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Browse materialsMIT 21W.735 · Fall 2004

Writing and Reading the Essay

Subject: Writing

Art: François d'Orbay / Jacques Renaud Benard / After…, Encyclopedie volume 9-048, 1772 · Public domain

Instructor: Prof. Anthony Lioi
Term: Fall 2004
Level: Undergraduate
What's inside: 1 reading · 10 other files · 4 web pages
Materials open: MIT OCW

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21W.735 · Fall 2025 · Study here
21W.735 · Fall 2005 · Study here
21W.735 · Fall 2004 · Study here (this version)

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Source: MIT OpenCourseWare 21W.735 Writing and Reading the Essay, Fall 2004, Prof. Anthony Lioi — original course page on ocw.mit.edu ↗. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Study order: MIT's own listing order, section by section. Taken from MIT's published course files, downloaded from ocw.mit.edu on September 23, 2026. How RedLectern is built.

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MIT OpenCourseWare, Prof. Anthony Lioi, 21W.735 Writing and Reading the Essay, Fall 2004.

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · Edition: Fall 2004 · Open the original course on OCW ↗

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Writing and Reading the Essay

Before you start

What's here, and what isn't

Not included here

Materials by section

Syllabus

Assignments

Study Materials

Lecture 1: Introduction

Lecture 2: ID: “Introduction: On the Essay.” White, E. B. “The Essayist and the Essay.” Woolf, V. “The Modern Essay.”

Lecture 3: APE: pp. 5-136.

Lecture 4: Peer Review

Lecture 5: Discussion of Drafts ID: Hoagland, E. “The Courage of Turtles.” Raymo, C. “An Ancient Brilliance.” (copy)

Lecture 6: ID: Eiseley, L. “How Flowers Changed the World,” and “The Hidden Teacher.” APE: J. Tanizaki, “In Praise of Shadows.”

Lecture 7: ID: Walker, A. “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self.” APE: Hazlitt, W. “On the Pleasure of Hating.”

Lecture 8: Peer Review

Lecture 9: Discussion of Drafts TM: Twain, M. “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses.” Saki. “The Reticence of Lady Anne.” APE: Shonagon, Sei. “Hateful Things.”

Lecture 10: Discussion of Drafts (cont.) ID: Walker, A. “Am I Blue?” Woolf, V. “The Death of the Moth.” Oates, J. C. “Against Nature.”

Lecture 11: ID: Orwell, G. “Politics and the English Language.” TM: Queenan, J. “Introduction.”

Lecture 12: TM: Swift, J. “A Modest Proposal.”

Lecture 13: Peer Review

Lecture 14: Discussion of Drafts Alexie, Sherman “Captivity.” (copy) TM: Twain, M. “A Medieval Romance.”

Lecture 15: TM: Voltaire. Candide.

Lecture 16: Peer Review

Lecture 17: Discussion of Drafts TM: Austen, J. Lady Susan.

Lecture 18: Discussion of Drafts (cont.) TM: Twain, M. “English as She Is Taught.” ID: “All of Woody Allen.”

Lecture 19: Individual Conferences

Lecture 20: Individual Conferences (cont.)

Lecture 21: Individual Conferences (cont.)

Lecture 22: Final Class Meeting in Class Individual Conferences (cont.)