Expository Writing
Faculty of the Subcommittee on Expository Writing
William Mills Todd III, Curt Hugo Reisinger Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Professor of Comparative Literature, and Dean for Undergraduate Education (Chair)
Daniel G. Donoghue, Professor of English and American Literature and Language
Diana L. Eck, Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies
Laura G. Fisher, Associate Dean for Academic Planning
Patrick K. Ford, Margaret Brooks Robinson Professor of Celtic Languages and Literatures
Mary Gaylord, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures (on leave 1999-00)
Andrew Gordon, Professor of History
Gordon C. Harvey, Senior Preceptor in Expository Writing and Associate Director of Expository Writing (ex officio)
Dudley R. Herschbach, Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science
Patricia Kain, Head Preceptor in Expository Writing
Susan W. Lewis, Director of the Core Program and Director of the Freshman Seminars, General Education, and House Seminars (ex officio)
Barry C. Mazur, Gerhard Gade University Professor
Gregory Nagy, Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature
Elizabeth Studley Nathans, Dean of Freshmen (ex officio)
Michael J. Sandel, Harvard College Professor and Professor of Government
Nancy Sommers, Senior Lecturer in Expository Writing and Sosland Director of Expository Writing (ex officio)
Jeffrey Wolcowitz, Senior Lecturer on Economics and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
For Undergraduates Only
Expository Writing 20 fulfills the basic requirement in Expository Writing, a requirement for all undergraduates in their first year of residence. No Expository Writing courses have midterm or final examinations.
Expository Writing 10. Introduction to Expository Writing
Catalog Number: 6344 Enrollment: Limited to 10 students per section.
Members of the Department
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A rigorous, intensive elective that helps students prepare for the demands of college writing. In small classes, students work closely with instructors on developing and organizing ideas; analyzing sources; and writing clear, lively essays. Students read essays, articles, and short stories and receive a great deal of individual attention.
Note: A limited enrollment elective. After taking Expository Writing 10, a student must pass Expository Writing 20 to meet the College’s Expository Writing requirement.
Expository Writing 20. Expository Writing
Catalog Number: 5518 Enrollment: Limited to 15 students per section.
Members of the Department
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Aims to improve each student’s ability to discover and reason about evidence through the medium of essays. Since writing requires an intellectual occasion and familiarity with some subject, each section focuses on a particular theme or topic, as described in the Guide to Expos Courses and Registration (available from the Expository Writing office). All sections give students experience in formulating questions; analyzing both primary and secondary sources, and properly acknowledging them; supporting assertions with strong and detailed evidence; and shaping clear, lively essays. All sections emphasize revision.
[Expository Writing 52. Style in Expository Prose]
Catalog Number: 0674
Gordon C. Harvey and staff
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
For all students, upperclass or freshman, who have completed Expository Writing 20 and who wish to continue working towards clear and elegant writing. Readings and weekly discussions consider theories of prose style and illustrate different styles and aspects of style. In a weekly conference, each student works with a tutor on writing exercises and projects.
Note: Expected to be given in 2000–01. Graduate students admitted by permission of the instructor.