University of Wisconsin - Stout

Revised (9/00; 4/00; 3/99;5/89;5/87)

Critical thinking and effective writing are the primary objectives of the Freshman English sequence at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

To that end the English Department offers six courses: 090 Writing Workshop, 101 Freshman Composition, 102 Reading and Related Writing, 111 Honors English I, 112 Honors English II and 113 Honors Seminar I. About seventy percent of all freshmen take the standard sequence comprising English 101 and 102; following are the guidelines for these two courses.

English 090 Writing Workshop

Revised (4/00)

English 090, Writing Workshop, is a developmental composition course required of students who score below the designated cut-off on the Wisconsin English Placement Test for admission into English 101. Its goal is to prepare students to be successful in both English 101 and other college writing.

  1. Objectives: As a result of taking this course, a student should be able to understand, apply, and/or demonstrate
    1. Readiness to succeed in English 101, including
      1. confidence and willingness to explore ideas in writing
      2. ability to expand ideas to produce longer pieces of writing
      3. achievement of a "C" or higher in English 090
    2. An understanding of the basic terminology used in composition
    3. Conventions of standard American English, especially
      1. Grammatically complete sentences
      2. Subject/ verb agreement
      3. Parallel structure
      4. Pronoun use
      5. Punctuation
    4. The process of writing, including
      1. generating appropriate topics
      2. planning and pre-writing
      3. drafting
      4. revising
      5. editing
    5. Selected methods of organizing college writing
  2. Guidelines for Implementation of 090 Objectives
    1. The teacher will provide models of college-level writing
    2. To develop and improve their writing skills, students will complete a variety of informal writing assignments (journal writing, sentence-combining exercises, drafting, outlining, and self-critiques, for example). In addition, students will write complete essays totaling a minimum of 2000 words.
    3. In response to student writing, instructors will comment on the effectiveness of the writing as outlined in the objectives for English 090.
    4. Assessment will occur on an individual basis at the beginning, throughout, and at the close of the course to assist both in tailoring instruction to student needs and determining readiness to move on.
    5. All teachers of English 090 must meet classes, at the stipulated time and for the allotted time period. These guidelines may be considered in personnel decisions; major deviations from the guidelines must be cleared with the department chair.

English 101 Freshman Composition

Revised (3/99;5/89;5/87)

  1. Objectives: As a result of taking English 101, Freshman composition, students should be able to demonstrate in their own writing and discern in the writing of others
    1. Awareness of purpose and audience, and culture
    2. Analysis and synthesis
    3. Techniques of persuasion
    4. Perceptible and coherent organizational plans
    5. Unity (central idea, consistent viewpoint)
    6. Coherence of ideas (logic and transitions)
    7. Development, using varied and appropriate organizational patterns
    8. Support for generalizations (specific examples, explanation, logical defense)
    9. Effective use of resource materials:
      1. evaluation of sources.
      2. appropriate use of sources
      3. quotations, paraphrases, summaries
      4. appropriate citations
      5. works cited (or consulted) page
    10. Varied, effective, precise, and economical language
    11. Knowledge of the conventions of surface mechanics
  2. Guidelines for Implementation of 101 Objectives
    1. The teacher will assign sufficient reading from a variety of cultural perspectives to broaden students’ ideas and to generate new ones. The reading may be drawn from finished or working drafts by teachers, students and professional writers. Reading assignments will be reinforced by a combination or a choice of writing and discussion
    2. To develop and improve their writing skills, students will write polished papers totaling a minimum of 3500 words. These papers will include elements of analysis, synthesis and persuasive writing. In addition, preliminary writing, such as sentence combining exercises, journal writing, rush writing, brainstorming, clustering and multiple drafts, may be used to develop students’ fluency.
    3. In response to every paper students write (at least up to the 3500 word minimum), instructors will comment on the effectiveness of their writing as outlined in the objectives for English 101 above.
    4. The grades students receive on papers should be justifiable and comprehensible to them on the basis of the instructors’ written and oral comments about their writing. Each grade should be consistent with a grading policy stated and explained near the beginning of the semester.
    5. All teachers of Freshman English must meet classes, at the stipulated time and for the allotted time period. These guidelines may be considered in personnel decisions; major deviations from the guidelines must be cleared with the department chair.

English 102 Reading and Related Writing

Revised (3/99; 5/89; 4/84)

  1. Objectives: English 102 is a writing course which builds on the knowledge and applies the skills developed in English 101. As a result of reading and writing about literary texts from a variety of ages, cultural perspectives, genres, and styles students should demonstrate in writing their ability to
    1. Comprehend the literal level of literary texts.
    2. Perceive complexity and subtlety in literary texts and the means authors use to communicate those characteristics.
    3. Interpret literary texts:
      1. draw, support, and develop inferences based on their reading,
      2. analyze and synthesize literary texts,
    4. Persuasively present to an audience a thesis based on their reading.
    5. Conform to the writing standards described in the English 101 objectives.
  2. Guidelines for Implementation of 102 Objectives
    1. Students will do sufficient reading to
      1. broaden their knowledge of the writer’s art.
      2. increase their awareness of cultural perspectives,
      3. stimulate their ability to appreciate complexity and subtlety in literary texts and their relationship to the human condition.
    2. Students will be expected to discuss, comment on, and question the texts assigned.
    3. To develop and improve their writing, students will write finished essays totaling at least 2500 words in addition to any other writing the instructor assigns (journals, drafts, paragraphs practicing a single skill).
    4. Students will demonstrate their ability to deal with research materials on at least one assignment.
    5. In response to their writing assignments, instructors will comment on the effectiveness of their writing as outlined in the objectives for English 101 and 102 above.
    6. Course grades will be based on the instructor’s evaluation of finished papers, supplemented by tests, quizzes, discussion or other exercises assigned by the instructor.
    7. The grades students receive on papers should be justifiable and comprehensible to them on the basis of the instructors written and oral comments about their writing. Each grade should be consistent with a grading policy stated and explained near the beginning of the semester.
    8. All teachers of Freshman English must meet classes at the stipulated time and for the allotted time period. These guidelines may be considered in personnel decisions; major deviations from the guidelines must be cleared with the department chair.

English 111 Honors English

Revised (09/00)

  1. Objectives: Honors English focuses on the classics of world literature. English 111 studies works from ancient times through the seventeenth century. The course assumes a high reading level of the students and proven ability to compose college-level essays based on literature. As a result of studying world literature, students in Honors English should demonstrate their ability to:
    1. Comprehend the literal level of literary texts.
    2. Interpret literary texts from various cultures and time periods; for example, students should be able to draw, support, and develop inferences based on literary texts.
    3. Appreciate the variety of world literature and understand how literature is related to history and culture.
    4. Understand how literary techniques and devices offer further dimensions to the literal level of a text.
    5. Express their understanding and interpretation of texts in discussion and in proficiently written essays.
    6. Demonstrate their ability to write a documented paper using library sources.
  2. Guidelines for Implementation of 111 Objectives:
    1. Students will study a sufficient number of challenging works by major authors from several time periods and cultures to broaden their knowledge of literary art and to increase their awareness of perspectives from other cultures and times.
    2. Students will be expected to discuss, comment on, and question literary texts assigned.
    3. Students will show their mastery of texts and writing proficiency by composing essays and writing examinations on the texts. They will write a minimum of 2500 words.
    4. All teachers of Honors English must meet classes, at the stipulated time and for the allotted time period. These guidelines may be considered in personnel decisions; major deviations from the guidelines must be cleared with the department chair.

English 112 Honors Objectives

Revised (12/01)

  1. Objectives: Honors English focuses on the classics of world literature. English 112 studies works from the eighteenth century to the present and builds on the reading and writing skills developed in English 111. As a result of studying world literature, students in Honors English should demonstrate their ability to:
    1. Comprehend the literal level of literary texts.
    2. Interpret literary texts from various cultures and time periods; for example, students should be able to draw, support, and develop inferences based on literary texts.
    3. Appreciate the variety of world literature and understand how literature is related to history and culture
    4. Understand how literary techniques and devices offer further dimensions to the literal level of a text.
    5. Express their understanding and interpretation of texts in discussion and in proficiently written essays.
    6. Show an increased sophistication over English 111 in writing skills, strategies for essay development, reading comprehension, and insight into literary texts.
  2. Guidelines for Implementing Honors English 112 Objectives:
    1. Students will study a sufficient number of challenging works by major authors from several time periods and cultures to broaden their knowledge of literary art and to increase their awareness of perspectives from other cultures and times.
    2. Students will be expected to discuss, comment on, and question literary texts assigned.
    3. Students will show their mastery of texts and writing proficiency by composing essays and writing examinations on the texts. They will write a minimum of 2500 words.
    4. In response to their essays, students will receive written or oral comments from their instructors.
    5. The course grade will be based on the instructor’s evaluation of the students’ written work, supplemented by such tests, quizzes, and oral presentations as appropriate for the course. Assigned grades will be consistent with grading policies stated and explained at the beginning of the term.
    6. All teachers of Honors English must meet classes, at the stipulated time and for the allotted time period. These guidelines may be considered in personnel decisions; major deviations from the guidelines must be cleared with the department chair.