Expository Writing


The 2009-10 membership of this committee has not yet been finalized. Complete membership information for 2009-10 will be posted as soon as it becomes available.

Faculty of the Committee on Writing and Speaking

Thomas R. Jehn (Ex Officio)
Jay M. Harris, Harry Austryn Wolfson Professor of Jewish Studies (Chair)
Noël Bisson (Ex Officio)
Jeanne Follansbee Quinn, Lecturer on History and Literature
Benjamin M. Friedman, William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy
Smita Lahiri, Associate Professor of Anthropology
Anne E. Monius, Professor of South Asian Religions (Divinity School)
Ken Nakayama, Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology
Peter S. Pershan, Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science
Maria Polinsky, Professor of Linguistics

For Undergraduates Only

Expository Writing 20 fulfills the basic requirement in Expository Writing, a requirement for all undergraduates in their first year of residence. The Expository Writing Program also offers two elective courses, Expos 10 and Expos 50. No Expository Writing courses have midterm or final examinations. For additional information on Expository Writing courses, see www.fas.harvard.edu/~expos.

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). Two 1-hour sessions weekly; see www.fas.harvard.edu/~expos for list of section meeting times.
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, engaging essays. Students also meet frequently in individual conferences with instructors to discuss their work. Assignments are based on sources from a range of disciplines and genres.
Note: 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). Two 1-hour sessions weekly; see www.fas.harvard.edu/~expos for list of section meeting times and topics.
An intensive seminar that aims to improve each student’s ability to discover and reason about evidence through the medium of essays. Each section focuses on a particular theme or topic, described on the Expos Website. All sections give students practice in formulating questions, analyzing both primary and secondary sources and properly acknowledging them, supporting arguments with strong and detailed evidence, and shaping clear, lively essays. All sections emphasize revision.
Note: Students must pass one term of Expository Writing 20 to meet the College’s Expository Writing requirement.

*Expository Writing 40. Public Speaking Practicum
Catalog Number: 9155 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Members of the Program
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course develops and strengthens the skills necessary for successful public speaking. Students learn strategies for impromptu speaking, preparing and delivering presentations, formulating and organizing persuasive arguments, cultivating critical thinking, engaging with an audience, using the voice and body, and building confidence in oral expression. Besides refining their skills, students receive training as public speaking tutors in preparation for serving as peer tutors for the Derek Bok Center’s Program in Speaking and Learning.
Note: See www.fas.harvard.edu/~expos for admission information.

[*Expository Writing 50. Advanced Writing 50]
Catalog Number: 3819 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Thomas R. Jehn
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course gives students the opportunity to write in multiple genres, both in on-line and in traditional forms, by engaging with the works of journalists, politicians, anthropologists, poets, neuroscientists, and other practitioners of writing.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.