ENG1101 Learning Outcomes
As an introduction to college writing for incoming first-year students, ENG1101 serves multiple purposes. The course is not only an introduction to the processes, rhetorical situations, structures and dialects of college writing, but also serves to introduce students to the discourse communities and practices of college courses in general. As a course that includes several different types of writing assignments–informal, scaffolded, formal, discipline-specific–across several different writing platforms–web, paper, notebook, mobile–and genres–personal essay, argumentative essay, research essay, blog post, letter, Tweet, proposal, bibliography, editorial, report–the course serves as a practicum for understanding college writing assignments and genres, critical reading practices, textual analysis, critical thinking, and composing and revision processes. While instructors are encouraged to develop their own sequences of assignments for the course, these all must relate to the three key learning outcomes for the course:
1/ understanding reading and writing as a processes and the discrete roles and functions of each step and stage in those processes;
2/ forming, stating, and supporting an argument with attention to the ethical use of sources;
3/ developing an awareness of the audience and purpose of each writing situation and its attendant stylistic, structural, and communicational/dialect features
Some suggested formal essay assignments, which will each include numerous pre-writing and drafting components, include a narrative essay, a thesis-based essay presenting an argument supported by claims and evidence, an annotated bibliography, and an overview of sources essay. Sample assignments and assignment sequences are available on the FYW@City Tech web site.
ENG1121 Learning Outcomes
An advanced writing course, ENG 1121 is a continuation of the exploration of the practices, processes, and genres from ENG 1101 with a focus on writing in response to and with textual evidence collected from multiple sources. With an emphasis on the discrete stages involved in the planning and execution of an argument-based research project, in ENG 1121 students refine their academic, critical, and informational literacy skills as they reinforce and extend their understanding of the rhetorical purposes and processes of college writing from ENG1101. Although the course can be an introduction to the disciplinary genres and guidelines of English Studies, the course’s primary aim is to help students further understand and complete projects and assignments involving the evaluation, synthesis, and integration of multiple sources on a single topic. Distinct from an Introduction to Literature course by its direct instruction related to constructing and presenting arguments involving textual evidence from multiple sources, ENG 1121 is an inquiry- and research-based writing practicum. Some suggested assignments include an Annotated Bibliography, a Synthesis of Sources Essay, a Research Proposal, and a Scaffolded Research Essay. Sample assignments and assignment sequences are available on the FYW@City Tech web site.
Overview/Explanation of Learning Outcomes in Respective Courses
FYW@City Tech is still in the process of creating materials to explain the distinctions and relationships between ENG1101 and ENG1121 with regard to the Learning Outcomes for the courses. In the interim, please refer to the Statement of Principles and Outcomes for the First Year Writing Program at Eastern Michigan University. Based on the same WPA Guidelines as City Tech’s Learning Outcomes, these principles and outcomes were updated by EMU’s Writing Program in June, 2014.
