Courses and More
English 100, Basic Writing
This course is designed specifically for students who suffer from writing anxiety and/or who have struggled with writing in the past. Those who enroll in the course can expect to be introduced to skills and strategies that will be essential to success in English 101 and 102—the course sequence designated as fulfilling SIU Carbondale’s Core Curriculum composition requirement. However, English 100 is distinguished from the other first-year composition courses in a few ways: 1) students who begin in English 100 will remain with the same instructor for English 101, enjoying continuity of instruction; 2) students will compose fewer formal essays (though total pages produced may be similar) of formal writing and, therefore, will have more time to focus on formulating ideas, revising, and eliminating error in their papers; 3) students will enjoy more freedom in selecting topics for their research and writing. English 100 results in credit toward graduation but not toward fulfillment of the Core Curriculum composition requirement.
English 101, English Composition I (University Core Curriculum)
English 101 introduces students to various genres for writing that are common to academic and workplace environments. Students will be required to compose six major essays, five that will be subject to ongoing revision throughout the semester with feedback from instructors and peers. These papers will be submitted in a portfolio of the student’s best work at semester’s end, and this portfolio will constitute the bulk of the course grade. (Essay six is an in-class essay that is administered during the final exam period and is focused on a previously announced topic.) Students can expect to engage in quite a bit of reading in English 101 that becomes essential to modeling focal genres, providing content for the major essays, and understanding certain rhetorical concepts and composing skills/strategies. Additional class work will include completion of informal preparatory writing for the major essays, participation in small group activities and peer review, and whole class discussions. English 101 is the first course in the required Core Curriculum composition sequence.
English 101 Course Policies and Objectives
English 101 Proficiency Guidelines
English 102, English Composition II (University Core Curriculum)
While reinforcing the composing skills and strategies addressed in English 101, English 102 focuses more specifically on structuring formal arguments and on research strategies. Students enrolled in this course can expect to compose several essays, typically longer and more complex than those written in either English 100 or English 101. As in English 100 and English 101, however, this course will encourage students to capitalize on opportunities for revision based on feedback from both their instructors and their peers. Additional class work will include completion of informal preparatory writing for the major essays, independent research, reading in the course rhetorics, participation in small group activities and peer review, and whole class discussions. To enroll in English 102, students must have earned a “C” or better in English 101. English 102 is the second course in the required Core Curriculum composition sequence.
English 102 Course Requirements and Guidelines
English 102 Proficiency Guidelines
English 120H, Honors Advanced Freshman Composition. (University Honors Program and Advanced University Core Curriculum course)
As of Fall 2011, English 120 will assume the form of a theme-based rhetoric course that will involve students in intensive study of a controversial issue in modern society (as of spring 2009 certain sections of 120 began piloting this approach). The sequence of assignments will emulate the processes involved in seeing a substantive, long term research/writing project to fruition. Though the course will culminate in a “call-to-action” paper relevant to the course theme, several formal and informal preparatory writing assignments will be required in building toward the capstone assignment. Class work will include large- and small-group discussion of theme-based readings, as well as readings from the course composition textbook. Students will also regularly respond to each other’s work-in-progress and will present various aspects of their research to the rest of the class. To enroll in English 120, students must have earned a score of 29 on their ACT. Successful completion of English 120 fulfills, in itself, the Core Curriculum composition requirement.
English 120 Course Description
English 290, Intermediate Analytical Writing
This course marks a transition within SIU Carbondale’s composition curriculum to a focus on specialized academic discourse. Students enrolled in this course will study rhetorical practices and conventions distinguishing the discourses of various academic disciplines. In most sections of 290, as the course progresses, students will be able to focus specifically on individual areas of interest, presumably related to their declared majors or those they may be considering. Content readings will be academic in nature, primarily drawn from scholarly publications. Rhetorical readings will focus on the finer points of analysis (broached in 101 and 102) as they reflect the importance of this strategy to academic study. To enroll in English 290, students must have successfully completed the university’s Core Curriculum composition requirement. English 290 fulfills the College of Liberal Arts’ Writing Across the Curriculum requirement and is, therefore, required by many programs of study. Because the course is in high demand, students are well-advised to take it as early in their university careers as possible after completing English 101 and 102 (or English 120).
English 290 Course Description and Goals
English 291, Intermediate Technical Writing
A course in technical composition, English 291 engages students in the challenges of “practical” writing as they prepare for careers in applied technology, science, agriculture, business and various other fields. Technical writers often produce texts (e.g., instructional manuals, training manuals, project reports) that explain “technical” subjects or procedures to those who are unfamiliar with them. In such contexts, attention to accuracy, detail and concise expression is essential. Technical writers also are highly conscious of how visual elements enhance the information they are trying to convey, whether in print or electronic forms. Students in English 291 will engage in a variety of informal and formal writing activities that introduce them to the special considerations of technical writing as it is distinguished from various other types of writing. To enroll in English 291, students must have successfully completed the university’s Core Curriculum composition requirement. English 291 fulfills the College of Liberal Arts’ Writing Across the Curriculum requirement and is, therefore, required by many programs of study. Because the course is in high demand, students are well-advised to take it as early in their university careers as possible after completing English 101 and 102 (or English 120).