Brevity is the soul of. . . EN 101?

John Jay College's Andy Selsberg makes a convincing argument that less is more, especially when it comes to the first semester of freshman composition:

Like many who teach, I keep thinking the perfect syllabus is a semester away — with just a few tweaks, and maybe a total pedagogical overhaul. My ideal composition class would include assignments like “Write coherent and original comments for five YouTube videos, quickly telling us why surprised kittens or unconventional wedding dances resonate with millions,” and “Write Amazon reviews, including a bit of summary, insight and analysis, for three canonical works we read this semester (points off for gratuitous modern argot and emoticons).”

Like any good teacher, I know a good idea when I see it. Consider next year's syllabus revised.