|
Faculty Resources - English:
Course Outline - WR 123
COURSE TITLE: |
English Composition: Research Writing |
COURSE HOURS PER WEEK: |
4 |
COURSE NUMBER: |
WR 123 |
Lecture: |
4 |
COURSE CREDITS: |
4 |
Lec/Lab: |
|
COURSE PREREQUISITES: |
A passing grade (C- or better) in WR
122 |
Lab: |
|
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
While continuing the goals of WR 122, this course emphasizes skills needed to write the research essay that
supports an analytical and/or assertive thesis. WR 123 also emphasizes the critical reading and writing skills
involved in defining and researching a genuine problem of inquiry, as distinct from encyclopedic reporting.
Some sections may be discipline-specific.
Also available through Distance Learning.
GENERAL COURSE OUTCOMES:
Upon completion of this course, the successful student will be able to: |
These outcomes will be verified by the following assessments: |
A. Engage in and value a respectful and free exchange
of ideas. |
- At least 15 pages of polished, research-based writing in final draft copy.
AND
- One or more of the following: quizzes, journals
and notebooks, in-class discussions and
participation, bibliography assignment, informal
writing assignments, presentations, non-writing
research projects, conferences and peer review,
paper revisions.
|
B. Demonstrate critical thinking and reading skills:
- Actively read challenging college-level texts,
including: annotation, cultivation/development
of vocabulary, objective summary, identification
and analysis of the thesis and main ideas of
source material;
- Evaluate sources for authority, currency,
reliability, bias, sound reasoning, validity, and
adequacy;
- Research and synthesize disparate sources,
weighing various conclusions based on the
evidence presented in order to build a credible
research-based discussion;
- Develop a thesis or claim based on the
evaluation and synthesis of primary and secondary sources.
|
|
C. Make appropriate and effective rhetorical choices
during all stages of the writing process:
invention, drafting, revising, and editing:
- Use appropriate rhetorical strategies to support
an argumentative or position-based
thesis/claim in a research-based paper;
- Address issues of purpose and audience,
anticipating and preparing for reactions to
written work by audiences outside the
classroom;
- Choose appropriate language (voice, tone, style,
etc.) to persuade an informed and educated
reader or to assert a position taken by a writer.
|
|
D. Exercise Appropriate methods of development
and support:
- Demonstrate the ability to organize longer
research papers with an introduction, logically
arranged body paragraphs that develop the thesis
and synthesize information from a variety of
sources, and a conclusion;
- Utilize an organization that will reflect the
scope and nature of the thesis;
- Thoroughly develop and support the thesis with
a balanced and insightful presentation of
evidence;
- Demonstrate an ability to summarize,
paraphrase, and quote sources in a manner that
distinguishes the writer's voice from that of
his/her sources and that gives evidence of
understanding the implications of choosing one
method of representing a source's ideas over
another.
|
|
E. Demonstrate successful use of the research and
writing process:
- Use library resources (e.g., subject indexes,
online databases, etc.) to locate information,
recognizing that there are different resources
available for different purposes/subjects;
- Demonstrate successful use of the research
process: writing research proposals, formulating
incisive questions, conducting library and/or
field research, taking careful notes, and
compiling an annotated bibliography or review
of literature;
- Use some advanced research techniques to locate
sources (e.g., subject indexes, Boolean search
terms, etc.);
- Recognize the recursive nature of both research
and writing.
|
|
F.
Effectively and correctly use accepted
conventions and formatting:
- Demonstrate the ability to use Edited Standard
Written English (ESWE) to address an academic
audience;
- Use a writer's handbook and/or other resources
with increasing sophistication for style, grammar, citation, and documentation;
- Include index, pagination, and appropriately
integrated visuals into projects, as needed.
|
|
Course outline by major topic (see current course schedules for specific examples)
|
|