Word: marius
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Determined to work on the process of writing, I enrolled in an advanced writing course spring semester. Taught by Richard C. Marius, the director of Expos, Expos 52 was a writing course not about science or literature or law, but about writing itself...
...readings included a study of classical rhetoric as well as short non-fiction pieces highlighting specific writing techniques. Every Friday we would participate in a personal tutorial, either with Marius himself or one of his two assistants. We were encouraged to submit excerpts of the same essay in successive weeks to examine each step of the editing and revision process--that way, we could highlight and solve persistent problems...
...retrospect, it's difficult to reconcile these two courses in the same department. If the myths in Rudenstine's letter were dispelled by my fall course, they reached new heights in Marius' class. As I eventually discovered, good, effective instruction can be found in the department. That I had to spend an extra semester and one of my treasured electives to find it, though, is a comment on the structure of Expository Writing at Harvard. There are some serious difficulties not with the quality of specific teachers, but with the philosophy and structure of the program itself...
...propose a two-semester structure, of which the second term is required for honors concentrators, and optional for others. The first semester would focus only on the aspects of writing, just like Marius' advanced course. Then, in the second semester, the student could pursue writing within a specific discipline (as in history, literature, or social studies...
...what you're saying is true," Marius said in the interview's final moments, "I don't know anything...