This composition course provides instruction in academic written communication by having students compose formal essays, with the goal of teaching students to communicate effectively and engage with issues and ideas.
Prerequisites
Placement exam or 2.0 in English 099 or English 094.
Quarters Offered
Fall,
Winter,
Spring,
Summer
Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge or skills:
- Demonstrate clarity of ideas and sound support of assertions
- Show logical flow and creative or divergent thinking 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
- Comprehend proper use of source material, as well as MLA citation and documentation
- Identify some of the major rhetorical forms used in writing.
- Show an understanding of MLA format, including incorporation of source material and citation.
- Show an introductory understanding of academic voice/style.
- Edit with confidence and accuracy.
- 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.
Institutional Outcomes
IO1 Communication: Students will be able to communicate clearly and effectively.
Course Content Outline
- The course will use non-fiction texts primarily as source material and secondarily as models.
- Assigned essays and assessments thereof will focus on the following specific skills:
- The importance of articulating goals
- using information to support arguments
- interpreting arguments in order to draw conclusions
- understanding the implications of a line of reasoning
- contrasting ideas and arguments with a view toward supporting argumentative stances
- integrating information from outside sources in a way that successfully conveys the source of those ideas, and uses them to achieve a stated goal
- Essays may address these skills individually, or in a combined fashion, but all of the skills must be addressed by the end of the term.
- The course must require that students draft, revise, edit and proofread formal essays which are composed in electronic format.
- The course must provide instruction in principles of academic writing and audience awareness, including supporting assertions, demonstrating logical flow, following the conventions of professional communication, and using proper citation format.
- At least one of the assigned essays must make use of research citation format. Instructor must design this assignment in a way that discourages plagiarism, and must not allow students to choose their own topic at random.
- In-class writing may be used as a tool, but with the understanding that class meetings are intended for writing instruction rather than writing practice.
- Instructors may choose to include grammar, mechanics, and usage as part of the core discussion material when necessary, but these are to be viewed as “supplemental” material. The primary goal of the course is to teach students to write cohesive essays which conform to the standards stated in 2 and 5 above.
- Film may be used as a supplement to written texts, or as the focus of one instruction unit, but at least 75% of the assigned essays will focus on written works.
Department Guidelines
- Students will write the number of essays required by the instructor, and may be required to participate in group exercises, or complete quizzes and tests.
- Grades will be established through consideration of formal essays (which may be weighted), quizzes, and attendance. At least 75% of the overall grade will be based on formal essays completed outside of class.
- Grades may be lowered for late work or lack of active participation. Some instructors may require individual conferences.
PO5 should be assessed: Students will be able to solve problems by gathering, interpreting, combining and/or applying information from multiple sources.