General Education Requirement

Developing the Liberal Arts: Core Skills for Freshmen

Effective Writing II

 

Goals:

  1. Read and write the English language with clarity, effectiveness, and discernment. (1.3a)
  2. Demonstrate competence in critical and creative thinking. (1.3d)

 

Knowledge Objectives:

 

  1. Knowledge of terminology of literary criticism.  Examples would include genre, plot, character, theme, point of view, protagonist, and metaphor.
  2. Knowledge of basic vocabulary of argumentative writing. Examples would include claim, proof, counterargument, and fallacy.
  3. Knowledge of terminology for basic rhetorical concepts (including audience, purpose, thesis, etc.) and the writing process (including response, revision, and editing).
  4. Knowledge of basic terminology of grammar and punctuation, for editing purposes. Examples would include subject-verb agreement, conjunction, and semicolon.
  5. Familiarity with the Bridgewater College faculty’s plagiarism policy, “Ethics in Academic Work.”
  6. Understanding of the meaning of plagiarism, along with the vocabulary of using source material in their own writing. Examples would include documentation, citation, paraphrase, and summary.

 

Skills Objectives

 

  1. Ability to develop and sustain an original argument on a humanities topic, using appropriate terminology for discussion of literary texts.
  2. Ability to recognize and adopt appropriate rhetorical terminology in oral and written discussion of their own and others’ argumentative texts.
  1. Ability to reflect on and respond to their own and their peers’ writing for the purpose of facilitating revision for greater rhetorical effectiveness.
  2. Ability to revise and edit their own writing for greater rhetorical effectiveness.
  3. Ability to speak effectively about written texts in the context of class participation, individual oral reports, and/or group presentations.
  4. Ability to locate, evaluate, paraphrase/summarize, and integrate information from several sources effectively as supporting evidence in an 8- to 10-page analytical research essay.
  5. Ability to document accurately and ethically in MLA documentation format.

 

Praxis Objective

 

  1. Produce a writing portfolio of a minimum of five essays including an in-class essay, three short critical essays, and an extended analytical research essay.