WRIT 440: Advanced Legal Writing
This course centers on current cases and oral arguments going before the California Supreme Court. In teams, students argue the very same cases, draft appellate briefs and conduct mock oral arguments, prior to the class visiting the California Supreme Court and watching the actual oral arguments live. The final writing project of the semester is an opinion for the cases they’ve seen, written as if they were the justices. In addition, USC also collaborates with Southwestern Law School for their Southwestern Amicus Project. WRIT 440 students research a United States case of public importance for which they believe Southwestern should write an amicus (friend of the court) brief. They then present their recommendation at Southwestern to a panel of law professors.
WRIT 440: Writing Comedy and Social Commentary
This course examines how being humorous allows authors and comics to tackle subjects in their work that might otherwise seem taboo, and how this freedom provides a unique opportunity for social commentary and critique. One particular emphasis is understanding how comedic authors balance the need to entertain an audience with their efforts to provide insight on controversial issues. Throughout the semester students will explore aspects of writing and argumentation by analyzing a range of comedic texts, and will have the opportunity to produce original work in a variety of comedic genres (rants; scripts; stand-up routines; sketches; etc.).