seminar
For fall semester 2013, I got the opportunity to take an Honors English Composition 2089. This class was unlike any English course I have every taken before. It was taught by Professor Mary Leech on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in McMicken Hall. What made this course unique in comparison to previous English classes I have been in is that all papers were submitted in an online blog format. Each student was required to create a blog in which we would update with each essay throughout the semester. For each paper, Professor Leech would break the class up into groups. In our groups, we would discuss the topic of our upcoming blog essay and help each other brainstorm ideas for our assignment. The blogs entries were required to have visual imagery to make it resemble a real blog and be more visually appealing.
HONORS
english2089
Through this class I learned a lot about the art of writing from a more versatile perspective. Instead of the average essays, we were challenged to convert our writing into virtual blogs that would appeal to an online audience. I chose to take this class because I needed the credit and I was hoping to get more of a challenging experience out of an Honors English class. It may seem crazy that I wanted more challenge, but I enjoy writing so I went for it. To my surprise, however, I found the class to be fairly painless and I had a lot of fun creating and editing the blog for each assignment. We also went over some basic grammar rules throughout the course of the class that seem to cause common confusion. It was nice to relearn some of the grammar rules that are easy to mistake and I could see a change in my writing by the end of the semester.
Compared to English courses I have taken in the past, I found this class to the most memorable. We did not have any assigned readings and we were given a lot of freedom with our essay topics. On many occasions we were let go early to work on our blogs which was nice because it gave the class more of a virtual feel which I enjoyed. Professor Leech did an exceptional job with creating a challenge for us without it being overbearing, but rather, enjoyable and engaging. This course has provided me with insight on efficient online writing and how to appeal to a virtual audience effectively. This is a skill that I value and have continued to enhance through online web design and blog.ging. I plan to create a blog for my study abroad experience in Costa Rica in fall 2014, and I will use skills acquired from this course to assist me. I would recommend this course to any Honors student that is looking to get a different kind of experience out of an English Composition course.