101 College Writing for Success

Instructor: Vyxz Vasquez
Instructor Emails: lmvasquez@ucsd.edu
Schedule: TBD

Course Description

Navigating college writing, or any writing for that matter, in a world increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence, has been challenging. On the one hand, composition courses emphasize writing using the fundamentals of summary, synthesis, & argumentation, skills that students should master in preparation for college. On the other, tools like ChatGPT and other LLMs (Large Language Models) perform some of these writing fundamentals that it begs the question: why do we need to do our own writing?

In this class, students will not only be introduced to the different kinds of college composition, such as response papers, literary writing, and the research process, they will also learn how to work with AI without violating the other AI: Academic Integrity. Students of the course will learn to evaluate the information they receive from LLMs and see how this can help hone their own creative and critical thinking, as well as their own writing. Furthermore, they will explore how to become more careful and self-aware readers. In this class, students will write reflections about their writing and learn how to take good annotations of their readings. They will also create and improve on their college application essays. The goal is to become careful, self-aware, and insightful readers, thinkers, and writers, and ultimately, gain confidence in their own skills and thinking.

Course Goals / Learning Objectives

• Improve academic writing skills, both creative and critical
• Evaluate sources of information such as newspapers and Large Language Models
• Develop active reading skills regarding identifying, reconstructing, and evaluating arguments
• Understand sources of appeal and rhetorical strategies
• Demonstrate the ability to produce writing that is clear and logical
• Develop intellectual virtues like humility and empathy
• Develop student voice in writing and tone

Course Topics

• How to read and annotate college level writing
• Summarizing, synthesizing, and arguing the point of a written work
• What is AI and how can it improve or hinder my own writing and thinking?
• Writing essays for college applications
• Becoming self aware readers and writers

*Courses vary by experience and exposure to content. Instructors have the ability to change content and pace to serve the needs of students. Courses have been modified for online teaching.