English Department 102
Outcomes
The following are the English Department's Outcomes for English 102.
Should you wish to see how these outcomes fit into the sequence of composition
classes offered at Clark, click here.
1. Students should be able to design and execute a thorough search,
choosing appropriate tools to find information for a specific, complex project.
They should know when and how to seek help from librarians as well as be able to
use Clark’s library to access other library collections, trade publications,
subject-specific databases, and initiate interlibrary loans.
2. Students should be able to summarize and paraphrase a range of
materials, including academic or professional articles, within a single essay.
Formal documentation standards apply.
3. Students should be able to use a range of sources and references to
generate topics, create questions to focus research, develop an effective
note-taking system, and ultimately write research papers that use at least 10
sources. They should be able to integrate researched material smoothly into the
essay, subordinating sources to a thesis.
5. Students should be able to:
- Develop and organize a 2500-3000 word essay unified by a central idea
requiring systematic, substantial research (10 or more authoritative
sources).
- Support ideas with sufficient detail and evidence based on extensive
research.
- Create an effective essay organization, subordinating sources to a thesis.
- Edit and proofread to follow the conventions of standard English.
6. Students should be able to direct diction, voice, tone, and evidence
to an academic audience. They should be able to create a consistent voice when
using a variety of sources.
7. Students should be able to:
- synthesize MLA citation techniques in lengthy manuscripts
- present a reasoned and fair argument without deceptive or inflammatory
language.
- evaluate other writers’ credibility and authority.
8. Students should be able to:
- Listen and contribute pertinent comments to class
discussion without dominating the conversations
- Prepare for peer response activities
- In peer response, use the language of academic writing to
talk about papers (thesis, organization, transitions, etc.) and articulate
strengths and weaknesses in peers’ writing with specific references to
peers’ papers.
- In small groups, stay focused on work at hand, offer input
that is helpful and insightful, not distract by socializing, and
occasionally record and report.
9. Students should be able to:
- Consistently work to meet deadlines.
- Seek out instructor feedback and advice or seek out
assistance at the College Writing Center.
- Come prepared for conferences or tutoring sessions
- Use instructor and peer feedback to make improvement in
writing.
- Experiment with the different stages of the process.
- Use revision to strengthen elements such as thesis,
organization, and supporting evidence.
- Use editing to eliminate grammatical errors.
- Assess own papers for revision and editing.
- Apply learned skills to each new assignment as the quarter
progresses