Welcome to English 101!

Welcome to English 101 and welcome to our class blog! This blog will work in place of D2L, so be sure to check here for updates, important information, and assignments. You can access this blog via D2L, but I suggest bookmarking it for easy and regular access. 

The English Department at UWM describes this course in the following way:

The course focuses on reading as well as writing because almost all academic work is in one way or another a response to, as well as a call for, reading: academics compose in response to what they have read, and they expect others to read what they’ve composed and then to respond in some form...

For instance, we use writing generally as a means to learn and to inquire critically into subject matters and issues that concern us and others; we also use writing generally to communicate to others what we have learned and what matters to us about what we have learned. More specifically, though, each text you compose will have a purpose (or purposes) of its own, something specific that you want to learn, communicate, or accomplish with your writing. (Course Description)

The description touches on something we often don't think about when we write grocery lists, tweets, emails to our grandmas, or Facebook statuses: we always write with a specific goal in mind. Our goal this semester is to examine and analyze the choices we—and others—make when composing in order to achieve a certain goal depending on our audience, context, and purpose. By analyzing these choices, we can work to improve not only our writing but also the way that we approach the composition process.

My goal is that our classroom atmosphere is similar to the early coffee shops in Europe where intellectuals met to discuss books, writing, politics, and ideas.

Let's think of coming to class like this:

And maybe we'll have some of these moments:

Or even these moments are ok, because we'll be thinking hard and all:

But let's hope we can avoid this kind of class period:

Let me know if you have any questions about this class. I look forward to working with you this semester.

Works Cited

A Very Potter Musical—Malfoy. 2009. GIF file. 
Course Description. UWM English Department. 2013. Print. 
Glenn Drunk at Golden Globes. 2013. GIF file. 
Hobbit Adventure. 2012. GIF file.
Lindsay as Bored Liz. 2012. GIF file.