FYE: ENGL 185, Seminar on Exposition and Argument

Rationale

Effective writing is one of the communication skills necessary for successful progress in college and throughout one’s career. Talent in writing develops over time from repeated practice and an openness to self-scrutiny and improvement. The Seminar in Exposition and Argument—like other courses—is not an end in itself but will provide an intensive introduction to all of the skills that go into good writing: critical reading, framing arguments for different audiences, mechanics, style, and research. With this in mind, this seminar is taken in conjunction with the First Year Colloquia, providing the opportunity for shared readings, assignments, or related activities. The core curriculum will ask students to continue to refine their writing, but this course lays the foundation for the kinds of writing expected of students throughout college.

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Goals

1. Students will develop critical reading skills and use those skills in their writing.
2. Students will better understand the steps involved in the process of writing: gathering evidence, constructing arguments, testing and refining ideas, and polishing their prose.
3. Students will become proficient at developing, organizing, and sustaining ideas in written assignments.
4. Students will learn to bring appropriate sophistication to their diction and syntax and develop an appreciation for the careful use of language.
5. Students will learn the principles of documentation.
6. Students will learn the terminology associated with the discussion and evaluation of writing.
7. Students will receive instruction in Information Literacy, in partial fulfillment of the CAR Computing Requirement.

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Learning Objectives

In the Seminar on Exposition and Argument students will do the following:

1. Approach texts critically as objects of analysis and evaluation, not just as information;
2. Recognize specific rhetorical elements in written and oral discourse;
3. Use a variety of heuristics in generating ideas;
4. Understand various forms of writing (summary, paraphrase, critique, synthesis) as components of essays;
5. Learn to collaborate with classmates on a range of writing tasks, including textual analysis and editing;
6. Develop the ability to analyze their writing critically and to revise effectively;
7. Demonstrate an ability to revise their work on the global level of ideas, organization, and evidence and on the local level of word choice, syntax, and clarity.

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Criteria

This course will:

1. Lay a basis for writing terminology to be used throughout the Collegiate Curriculum;
2. Significantly engage students in writing, evaluating writing, and revising;
3. Provide various channels of feedback to a students about their writing;
4. Strengthen the student’s reading skills and vocabulary through textual analysis;
5. Provide practice in writing coherent paragraphs, formulating cogent theses, and structuring their arguments effectively;
6. Sequence assignments to engage students in writing tasks of increasing complexity.