Composition I

Composition I/ENG160 is our foundational writing course that focuses on an introduction to college-level critical thinking, thesis development and support, basic research and ethical citation. All of our courses are interdisciplinary (not literary) in focus and revolve around the rhetorical situation.

Here are some definitions of rhetoric to consider.

Course Description  

Training in critical reading, the process of composing, academic forms of writing, and computer literacy. Movement from expressive to expository writing. Papers assigned to develop particular writing techniques. A first-semester English course.  

Student Learning Outcomes 

By semester’s end, students will demonstrate the ability to 

  1. Write well in different rhetorical situations and modes, i.e., for different purposes, occasions, and audiences. 
  2. Understand and reflect on key concepts about writing and rhetoric (style, exigence, voice, invention, etc.). 
  3. Craft well-developed, well-organized, clear, and grammatical sentences, paragraphs, and essays.  
  4. Think and write as college students (reflecting, observing, explaining, comparing, summarizing, synthesizing, analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting).  
  5. Approach writing as a process (planning, shaping, drafting, revising, and editing).   
  6. Critique one’s own writing and the writing of others through reflection on important concepts and issues in composition studies. 
  7. Evaluate sources of information using criteria such as currency, authority, objectivity, accuracy, specificity, and relevance. 
  8. Use information ethically and legally.
  9. Develop oral presentation skills.  
  10. Develop computer and library information literacy skills.
  11. Succeed academically in college-level writing and go on to Writing & Rhetoric  

Assignment Policy 

Students must COMPLETE the following to PASS the course:  

    • All four of the formal writing assignments    
    • Oral presentation   
    • Library session/module  
    • Consistent participation (may include weekly quizzes, blogs, discussion boards, journals, short written responses)
    • ePortfolio via Hawksites

 

ENG160 Assignments constitute these general categories to provide a framework and highlight certain skills in each paper or project:

Mode 15%; Genre 15%; Open 20%; Situation 15% 

Each work will have a clear focus, and consider format, audience, and the larger situation to which we, as authors, are responding to and why; see Purdue OWL for more on purpose. 

*Students should keep separate copies of paper drafts and revisions to illustrate process in portfolios.

 

Oral Presentation:

For ENG 160: A minimal oral component of 3-5 minutes is required (e.g., an interview, a one-point speech, a discussion leader, a narrated set of slides, an advertisement) 

 

Here is a sample syllabus:

ENG160 40 JD

More recent samples are available upon request.