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What topics will I learn about in English Language and Composition?
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.
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