Overall+Writing+Course+Outcomes+2.0



**// OVERALL //**** WRITING SEQUENCE LEARNING OUTCOMES ** **prepared by the Composition Committee** **APRIL 2010**


 * //At levels appropriate for each writing course,//** **students’ goals will be to**


 * 1.) Effectively implement writing processes:**


 * interpret production of a document in terms of a process strategy;


 * apply a repertoire of invention, arrangement, composing, and revision/editing strategies to a variety of communication contexts;


 * implement appropriate technologies effectively in composing processes;


 * evaluate the need for revision in the student’s own work and in the work of others; apply revision and editing strategies to the student’s own work;


 * generate effective drafts in response to assigned prompts;


 * 2.) Apply critical acumen when reading and writing college- and/or professional-level texts:**


 * recognize and, in turn, analyze audience accommodation, purpose, and persuasive strategies in a text, printed or visual;


 * interpret and select appropriate genre, content, organization, and diction for a given rhetorical situation;


 * differentiate appropriate logical and emotional persuasive appeals in a given rhetorical situation to establish students’ own credibility, their //ethos//;


 * design an effective research strategy for an issue employing a range of sources appropriate within students’ disciplines;


 * synthesize information from a range of sources to create a relevant stance in a given rhetorical situation;


 * 3.) Design a stylistically fluent and technically accurate document at the college and/or professional level:**


 * extrapolate from academic and/or professional texts appropriate disciplinary writing styles;


 * apply graphic and design principles to support the message of a text (i.e., overall layout, headings, tables, charts, graphs, technical illustrations, and photograph inclusions);


 * implement effective strategies for revising and editing texts suitable for classroom circulation, on-line publication, and/or workplace use;


 * create texts that demonstrate enhanced fluency and distinctiveness in writing styles pertinent to students’ diverse coursework and/or disciplinary specializations.

**__ MEASURABLE PRACTICES FOR SPECIFIC WRITING COURSES __**


 * __ENGLISH 010__ __FUNDAMENTALS OF WRITING__ __Measurable Practices__**

At the conclusion of Fundamentals of Writing, students will effectively and appropriately


 * 1.) in regard to writing processes for paragraphs and short essays,**


 * identify and implement phases in the writing process:

Ø //invention// (prewriting strategies such as freewriting, outlining, brainstorming individually and in groups, applying the journalist’s questions and the topics of arguments such as cause, comparison, and definition to discover ideas);

Ø //arrangement// (outlining or using “discovery drafting” to find appropriate shapes for texts);

Ø //composition// (drafting texts in response to requests for specific kinds of writing);

Ø //revision// (returning to the draft and “seeing” it again to evaluate the focus, development, and arrangement of a document—re-writing according to those needs); and

Ø //editing// (avoiding errors and inappropriate word choices that detract from the meaning and attractiveness of a text);


 * apply computer technology effectively in composing processes;

· implement effective collaborative writing strategies;


 * critique student’s own writing methods (i.e., journal on discovery of one’s own writing processes);


 * distinguish the revision needs in the work of other writers;


 * 2.) in regard to critical awareness when reading and writing,**


 * identify electronic and print resources for locating and supporting texts;


 * identify central and supporting ideas in primary and secondary texts;


 * analyze texts on sentence and paragraph levels for rhetorical and/or aesthetic features;


 * distinguish the differences between formal and colloquial language, written and oral language;


 * implement a range of patterns for developing paragraphs (i.e., description, comparison, illustration, narration);


 * generate adequate support for claims to meet the needs of specific audiences;


 * 3.) in regard to stylistic fluency and technical accuracy,**


 * identify and select specific words to express precise meaning for academic and other real-world audiences;


 * implement in texts the language, grammar, usage, and punctuation appropriate for a community of readers;


 * apply subordination and coordination when selecting ways to emphasize ideas;


 * implement effective strategies for revising and editing to produce texts suitable for classroom circulation or on-line publication in a class anthology.


 * __ENGLISH 110__ __COMPOSITION__ __Measurable Practices__**

At the conclusion of Composition, students will effectively and appropriately


 * 1.) in regard to writing processes,**

Ø //invention// (freewriting, looping, clustering, listing, outlining, brainstorming individually and in groups, using the journalist’s questions and the //topoi// to discover ideas);
 * produce texts that exemplify facility with

Ø //arrangement// (outlining, employing discovery drafting, preparing descriptive outlines from notes taken from research materials);

Ø //composition// (draft texts fluently in response to requests for specific kinds of writing);

Ø //revision// (returning to the draft and “seeing” it again to evaluate the focus, development, and arrangement--revising according to those needs); and

Ø //editing// (distinguishing errors and inappropriate word choices that detract from the meaning and attractiveness of a text);


 * implement effective collaborative writing strategies;


 * apply technology effectively in composing processes;


 * evaluate the need for revision in one’s own work and in others’ writing through guided editing (i.e., peer evaluation sheets, revision checklists, oral presentations);


 * 2.) in regard to critical awareness when reading and writing,**


 * identify rhetorical situations represented in print, verbal, film, and electronic texts;


 * illustrate a central idea in a text through selection of an effective organizational pattern;


 * differentiate as a basis for a document a valuable idea that moves beyond general topics, clichés, or common knowledge;


 * select and apply pertinent ideas in primary and secondary sources to the development of written ideas;


 * distinguish and apply effective strategies of argumentation and/or creative production appropriate to a given rhetorical context;


 * analyze texts for effectiveness in addressing audience’s needs, including support, genre, rhetorical appeals (//logos//, //pathos//, and //ethos//), tone, and authorial stance;


 * 3.) in regard to stylistic fluency and technical accuracy,**


 * illustrate proficiency with a variety of sentence structures, among them subordination and coordination, to emphasize ideas;


 * distinguish and implement the grammar, usage, documentation style, and punctuation appropriate for a particular audience;


 * select and implement appropriate, effective strategies for revising and editing to produce a proficient text suitable for class circulation and/or on-line publication, such as in a first-year writers’ anthology.


 * __ENGLISH 311__** **__ADVANCED COMPOSITION__ __Measurable Practices__**

At the conclusion of Advanced Composition, students will effectively and appropriately


 * 1.) in regard to facility with writing processes,**


 * interpret production of diverse discourses in terms of their process demands;


 * implement a repertoire of invention, arrangement, composing, and revising/editing strategies to the diverse communication contexts students select;


 * apply strategies for effective collaborative writing, including web-based collaboration;


 * distinguish and apply pertinent technologies to composing diverse texts;


 * critique peers’ written drafts effectively by role-playing as intended readers;


 * 2.) in regard to critical acumen when reading and writing professional-level discourses,**


 * interpret the ways in which rhetoric manifests genders, races, cultures--entire worlds;


 * extrapolate rhetorical principles in real-world situations, in particular in everyday oral, written, and visual texts in the academy, the workplace, technology, home-life, and the media: articulate how writing functions (and has functioned) both in students’ own lives and the world around them;


 * apply the metadiscourse of rhetoric to analyses of both students' texts and those of other writers;


 * analyze the particular demands of global communication by reading and evaluating online writing venues (e.g., wikis, blogs, websites, etc.) that provide students global audiences with diverse needs;

· distinguish in their discourses a clearly articulated value system, incorporating ethical standards and practices in their writing to communicate in an ethically responsible manner;


 * distinguish and implement effective choices in regard to content, focus, form, argumentative design, audience, conventions, and language use to create diverse texts typical of advanced study in rhetoric, such as memoirs or other varieties of creative non-fiction; Classical and/or Rogerian discourses; varieties of public discourses; ethnographic case studies; innovative, multi-genre researched writing; summaries, abstracts, and literature reviews; and texts designed for websites, wikis, and blogs;


 * design strategies for researching, interpreting, and responding to information and arguments from both original research and scholarly publications in students’ diverse fields;


 * 3.) in regard to stylistic fluency and technical accuracy at the professional level,**


 * extrapolate from professional-level texts and public discourses appropriate writing styles applicable to students’ various disciplinary specializations;


 * distinguish writing conventions specific to professional writing contexts from those that transfer across writing contexts;


 * plan effective strategies for revision and editing to produce texts suitable for circulation and/or publication in the academy, the workplace, and public arenas.


 * __ENGLISH 312__ __TECHNICAL WRITING__ __Measurable Practices__**

At the conclusion of Technical Writing, students will effectively and appropriately


 * 1.) in regard to facility with writing processes,**


 * interpret production of technical documents in terms of their process demands;


 * apply a repertoire of invention, arrangement, composing, and revising/editing strategies to a variety of technical communication contexts;

· implement strategies for effective collaborative writing, including web-based collaborations; · distinguish and apply pertinent technologies to composing technical documents; · critique peers’ written drafts effectively by assuming a role in the audience the technical communication is addressing;


 * 2.) in regard to critical acumen when reading and writing professional-level technical discourses,**

· identify rhetorical situations technical communicators face in addressing technicians, managers, experts, and non-specialists; · identify genres of technical documents appropriate for the needs of various audiences; · distinguish and select support for claims from researching trade and scholarly publications; · produce effective modes of discourse typical of technical writing, such as electronic and/or hard-copy letters, memoranda, formal reports, short informal reports, manuals, instructions, informational reports, summaries, abstracts, proposals, literature reviews, and material for discipline-specific websites; · produce texts that demonstrate language and values that define the discourse community of the student’s technical discipline;


 * 3.) in regard to stylistic fluency and technical accuracy at the professional level,**

· apply design principles when preparing tables, charts, graphs, technical illustrations, and photograph layouts for supportive inclusion with print texts; · implement effective strategies for preparing and delivering oral presentations; · select and implement effective strategies for revising and editing to produce texts suitable for the technical writing workplace.


 * __ENGLISH 313__ __JOURNALISM__ __Measurable Practices__**

At the conclusion of Journalism, students will effectively and appropriately


 * 1.) in regard to facility with writing processes,**


 * interpret production of different kinds of journalism in terms of their process demands;


 * apply a repertoire of invention, arrangement, composing, and revising/editing strategies typical of journalistic discourses—particularly in relation to writing on-line and accommodating deadlines;

· implement strategies for effective collaborative writing, including web-based collaborations;


 * distinguish and apply pertinent technologies to composing and distributing journalistic texts;

· critique peers’ written drafts effectively by assuming the role of the intended readership;


 * 2.) in regard to critical acumen when reading and writing professional-level journalism,**

· identify in journalistic discourses audiences’ needs and, in turn, apply a clear sense of purpose and intended consequences, recognizing that writing can produce unintended consequences as well; · identify the discourse features that distinguish students’ own field and institutional community from others, such as, for example, the diverse discourses of science writing, consumer protection reports, theatrical reviews, or sports reporting; · illustrate in speaking and in writing an understanding of the professional literature of students’ field of journalistic study; their perspectives on the practices and communication of people working in their field; and the life and issues of the larger world of journalism and technology; · implement effective professional strategies for planning, conducting, and drafting oral and/or electronic interviews; · distinguish and select strategies for researching and reporting, including both methodically verifying sources and using information from diverse resources to verify and support claims; · distinguish in their journalistic writing a clearly articulated value system, incorporating ethical standards and practices in their writing to communicate in an ethically responsible manner; · produce effectively modes of discourse typical of journalism: electronic and/or hard-copy informational articles, feature articles, interviews, reviews, editorials, sports reporting, and obituaries; correspondence writing for electronic news services, websites, wikis and blogs; students’ own websites, wikis, and blogs;
 * analyze the particular demands of global communication by reading and evaluating online writing venues (e.g., wikis, blogs, websites, etc.) that provide students global audiences with diverse needs;


 * 3.) in regard to professional-level stylistic fluency and technical accuracy,**

· apply design principles in regard to coordinating tables, charts, graphs, technical illustrations, and photographs with print texts in page layouts; · implement rhetorical sensitivity in regard to diction and document design for diverse populations--sensitivity to public discourse conventions; · implement effective strategies for revision and editing to produce texts suitable for circulation and/or publication in newspapers, magazines, journals, blogs, websites, and other electronic and/or hard-copy print venues.


 * __ENGLISH 316__ __BUSINESS WRITING__ __Measurable Practices__**

At the conclusion of Business Writing, students will effectively and appropriately


 * 1.) in regard to facility with writing processes,**


 * interpret production of business documents in terms of their process demands;


 * apply a repertoire of invention, arrangement, composing, and revising/editing strategies to a variety of business communication contexts;

· implement strategies for effective collaborative writing, including web-based collaborations; · critique peers drafts effectively by role-playing as an intended business reader;
 * implement necessary changes for effective business discourses in a timely, deadline-driven fashion;
 * distinguish and apply pertinent technologies to composing and distributing business texts;


 * 2.) in regard to critical acumen when reading and writing business documents,**

· identify in business discourses audiences’ needs and, in turn, apply a clear sense of purpose and intended consequences, realizing that writing can produce unintended consequences as well; · identify the discourse features that distinguish students’ own field and institutional community from others, such as, for example, the diverse discourses of economics, finance, marketing, management science, or accounting; · identify and select effective strategies for researching and reporting business and scholarly information from trade and scholarly publications to support claims; · illustrate in speaking and in writing an understanding of the professional literature of students’ field of study; their perspectives on the practices and communication of people working in their field; and the life and issues of the larger world of business and technology; · distinguish in business writing a clearly articulated value system, incorporating ethical standards and practices in their writing to create business communications in an ethically responsible manner; · design an effective job search strategy with the necessary documents (cover letters, resumes, letters of thanks, letters of resignation), appropriate use of on-line social and professional networking sites, and plans for the interview process; · produce effectively modes of discourse typical of writing in business contexts: electronic and/or hard-copy letters, memoranda, informal reports, formal reports, recommendations, summaries, abstracts, proposals, literature reviews; correspondence writing for websites, wikis and blogs; students’ own websites, wikis, and blogs;
 * analyze the particular demands of global business communication by reading and evaluating online writing venues (e.g., wikis, blogs, websites, etc.) that provide students global audiences with diverse needs.


 * 3.) in regard to stylistic fluency and technical accuracy at the professional level,**

· apply design principles in regard to preparing tables, charts, graphs, technical illustrations, and photograph layouts for supportive inclusion with print text; · implement effective strategies for oral presentation planning, drafting, and delivery; · implement effective strategies for revision and editing to produce texts suitable for circulation and/or publication in the workplace.