An intensive writing course that develops skills in critical thinking, academic writing, analytic reading of both literary and non-literary texts, methods of research, and the proper acknowledgment and documentation of secondary sources. Students learn to shape workable topics, revise in response to comments, and produce thesis-driven essays that are organized, coherent, and grammatical and that support points with examples. A passing grade satisfies the all-college skills requirement for a first-year intensive writing course; students who fail the course must repeat it. This course does not count toward the English major or minor.