Composition I

Course overview

Composition is more than just writing. It describes a set of important critical thinking skills, such as summarizing, evaluating, organizing, and arguing, which we communicate through writing and speaking. In this course we will identify the features of critical thinking that are important in college, and practice using them in writing for a range of academic purposes. At the end of the course, you should be able to articulate not only how well you understand a given piece of writing, but also what you would need to do to understand it further.

This course will be organized in short units that a) identify specific critical thinking skills, b) you to learn those skills through investigation and problem solving, and c) move you to the point where you can express those skills by writing about important topics. In other words, we will focus on learning how to think, and practice putting our thoughts into words. There will be a significant reading component to this class, along with hands-on learning in class and tutorials on research and research methodologies. Finally, there will be a major emphasis on learning how to evaluate your own writing and that of your peers.

In addition to learning a set of critical thinking and critical writing skills which will apply broadly to your college experience, the last third of the semester will present you with significant opportunities to explore how writing is used in your field(s) of interest. Writing might not be easy, but it can be satisfying – if we learn how to make it useful, and what to use it for.

Student learning objectives:

By the end of the class, you should be able to compose college-level writing, including but not limited to, academic discourse, that achieves a specific purpose and addresses an identifiable audience.

You should also be able to provide evidence of effective strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading a text in order to produce high quality finished prose.

Using those skills, you should be able to compose a successful argument that makes appropriate use of source material that is relevant and credible and that is referenced correctly.

Course requirements:

Attendance
You are required to attend class in order to pass the course. Attendance and participation may make up an unusually large percentage of your grade, relative to other classes you may be taking. Attendance will be taken each class and is really a measure of participation, along with homework. After three unexcused absences, further absences will count against the participation grade.

Participation
Class time will usually be spent actively investigating concepts and skills, whether in group work, discussion, or other guided activities. Your willingness to participate will be a crucial component to your learning in this course, as the learning focus will be on the process of creating quality writing – not just on quality as a product.

Sometimes you will be asked to complete homework that will be used during the following class’ lesson, and so will not receive a grade from me other than a check (completed), a minus (completed with errors), or a zero (not completed). Participation will thus be measured by a) your willingness to be prepared for, and participate actively in, class activities, and b) your grades on in-class assessments such as investigations. The course calendar will clearly show when in-class assessments will be.

Texts
Readings will be provided by the instructor, usually in pdf format.

Course work
As the course description makes clear, this course will emphasize learning a writing skill, practicing that skill, and then being evaluated on that skill. In order to give enough opportunities for you to move from learning to mastery, the first twelve weeks of the course are divided into four units that focus on specific critical thinking/writing skills. During the last four weeks of the course, you will put your knowledge into practice by designing and completing a research project, which will include significant opportunities for peer review.

Graded writing will come in the form of weekly/unit specific homework, investigations (in-class assignments that help you explore and demonstrate what you know regarding a given topic or skill), written reflections and self-evaluations, and lastly your research project and your written final. Additionally, expect to participate in class activities that will often require informal writing such as small group work. Extra credit opportunities will be given throughout the semester. Your final grade for the course will be calculated like this:

– Attendance and participation 30%
– Homework 30%
– Research project 15%
– Written final exam 25%