1132 101-SEM
Number:1132
Session:Summer 6-week
Class dates:June 20-July 28, 2023
Final exam/project due:Friday July 28, 8:30 AM - 9:45 AM / Goldwin Smith Hall 236 (see Final exams)
Time / room:M-F 8:30 AM - 9:45 AM / Goldwin Smith Hall 236
Mode of instruction:In person
Credit:3
Grade:Graded
Instructor:Attell, K. (kda24)
Max. enroll:17
To enroll:Enrollment for this class is closed.

Summer 2023: Ithaca campus

Timothy C. Campbell
Timothy C. Campbell
Professor
Section ID:ENGL 1132 102-SEM
Number:1133
Session:Summer 6-week
Class dates:June 20-July 28, 2023
Final exam/project due:Friday July 28, 10 AM - 11:15 AM / White Hall B02 (see Final exams)
Time / room:M-F 10 AM - 11:15 AM / White Hall B02
Mode of instruction:In person
Credit:3
Grade:Graded
Instructor:Campbell, T. (tcc9)
Max. enroll:17
To enroll:Enrollment for this class is closed.