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:
View the 2024 Course Descriptions