Writing for Life Institute

In this Institute, you’ll explore how to produce writing that will do things for you. Perhaps you want to learn how to craft a compelling college essay. Perhaps you want to write for a magazine someday. Perhaps you have a story to tell or an argument to make or information to share. This seminar will, to paraphrase the language philosopher J.L. Austin, teach you more about how to do things with words. We’ll talk with people who write for a living, who teach writing, and who use writing in their personal and professional lives. Like real writers, we’ll engage in the process of writing, from brainstorming to drafting and revising to final proofreading. Through participatory workshops and other hands-on practice, you’ll develop rhetorical and writing skills you’ll rely on in your academic, personal, and professional lives. By the end of the institute, you’ll have built a portfolio that showcases these newly honed writing and rhetorical skills.