Writing & Linguistics Department

Course Requirements Outcomes Assessment Overview Lab Schedules

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ENGL 1101 - Composition I
Course Requirements1		 ENGL 1102 - Composition II
Course Requirements2
Course Description:
Composition I is a course focusing on skills required for effective writing in a variety of contexts, with emphasis on exposition, analysis, and argumentation, and also including introductory use of a variety of research skills. 		Course Description:  
A composition course that develops writing skills beyond the levels of proficiency required by ENGL 1101, that emphasizes interpretation and evaluation, and that incorporates a variety of more advanced research methods. Prerequisite: A minimum grade of "C" in ENGL 1101 or equivalent.
Course Goals and Standards:
 Students in ENGL 1101 will
  • focus on using writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating through extensive reading and writing practice ... [and]
  • learn the processes writers use and incorporate those processes in their own writing.
     

More specifically, students will learn to:

  1. Focus on a purpose
  2. Use conventions of format and structure appropriate to various situations
  3. Understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate sources
  4. Use a variety of technologies in the writing process
  5. Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading
  6. Demonstrate the competent use of syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
 Course Goals and Standards:   ENGL 1102 builds on ENGL 1101 continuing the focus
  • on learning the processes writers employ and
  • on using writing for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating through extensive reading and writing practice.  

In ENGL 1102, students will learn to:

  1. understand how the rhetorical situation shapes reading and writing
  2. write in several genres*
  3. generate texts through a series of tasks including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing primary and secondary sources
  4. integrate their own ideas with those of others
  5. use a variety of formats and technologies to address a range of audiences as appropriate
  6. follow appropriate conventions of usage, vocabulary, format, and documentation
  7. demonstrate competent use of syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. understand how the rhetorical situation shapes reading and writing  

* For the purposes of this document, "genre" is used to refer to a distinctive category of discourse of any type with or without literary aspirations.

Rationale:
The goals of the Regents' Core Curriculum applicable to ENGL 1101 are as follows:
  • To provide students with a broad background in general education
  • To develop written and oral communication skills and critical thinking within the broader academic context
  • To be cohesive and provide entry into a larger number of specialized fields.
 Rationale:  
As a core course, ENGL 1102 contributes to the principles and framework specified by the Board of Regents. The following principles are particularly applicable to ENGL 1102:
  • To develop written and oral communication skills and critical thinking within the broader academic context
  • To permit opportunities for interdisciplinary learning To integrate international components that increase global awareness and introduce students to different cultural perspectives
  • To include an informed use of information technology.
  • To be cohesive and provide entry into a larger number of specialized fields.
Types of Writing:
 ENGL 1101 assignments should include:
  • practice in composing a variety of expository, argumentative, and analytic texts for different audiences and situations.
  • introduction to the broad range of rhetorical strategies central to academic writing,
  • writing totaling 20 - 30 pages or 6000 - 8000 words for the semester.
  • tasks associated with process and/or revision.

Informal writing activities may include journals, emails, electronic bulletin board posts, invention activities, and peer responses, among others.
Recommended formal assignments include those emphasizing narration, analysis, argument, explanation, summary and documentation.
Timed, in-class writing assignments may be appropriate as a component of this course, but they will not be the sole or principal means for assessing student writing.
At least four evaluated assignments will be taken through multiple drafts to the final draft stage in order to demonstrate that students' writing meets the course and Regents Core Curriculum goals.
 
Final Examination:
The students' final exam shall demonstrate an understanding of principles of writing covered in the course and a significant step toward achieving the First-year Composition Outcomes.

The exam may be a new writing assignment, a revision of an earlier paper, or a reflection on writing included as part of a writing portfolio.

The weight of the final exam will be up to the individual instructor but should count no more thatn 20% of the total grade for the course.

Students must earn a C or higher in order to enroll in English 1102.

While in English 1101, students must attempt the Regents’ exam, unless they meet Board of Regents’ exemptions listed on the Registrar’s website, in order to enroll in English 1102.

 Types of Writing:
ENGL 1102 assignments will include practice in composing a variety of texts more complex than those written for ENGL 1101.

Assignments will include formal and informal types of writing totaling 20 -30 pages, or 6000-8000 words.

Students will compose 3-6 final, distinct writing projects, at least 3 of which will have been taken through multiple drafts and 2 of which integrate sources.

Many types of writing activities, informal and formal, may contribute to the total pages, including tasks associated with process and/or revision, summary, reading response/reaction papers, analysis, synthesis, argumentation/persuasion, annotated bibliography, proposals, editorials, interpretation/ evaluation, self-assessment/letter to readers, and on-line genres.
 
Final Examination:
The students' final exam shall demonstrate an understanding of principles of writing covered in the course and a significant step toward achieving the First-year Composition Outcomes.

The exam may be a new writing assignment, a revision of an earlier paper, or a reflection on writing included as part of a writing portfolio.

The final exam will count no more than 20% of the total grade for the course.

In order to meet Board of Regents requirements for completing the sequenced English 1101 & 1102 in Area A of the core, students must earn a grade of “C” or higher in English 1102.
Other Information:
ENGL 1101 and 1102 are courses in writing, not grammar. Those with serious grammatical or mechanical problems may have difficulty meeting the course goals and are advised to review a writing reference book. Consultants in the University Writing Center (Room 1119 in the Forest Drive Building) can offer a wide range of valuable assistance with writing projects. Free tutoring is also available in the Academic Success Center.
Academic Integrity:
All members of the academic community recognize the necessity of being honest with themselves and with others. The integrity of the educational experience is diminished by cheating in class, plagiarizing, lying, and employing other methods of deceit. (See Student Conduct Code for definitions of Academic Dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarizing.) None of these should be used as a strategy to obtain a false sense of success. The need for honest relations among all members of the community is essential. Faculty will hold students responsible for academic integrity and will demand academic honesty on all work for the course. The instructor retains the right to set the minimum "academic" penalty for academic dishonesty in a course.

These core courses also address the mission of the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences (CLASS):

Committed to excellence, innovation, and the pursuit of knowledge, the primary goal of the College is to foster a dedication to investigation and creativity within liberal arts and social science disciplines. The departments encourage students to analyze the historical, cultural, philosophical, and technological foundations of their disciplines (http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/about_college.php).