Writing Seminar: The Personal Essay (1). This class helps students to develop their reading, writing, and thinking skills for college-level work by focusing on the personal essay as a vehicle for addressing the following topics: how your personal background might relate to your decision to come to Beloit; your observations and experiences in your first semester at Beloit; and exploration of potential pathways for the terrain ahead (such as areas of study and social life) and its possible relevance to your life after Beloit. Reading and research will provide both rhetorical models of diverse writing styles and perspectives about a range of topics to inform and enrich your own thinking and writing about the college experience. Throughout the semester we engage in a regular collaborative writing practice on all aspects of effective writing process.