ACADEMIC RESOURCE CENTER COURSES

Courses listed below do not satisfy area or division distribution credit.

19538

ARC 107 Intensive ESL

Scott Partridge

. T . Th

. . W . F

10:30- 11:50 am

OLIN LC LAB

HEG 300

(4 credits; 2 semester sequence) A Liberal Arts education is designed to engage people across a variety of disciplines in order to teach thinking skills and associative skills; however, if students have never encountered this type of educational environment before, this broad definition can hinder meaningful engagement in academic courses. This yearlong class is designed to give incoming international students an overview of the Liberal Arts experience through exploring some of the fields of study Bard has to offer. Through this investigation, students will develop the academic and study skills needed to survive this challenging academic environment. An emphasis on reading and writing will provide opportunities for students to develop vocabulary, improve grammar and strengthen their grasp of the written language.

19539

ARC 205 Essay and Revision

Scott Partridge

. T . . .

. . . . Th

2:30-pm – 3:50pm

OLIN 302

HDR 101A

(4 credits) In this writing-intensive course, we will sharpen our skills at writing and revising academic essays. By breaking down the writing process into its component parts, considering what each step needs in order to be useful, and anticipating the experience of a reader, this class allows students to hone their skills at producing successful academic writing. Along the way, we’ll consider such things as question framing, using outside sources, editing, and other skills necessary to write effectively. This semester, we will read and write about the relationship between language and identity. Students should expect to produce 25 pages of finished writing, through various assignments with multiple revisions.

19536

ARC 212 Grammar, Rhetoric and Style

Peg Peoples

M . W . .

12:00- 1:20 pm

OLIN 304

(4 credits) This writing-intensive course explores the strategies and tools available to writers seeking to capture complex ideas in clear and concise prose. As we write and revise essays, we will consider how we, as writers, can control the reader’s experience of the text by writing sentences that are not only correct but also powerful and precise. As we expand our range of rhetorical devices, we’ll consider such questions as, How does grammar relate to content? At what point in the writing process should I worry about grammar? When is it okay to break the rules? If you’d like to gain greater control over your writing from the sentence up—from basic grammar to more complex sentence structures and rhetorical moves—come join us as we write our way into more forceful, assertive prose. A total of 25 pages of revised prose will be expected.

19540

ARC 215 Essays and Evidence:

“Making and Remaking the American Self”

David Gruber

. T . Th .

1:00- 2:20 pm

HEG 201

(4 credits) This writing intensive course will sharpen students’ skills in writing persuasive analytic essays. Paying particular attention to the variety of ways we use other people's voices in our own work—to support, qualify, or broaden the scope of our argument; to get at the underlying assumptions of another writer's claims; or to acknowledge and offer alternate viewpoints—we will examine and practice the rhetorical devices available to us as we use textual evidence to convey complex ideas. During this semester, our theme will be “Making and Remaking the American Self.” We will read and analyze four major American texts: two autobiographies (Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography and Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father), a work of philosophy (Henry David Thoreau’s Walden), and a novel (Nella Larsen’s Passing). In our discussions, we will trace the rhetorical decisions that allow each author to craft his or her American self; we will also consider the critical conversations surrounding several of the texts. While these works will supply the ideas and problems to which we will respond in discussion and writing, our primary focus will remain improving each student’s skill at written analysis of evidence, writing and supporting strong thesis claims, and discovering ways to put multiple texts into dialogue in academic essays. A total of 25 pages of revised prose will be expected.