4.0

credits

Average Course Rating

This elective examines writing on the particle level: sound, syntax, punctuation, rhythm, and pacing. Together, these elements can generate meaningful, understandable, and nuanced content. How does sound echo sense? How does the spin of syntax affect the flavor of the sentence? How does pacing affect the joke? Writers who know the laws of language can navigate them with flexibility or break them with aplomb and purpose. Momentum and energy at these basic levels keep readers engaged and make editors and agents sit up with interest. This elective with workshop elements asks students to bring their favorite sentences from literature and analyze why they work at the most fundamental levels. Class discussions on VoiceThread or other online tools allow students to interact with sound and old-school sentence diagrams. Students will then create science writing projects crafted at the quantum level without losing sight of global goals and overall quality. Science writers who feel like weak bosons when it comes to voice, style, grammar, and punctuation will particularly benefit from this course.