Emphasizes those principles essential to the production of clear and effective, informative and persuasive/argumentative communication. Assignments will include a variety of communication exercises designed to engage students in activities that develop critical thinking, logical reasoning, and effective communication skills. Course work will include the writing of informative, persuasive, and critical essays and the presentation of informative and persuasive speeches. Thematically linked with the other first semester courses in the BIC, the course units are designed to provide students with the written and oral communication skills necessary to function effectively in university courses both within and outside the Interdisciplinary Core.