In this course, students learn about critical thinking, analysis, argumentation, reflection, and making sound rhetorical choices to write effective academic essays. Students also learn techniques for reading, interpreting, and utilizing a variety of sources in their writing. The course content covers key grammatical concepts, multimodal writing, collaboration, research skills, and proper documentation.

The course focuses on the rhetorical content and strategies that are the baseline of effective college writing. This course allows students a way to master these concepts and skills in small bites, through engaging practice activities and frequent questioning with targeted feedback.

The course was developed by Lumen Learning, with contributions from English faculty from various institutions, including faculty from the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Mississippi.

Lumen OER courses apply learning science to engage students and better support the learning process. Lumen materials aim to deliver an active learning experience. They include text, images, videos, assessments, directed feedback, practice questions, simulations, and other interactives that invite students to apply their knowledge, improve their understanding, and perform better. Term over term, Lumen’s Waymaker courseware makes it possible to use learning data to identify where content improvements are needed. We work collaboratively with faculty and subject matter experts to develop and test iterative, continuous improvements aimed at increasing efficacy and learning.