English S114: Writing Seminar

English S114: Writing Seminar

English S114: Writing Seminar helps students become more fluent and effective academic writers. Taught through a combination of seminar discussion, writing instruction, and one-on-one conferences, the Writing Seminar also introduces students to the debates and discussions that support genuine inquiry and scholarship. Many incoming Yale students can write effectively when asked to synthesize or report knowledge—but academic writing asks, instead, that students begin to create new knowledge. In emphasizing academic writing, Writing Seminar will teach First-Year Scholars to write about problems. Through this course, First-Year Scholars will gain invaluable experience at developing interesting, nuanced arguments, allowing them to participate in the larger conversation about ideas that are at the heart of a liberal arts education.

Every section of English S114 stages an inquiry into some topic of pressing intellectual or political urgency. This summer’s topics are linked below, but regardless of the subject, every section of Writing Seminar leads students to higher achievement as writers, thinkers, and beginning scholars.

In summary, English S114 is designed to help students evaluate and produce both academic and public writing. In this course students will have the opportunity to:

• develop the habits of experienced writers, including revising, editing for style, proofreading, and giving and using feedback;
• evaluate writing strategies in any text and practice incorporating techniques into their writing;
• use writing to engage significant questions, and enter into ongoing debates by writing clear and effective analysis and arguments;
• conduct research as a process of inquiry, use some of Yale’s exceptional academic resources (such as libraries, scholars, and the student community), and find, evaluate, analyze, and document information

View the 2023 Course Descriptions