Outcomes Statements for English 101 and 102

The Outcomes Statements for English 101 and English 102 are intended to provide instructors and students with a sense of what kinds of knowledge students should be expected to acquire and demonstrate by the end of each course. The course outcomes, which were created through the participation of instructors in the Composition Program, are intended to create a sense of common purpose for the courses and clear expectations for the students. At the same time, the Outcomes have been written to maintain the flexibility in the program that allows individual instructors to continue the tradition of innovation and creativity in the classroom that is one of the great strengths of the University of Louisville Composition Program.

English 101

The focus of English 101 is recognizing and responding to different rhetorical situations and developing effective writing processes. A student in English 101 should expect to write and revise essays in multiple genres. Each essay should establish a clear purpose and sense of the writer’s presence and position. A student in English 101 should expect to write four to six papers during the term totaling about 18-20 pages of text.
Outcomes for English 101

Rhetorical Knowledge (responding appropriately to a variety of rhetorical situations)

By the end of English 101, students should demonstrate the ability to produce writing that

• Focuses on a clear and consistent purpose

• Analyzes and responds to the needs of different audiences

• Employs a tone consistent with purpose and audience

• Uses a variety of genres or adapts genres to suit different audiences and purposes

• Chooses evidence and detail consistent with purpose and audience

Critical Reading and Thinking (analyzing rhetorical positioning of texts)

By the end of English 101, students should demonstrate the ability to produce writing that

• Identifies the purpose(s) for which a given text may have been constructed

• Identifies the audience(s) for which a given text may have been constructed

• Demonstrates awareness of the role of genre in making meaning from a given text

• Summarizes argument and exposition of a text accurately

• Demonstrates understanding of knowledge and information as existing within a broader context

• Demonstrates awareness of multiple points of view

Processes

By the end of English 101, students should demonstrate the ability to produce writing that

• Demonstrates through reflection awareness of their own writing processes across multiple drafts

• Demonstrates strategies of invention, drafting, and revision

• Demonstrates ability to critique own work and work of peers

Conventions

By the end of English 101, students should demonstrate the ability to produce writing that

• Demonstrates knowledge of genre conventions in terms of organization, formatting, paragraphing, and tone

• Demonstrates control of such surface features as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling

• Uses conventions of structure and format appropriate to the rhetorical situation

Adopted 11/06

English 102

The focus of English 102 is creating and answering questions through research and writing that draws upon written texts and other sources. A student in English 102 should expect to create research questions, find relevant information to answer those questions, and write longer essays that use the information to create and support a clearly defined position on the topic involved. A student in English 102 can expect to write four to six papers during the term, including at least one extended research essay, totaling about 20 to 25 pages of text.
Outcomes for English 102

Rhetorical Knowledge

By the end of English 102, students should demonstrate the ability to produce writing that

• Demonstrates rhetorical purpose by creating a position relative to their research

• Analyzes the needs of the audience and the requirements of the assignment or task

• Demonstrates knowledge of genres employed in writing with research

• Provides supporting evidence from research sources

• Employs a tone consistent with purpose and audience

Critical Thinking and Reading

By the end of English 102, students should demonstrate the ability to produce writing that

• Identifies rhetorical strategies and summarizes main ideas of outside sources

• Places sources in context with other research

• Represents and responds to multiple points of view in research

Processes

By the end of English 102, students should demonstrate the ability to produce writing that

• Identifies a research question

• Develops a research strategy

• Identifies and evaluates sources

• Uses research sources to discover and focus a thesis

Conventions

By the end of English 102, students should demonstrate the ability to produce writing that

• Integrates sources with one another and with own analysis

• Demonstrates control over conventions of format and presentation for different purposes and different audiences

• Demonstrates an understanding of the purposes and conventions of documentation

• Demonstrates awareness of multiple methods of citation

Adopted 11/06