Comments from Student Evaluations
EXPO 1213/1223 courses, Fall 2005

This is by far the most comprehensive and beneficial writing course I have ever taken. In addition to helping me develop a better writing style, it has greatly enhanced my ability to close-read prose and to structure forceful arguments.

My writing has improved drastically. I have moved away from just filling my papers with whatever and started actually planning them. I've learned that it requires a huge amount of time and effort to produce a quality essay. I am so glad I took this course because I know it will be extremely beneficial to me in future courses.

I used to think that writing was all about a single draft. I struggled with every sentence until it was right. Tne main thing I have taken from Expos is the necessity of rewriting. It was through revising that I saw my writing change. I realize now that the first draft of an essay can be disorganized and underdeveloped but still contain points you can use in the final draft. Rewriting is now my main approach to writing effectively.

The conferences with my professor were helpful because I always left them with a sense of direction for my paper. He always let me know what was working well in my paper and what was not. Our meetings focused my attention on the weak points in my writing and helped me to strengthen them. In particular, I learned how to echo my thesis throughout my paper to tie it all together.

After leaving my conference with you today, I decided that though your class was hard, it helped my writing tremendously. At the beginning of the semester I felt as though I was shoving ideas into a dark hole, unable to revise them, or even see them once I had pulled them out of my mind. Now it is more like arranging a salt water aquarium. I can see inside and stick my hand in there and move things about to make it more logically and aesthetically pleasing, and I know how to pick the fish or ideas that won't eat each other or die too soon. I'm sure my aquarium is still cloudy and my fish are having some social problems, but it's miles better than the dark idea-sucking pit. Thank you for your class. It was hard, but I enjoyed it.

I'm very glad I took this class, and I know I'll keep my notebook close for awhile, because what I learned in this class doesn't stop once I walk out the door. Even though I have to abide by the principles of this class whenever I want to write for another one, or even for myself, I know I'll still remember what I learned, and it'll leak through into whatever I want to write.