The core of the English Language and Composition course is writing and reading for analysis, synthesis, and argument. Through immersion in a variety of sources, students will learn:

• To think critically about a written text’s purpose, particularly in relationship to the Christian worldview,
• To analyze a written text with rhetorical understanding for content legitimacy, context, audience, and purpose,
• To synthesize ideas and integrate personal experience within a unique writing piece, for a specific purpose,
• To analyze and synthesize arguments, including their appeals, with the purpose of demonstrating effective written communication skills while constructing effective arguments, and
• To produce documents that effectively communicate with mature readers.

The purpose of the course is to acquire college-level rhetoric and composition skills for clear, effective writing, including:

• Proper use of English grammar, vocabulary, and writing conventions,
• Increased stylistic development through use of sentence structure, organizational techniques, illustrative detail, syntax, diction, tone, voice, and style,
• Effective use of analysis, synthesis, and argumentation,
• Ability to analyze and synthesize arguments, including their appeals, with the purpose of demonstrating effective written communication skills while constructing effective arguments, and
• Integration of the dynamics of mature writing for effectual communication of the Christian faith.

Course activities will focus on:

• Writing essays in several forms, proceeding through several stages with feedback from instructor and course peers,
• Writing in informal contexts (journaling, imitation exercises),
• Assignments in effective sentence and paragraph construction, literary techniques, figures of speech/devices, organization strategies, and writing contrasts,
• Analyzing visual media in relationship to written texts and as alternative forms of text (advertisements, streaming media, photographs, political graphics/cartoons),
• Reading and analyzing a wide variety of prose forms, styles, and genres for the author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques,
• Writing expository, analytical, and argumentative assignments based on readings representing a variety of prose forms, styles, and genres,
• Researching library and internet sources using specific strategies,
• Citing sources using the Turabian/Chicago style of citation, and
• Rewriting text based on feedback.