This course introduces students to the foundations of academic writing. Students will learn to identify the elements of sound writing and to compare and contrast oral, written and culturally specific forms of communication. The student is invited to explore, step-by-step, each element of good writing by reviewing and practicing techniques including: developing strong thesis statements, cohesive paragraphs, structuring complete essays and reports using APA citation style. The goal is to give students enough practice writing to develop strong improvement in their written communication skills by the end of the course. In addition, students will develop a greater understanding of what they need to focus on to continue developing as a writer.