English 102: Intermediate College Writing

English 102 focuses on creating and answering questions through research and writing using academic sources, both primary and secondary. A student in English 102 should expect to: develop and answer research questions; articulate a position relative to others on a topic; address audiences inside and outside the academic community; and compose, revise, and edit multiple assignments equaling about 20 to 25 pages of text, including at least one extended research project.

Student Learning Outcomes for English 102:

The Student Outcomes Statement for English 102 is 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 this course. The student learning outcomes are intended to create a sense of common purpose for the courses and clear expectations for the students. At the same time, the student learning 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.

Rhetorical Knowledge

Students will produce writing that responds appropriately to a variety of rhetorical situations. Their writing should:

• Articulate a purpose for research and their own position relative to the positions of others
• Analyze the needs of an audience and the requirements of the assignment or task
• Adapt an argument to a variety of genres and media to suit different audiences and purposes
• Use evidence appropriate to audience and purpose

Critical Thinking and Reading

Students will produce writing that abstracts, synthesizes, and represents the ideas of others fairly. Their writing should:

• Use evidence that responsibly represents other research and communities in and beyond the classroom
• Demonstrate an understanding of a text as existing within a broader context, with a distinct audience and purpose
• Represent and respond to multiple points of view in research and across community and cultural issues
• Select academic and nonacademic sources with discernment

Community Issues and Cultural Diversity

Students will produce writing that communicates an understanding of how communities and cultural categories are constructed.  Their writing should:

• Demonstrate awareness of multiple points of view
• Question existing assumptions about culture and community
• Describe actions being taken to address cultural and community issues
• Address concerns of diverse audiences

Processes

Students will produce writing reflective of a multi-stage composing and revising process. Their writing should:

• Use sources to discover and develop research questions and/or projects
• Reflect recursive composing processes and strategies across multiple drafts and research assignments
• Show evidence of research development through peer review and collaboration
• Evaluate the credibility and relevance of both print and digital sources

Conventions

Students will produce writing that strategically employs appropriate conventions in different writing situations. Their writing should:

• Use structural conventions such as organization, formatting, paragraphing, and tone
• Demonstrate control of surface features such as grammar, punctuation, and spelling
• Provide an understanding of the conventions of multimodal composition (in print and/or digital media) that comprise developing communication in the 21st century
• Cite the work of others appropriately

(Adopted Spring 2015)