One of the things we started to stress in this course is that writing involves a lot of decisions. It can also be helpful to think of individual pieces of writing as creating a map to a decision. Maybe that's a decision about whether to rule in your client's favor. A legal brief creates a map to do that. Maybe that's a decision about whether to invest in a business. A prospectus creates a map to do that. Maybe it's even a decision about whether to give you a spot in a specific school, program, or organization. Think here of cover letters, admissions essays, and networking emails. The next series of classroom videos will explain the idea of writing as mapping in more detail. They will also highlight the role framing and word choice play in writing and in persuasion, more generally. You'll get to learn about the work of Nobel Prize winner, Daniel Kahneman, as well as the pioneering experiments done by Elizabeth Loftus on eyewitness testimony. You'll also be introduced to the Palestinian American poet, Naomi Shihab Nye. We'll be borrowing a concept from her that appears in a lovely poem she wrote about her grandmother. The concept is The Words Under the Words, and it's actually the title of the first chapter of the main book we'll be using, the name of which is the same as the name of our MOOC, Good with Words. Another place this concept shows up is in an additional set of materials we'll make available, which is a series of books called the Syntax of Sports. I wrote both Good with Words and the Syntax of Sports for courses I've taught at Michigan and Chicago. And we're very lucky that the wonderful people at Maze Books, who published them, are helpfully letting all of you have access to the web editions for free. Of course, if you prefer a print or Kindle edition, there'll be a link to show you how to get one. As far as completing the next set of assignments, I recommend you follow this order. Start by reading The Words Under the Words chapter in Good with Words, as well as if you want the optional reading from the Syntax of Sports. Then watch the series of classroom videos and finally, finish with the questions and exercises. That said, you're certainly welcome to move through these materials in any order you want. Later, we'll be looking at some helpful ideas about self-learning in a neat book called The End of Average by Todd Rose, who teaches at the Harvard School of Education. I'll give you a quick preview of one of its key lessons now, especially given how nicely it fits with the realization that people of all different ages, backgrounds, and commitment levels are taking this course along with you. To the extent you can, customize your education. Few syllabi were made with your particular skills, interests, and goals in mind. So take some control over how you learn and develop. If that means deviating from the default order in which this MOOC is set up, that is perfectly fine with me.