WEEK 1
📢 Welcome to ENG 102
Hello everyone,
My name’s Karl, and I’ll be your Writing Mentor for this course. ENG 102 is where we shift gears, from exploring writing as mode of self exploration and discovery (ENG 101), to using writing as a tool for change.
🧭 What to Expect from Me
Here’s how I like to keep things clear and engaging:
- I’ll post an announcement on every due date, so you’ll never get blind-sided by a due date.
- I’ve attach a Microsoft Excel homework tracker with all the assignments and due dates,
you can download it here: 👉 -Insert tracker here-
(trust me, if you’re taking a ton of classes, this helps a ton) - I’ll share TTS (text-to-speech) videos that simply read the course materials aloud for those that need it.
- I’ll share Inspirational videos that may help you to select a topic for the writing assignments or to just inspire you to continue writing in general, such as the video below:
TLDW: Writing is magic. Government is magic. Magic = Control
(i’ll also try to find videos that help you select a problem to write about for this course’s major writing assignment, more on that in another announcement.)
🧩 What This Course is Really About
This course is designed to help you identify a real-world problem that matters to you, research it, and propose a solution to that problem. A sub goal of this course structure, in my opinion, is to stimulate social and political involvement.
In today’s world we delegate so many responsibilities that it’s worth pausing to notice just how much we’ve handed off. Once upon a time, it was a man’s duty to hunt, then hunters delegated their work to farmers, then as settlements and cities got bigger we all began delegating the work of feeding ourselves to complex supply chains of farmers, transportation, and distribution companies, that do the work for us in exchange for money. Civil service is one such delegation that has occured as a result of the size and complexity of our society. These machinations don’t always run smoothly. Eminent Domain, Human Trafficking, Corruption and all other kinds of taxation without representation have begun to crop up in the past years. It’s our job as citizens of the most powerful nation in the world to do our part in holding these civil servants accountable by identifying problems as they arise and proposing solutions to them. To speak truth to power. In other words, we’ll be learning how to engage with our communities and solve problems that matter.
TLDR:
The designers of ENG 102 want to help you develop your voice as a participant in society, someone who can identify problems, research them deeply, and propose meaningful solutions. My goal is to help you narrow the scope of your project so that your writing feels purposeful, grounded, and achievable.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll start thinking about:
- What issues actually matter to you or your community
- How writing connects to policy, change, and influence
- How to build strong arguments supported by credible research
🎩 Note About Top Hat
While the Top Hat materials aren’t technically due until the end of the term, it’s important to complete them in the order they’re presented. For example, you should complete the Module 1 Top Hat materials during Module 1, before starting the Module 1 writing assignment, and so on. Each Top Hat activity connects directly to the upcoming writing assignments and will make the writing process smoother, faster, and overall more beneficial, so don’t wait until the end!
💬 Final Thought
You don’t need to have it all figured out on Day 1. The most powerful arguments start with curiosity.
So, what’s something in your city that you’d change if you could?
Let’s start there.
– Karl
Writing Mentor
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