This composition course provides instruction in academic written communication. Students compose formal essays to learn to communicate effectively and to engage with issues and ideas. ENGL 100 is taught as ENGL & 101 with additional support. Students earn ENGL 100 or ENGL & 101 at course completion depending on demonstrated competencies. A passing grade in ENGL 100 earns 8 credits General Electives; a passing grade in ENGL & 101 earns 5 credits ENGL & 101 plus 3 credits General Electives. A grade of 2.0 in ENGL 100 is required to advance to ENGL & 101; a grade of 2.0 in ENGL & 101 is required to advance to ENGL & 102 or ENGL & 235. ENGL 100 does not substitute for any required college-level English Composition course.
Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge or skills:
- Demonstrate clarity of ideas, logical flow, and sound support of assertions in writing;
- Recognize and utilize the conventions of professional communication in student-generated essays;
- Recognize the conventions of professional communication in published non-fiction texts;
- Demonstrate MLA formatting, citation, proper use of source material, and documentation;
- Identify and apply some of the major rhetorical forms used in writing;
- Show an introductory understanding of academic voice/style;
- Edit with confidence and accuracy, and demonstrate control of English grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling;
- Compose short essays (500-1000 words) that are appropriate for an academic audience, are unified around a clear thesis, follow academic standards for critical thinking, incorporate adequate details and support, and show sound structure and mechanics;
- Apply research methodologies to find support for an argumentative thesis.
Institutional Outcomes
IO1 Communication: Students will be able to communicate clearly and effectively.
Course Content Outline
- Module 1—Audience Awareness
- Identifying and analyzing author’s purpose
- Clear and concise language use
- Identifying and analyzing audiences and their needs
- Module 2—Organization and Coherence
- Paragraph and essay structure
- Outlining
- Transitional devices
- Logical flow
- Module 3—Composing Essays: Suggested assignments
- Narrative
- Objective summary
- Exploratory
- Analysis
- Persuasive
- Module 4—Research Methodologies
- Developing a research question
- Applying key word and subject searches
- Evaluating information
- Annotated bibliography
- Module 5—Argumentation and Documentation
- Using sources responsibly
- Synthesis of sources
- Creating an informed thesis
- Research-supported Argument essay: required
Department Guidelines
- Writing Assignments will make up no less than 75% of the overall score.
- PO5 should be assessed: Students will be able to solve problems by gathering, interpreting, combining and/or applying information from multiple sources.