Writing Studies Course Competencies

Introduction to Writing Studies (ENGL 272)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

  • Articulate, compare, contrast, and evaluate a number of possible definitions of writing, and explain how different conceptions of writing affect the way writing is practiced, produced, and evaluated
  • Describe your own writing processes and explain how your specific procedures allow you to succeed (and perhaps occasionally not succeed) at particular writing tasks
  • Explain the relationship between writing and technology by outlining the history of writing and considering how technological advances have influenced and changed—and continue to influence and change—the production and reception of writing
  • Describe the differences and similarities between formal and rhetorical definitions of genre, considering their benefits and drawbacks for both writers and readers
  • Explain how several different concepts of rhetoric are relevant to the practice of writing, and use the tools of rhetorical analysis to better understand particular writing tasks
  • Use the knowledge and skills described above to become a better writer, a better student, and a more flexible and adaptable candidate for future employment.

Creative Writing (ENGL 471)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

  • define, explain, and evaluate the concepts of civic discourse and civic participation and their role in the community;
  • identify, define, and apply critical literacy skills through a rhetorical analysis;
  • produce a rhetorical argument using critical literacy skills; and
  • identify, define, and research a perceived need in the community and use public discourse  to appropriately and effectively respond to the perceived need.