Effective Writing I

Founded on the principles of clear writing developed at The University of Chicago’s renowned Writing Program, this course helps students learn how to write clearly for academic and professional purposes. The course is open and useful to all from the most experienced writers to those uncertain about their writing skills. The aim of the course is to demystify what it means to write clearly by teaching principles that focus on the needs of readers. Students will also be taught how to apply those principles at the sentence and paragraph levels. The idea is to liberate students from learning more “rules,” and following vague advice about what makes “good” writing.

This 5-week hybrid course will consist of asynchronous lectures of approximately 1 hour each and a synchronous seminar that meets 1.5 hours per week on Zoom. Prior to each seminar, students will be asked to view the lectures, share their writing (either previously written or written for the course), and analyze fellow student writing by applying the principles. Students will then share their analyses in the seminar.

This course will be taught by Millie Rey, a veteran lector at The University of Chicago, Writing Program with over 20 years of experience teaching the Writing Program principles. Millie currently holds various positions at the University: writing advisor for the Master of Liberal Arts Program and the Leadership & Society Initiative, and capstone instructor for the Threat & Response Management Program. As a consultant, she works with individuals, educational institutions, organizations and corporations to help them develop / execute academic projects, implement change, clarify messaging and deliver value. She is currently in the process of launching her consultancy: Write to Do.