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Normally located within a broader English major, Composition specifically focuses on the construction of thoughts and ideas into written words. Composition is the way we write: the rules of grammar that we follow and the styles we use to express our thoughts effectively.</p>
<p>How do you construct an effective essay or story? What are some of the different tools you can employ in writing? What exactly is a dangling participle, and why are you not supposed to end your sentences with a preposition? These, of course, are just some of the principal questions you will encounter as you learn how to become an effective and thoughtful writer, able to express your deepest thoughts and ideas in language so finely honed that you’ll awe your old high school English teachers.</p>
<p>One of the best ways to learn how to write is by reading, and, like any English concentration, you will do plenty of that here. All of the classics, both old and contemporary, await you in the English Composition major, from Shakespeare to Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway to T.S. Eliot. You will find in the books you read not only great works of Composition, but also some of the most significant artistic expressions dealing with everything from death, to war, to history.
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<p>Since Cornell doesn't technically offer an "English Comp" major, how close is plain English to the major described above? (I'm specifically referring to the bolded paragraphs, since the third paragraph just deals with literature, something I would encounter as a regular English major anyways.) I'm looking for something that emphasizes learning how to write effectively over literary analysis.</p>
<p>Okay, now we're getting somewhere; the course catalog lists "creative writing," "narrative writing," "expository writing," "reading as writing," the art of the essay," and -- assuming I could get into it -- a "seminar in writing" for "advanced undergraduates." All are within the English major.</p>
<p>I also looked at the Princeton Review's sample first-year schedule for English Comp majors, and it mostly consists of classes relating to literature and literary analysis. I think plain English might work out for me.</p>
<p>Yeah, hopefully. The route I think I want to take is from Science of Natural and Environmental Systems (my current major) to Communication to, ultimately, English. I might consider participating in the FALCON program during my junior or senior year if I have time and am still interested.</p>
<p>but I like the wu tang clan so I guess that counts for something.</p>
<p>*Oh, quick question: considering my plan to switch from CALS to CAS, would you guys recommend that I place out of part of my FWS with AP credit?</p>
<p>I like to write, so taking a full FWS would probably be an enjoyable GPA boost, but I could also use those credits to explore other courses and to ease my transition into CAS.</p>