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Course: Introductory Writing
Department: English
Catalog Description: This course is designed to strengthen basic student writing. It includes the study of usage, mechanics, and sentence development. It involves intensive practice in writing clear unified paragraphs and includes practice in writing essays that indicate readiness to succeed in English Composition I.
NOTE: Credits earned in this course cannot be applied toward graduation.
At the end of the course, During the course, students and faculty may faculty will evaluate students should be able to:
Course Outcomes |
Outcomes Activities |
Assessment Tools |
| Gather information from personal experience and reading in order to generate ideas and supporting evidence for paragraphs and essays that will prepare for successful writing in English Composition I. |
• Observe people, places, objects, and events. (CT) • Prewrite lists. (W, CT) • Practice free writing about observations and memories. (W, CT) • Read to generate ideas. (W, R, CT) • Question using who, what, where, when, why, how. (W, R, CT) • Practice journal writing. (W, R, CT) |
• Prewriting: lists, free writing, questions, mind maps, etc. (W, R, CT) • Journals and reading logs (W, R, CT) • Oral feedback (CT, OC) |
| Assess information and ideas to discover connections and develop a controlling idea for a paragraph and/or essay. |
• Discuss relationships between ideas and supporting evidence. (W, R, CT, OC) • Practice writing of topic and thesis sentences. (W, CT) • Evaluate sample topic and thesis sentences. (W, CT) • Identify topic and thesis sentences in professional and student writing. (W, R, CT) • Relate reading and personal experiences. (W, R CT ) • Write and discuss responses to reading. (W, R, CT, OC, TS) |
• Topic sentence/supporting points outline (W, CT) • Thesis/topic sentence outline (W, CT) • Reading logs and journals (W, R, CT) |
| Write paragraphs controlled by a topic sentence and logically and fully supported. |
• Produce paragraphs that show mastery of paragraph form and understanding of the relationship between topic sentences and supporting evidence and examples. (W, CT, TS) • Produce paragraphs showing awareness of the reader by providing specific, concrete writing. (W, CT, TS) |
• Completed paragraphs showing topic sentence and supporting detail. (W, CT) |
| Write essays with a clear sense of beginning, middle, and end, supporting a focused thesis sentence. |
• Analyze examples of introductions and conclusions by peers and professional writers. (W, R, CT, OC, TS) • Practice outlining and mapping in class. (W, CT) • Develop a rubric for assessing student essays. (W, R, CT, TS) • Produce essays that show readiness for English Composition I. (W, R, CT, TS) |
• Topic sentence outlines (W, CT, TS,) • Essays (W, R, CT, TS) |
| Revise drafts of paragraphs and essays to improve organization, development, and clarity. |
• Revise draft after peer and/or professor review (W, R, CT, OC, TS) • Revise draft after meeting with a Writing Center tutor (W, R, CT, OC, TS) • Submit multiple drafts (W, R, CT, TS) • Revise using checklists (W, R, CT, TS) |
• Revised drafts. (W, R, CT, TS) • Revised drafts with notes about revision. (W, R, CT, TS) |
| Address specific weaknesses in Standard American English usage and edit paragraphs and essays to control error so that the reader is not distracted from content. |
• Use available resources in identifying and correcting errors in usage and grammar in student essays. (W, R, CT, OC, TS) • Complete usage exercises. (W, R, CT, TS) • Practice collaborative editing. (W, R, CT, OC) • Seek tutoring for usage errors from professor and/or Writing Center . (W, R, CT, OC, TS) |
• Lists of repeated grammatical and mechanical errors made by students in writings. (W, R, CT) • Quizzes and tests. (W, R, CT, OC) • Exercises in grammar and mechanics. (W, R, CT, OC) • Citations of rules for corrections. (W, R, CT) • Student essays (W, R, CT, TS) |
| Compose paragraphs and essays outside of class that are written through a process of gathering information, reflecting, crafting, and drafting. |
• Submit early drafts for peer and professor review. (W, R, CT, TS) • Use structural scaffolding to support composition process. (W, R, CT, OC, TS) • Discuss and critique model essays, both peer and professional. (W, R, CT, OC, TS) • Use the revision and formatting potential of word processing to write and revise. (W, R, CT, TS) |
• Paragraph and essay drafts (W, R, CT, TS) |
| Compose an organized, focused, supported and satisfactorily correct essay in class demonstrating the ability to write independently and to write within the time constraints of the classroom. |
• Implement writing skills for in-class essay writing. (W, R, CT) • Identify and list writing strengths and weaknesses. (W, CT) • Develop an individual plan for in-class editing (W, R, CT) |
• In-class essay (W, R, CT) |
| Understand issues and requirements of college writing in preparation for success in English Composition I. |
• Practice journal writing. (W, CT,) • Respond to revisions (W, R, CT) • Evaluate writing with peers. (W, R, CT, OC) |
• Journals of progress (W, R, CT) • Portfolio cover letter (W, R, CT, TS) • Conferences (W, CT, OC) |
| Be aware of and strengthen Core competencies for success in this and other courses. |
Referenced above |
Referenced above |
*Core Competencies: Critical Thinking (CT); Technology Skills (TS); Oral Communication (OC); Quantitative Skills (QS); Reading (R); Writing (W) |
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