About Course

What you’ll learn

  • Learn how the words you choose can change the decisions people make

  • Use syntax strategically

  • Write with originality and produce sentences that nobody else can write

  • Arrange a complex set of information in a reader-friendly way

 

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you’ll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
    • Learn new concepts from industry experts
    • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
    • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
    • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

This course will teach you how to use your written words to become more persuasive. You’ll learn creative ways to use syntax, effective techniques for telling stories, and a clever method for arranging a complex series of information. You’ll also get a chance to both professionalize your use of punctuation and add a bit of style and sophistication to how you craft everything from sentences to slogans.

In addition, you’ll get access to a wide range of books and other resources you can use even after you finish the course.

These include:

(1) the readings and exercises provided to the students who have taken the in-person version of this course at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago;

(2) two digital libraries of excellent writing from a diverse collection of journalists, scientists, novelists, poets, historians, and entrepreneurs; and

(3) a monthly “Good Sentences” email. Social media has only accelerated the ways in which we all must learn to use our writing to connect, compete, and create—sometimes all at once. So join us for this first course in a four-part series and experience the many benefits, both personal and professional, of becoming “good with words.”

Show More

Course Content

The Words Under The Words
In this first week, you will be introduced to instructor Patrick Barry. This week's course content will focus on how the words you choose can change the decisions that people make. Learning Objectives Become more deliberate about "the words under the words" Start to improve by both reducing your errors and increasing your insights Identify the ways in which writing can be a "map to a decision" Recognize the relationship between mechanics and strategy Move beyond empty, conclusory statements and instead "earn their generalizations"

  • Teaching Style + Resources
  • Meet Professor Barry
  • Syllabus
  • Good with Words
    02:42
  • Making You More Persuasive
    02:04
  • Class Clip – Intro: Painting, Singing, Sculpting, Dancing, Writing
    01:10
  • Class Clip – Really Smart, Can’t Write
    01:00
  • Class Clip – Intro: Good With Words
    01:04
  • Low-Stakes Practice
  • Best/Worst Writing Advice
  • University of Michigan Survey
  • Teachers vs. Readers
  • Errors and Insights
    03:12
  • Introduction to the Gamut Workbook Tool
  • Mechanics and Strategy
    04:15
  • Performing Under Pressure and Expressive Writing
  • Low-Stakes Practice
  • Writing as Mapping
    03:11

Student Ratings & Reviews

No Review Yet
No Review Yet