FR 441 - French Writing Skills Workshop: Emerging Competent Abroad

Writing in French requires that students follow many strict rules that are set according to the form of writing: personal, professional, formal, etc. Not only do students have the pressure of writing correctly and articulately, but they also can feel anxious about being corrected and making mistakes and this can be intimidating and paralyzing. This writing workshop will make writing in French fun. It won’t only be about respecting and enforcing the rules, but it will allow students to play with language and to realize that writing is not only a means to achieve a pragmatic goal, but it’s also a way to explore and play with language. In addition, the workshop will address systematically the problems that arise in the production of a text and it will introduce students to the rules and norms necessary to create an academic text in French. Finally, upon completion of this course, students will be able to convey personal communications (e-mails and other informal messages), as well as academic and professional texts (formal letters, cover letters, CVs, essays, thesis statements, etc.).