In this eight-week online course, students will analyze the use of dialogue in exemplary texts of all genres. Students will learn how to use dialogue to play out the conflicts between characters and to push story to its climax. Each week, students will be expected to read (or, in the case of film, watch) an assigned text. Students will post responses to targeted questions, engage in a weekly live-chat session with the instructor and fellow students, and submit a weekly analysis paper on the readings. All activities will focus on observing use of dialogue in the assigned pieces and analyzing how each author uses writing techniques to create effects.