ABS: Department of English

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First-Year Writing @ SVSU

Welcome to the First- Year Writing @ SVSU Web Site. This website is a resource for teachers and students to acquaint themselves with the goals of the two first-year writing classes offered by the English department, English 080 and English 111. If you would like information on other writing and writing intensive courses at SVSU, please take a moment to visit SVSU's Writing Program site.

We have developed our English 080 and English 111 courses into a comprehensive First-Year Writing Program with common objectives, practices, methodologies, textbooks, analytic grading rubrics, plagiarism standards, and program assessment procedures. Our program also sponsors the Robert S.P. Yien First-Year Writing Awards and assists in publishing a journal of the winning essays.

Most entering freshman are placed into English 111: Composition I. Students are placed in English 080: Writing Skills if they have received a score of 15 or below on the English portion of the ACT, or they are placed in the class based on the results of a writing sample administered by the Office of Academic Advising. Students can place out of English 080 in two ways: 1.) Via an in-class writing sample administered the first class period 2.) Successful completion of English 080 with a grade of “pass.”

English 111 Course Description

English 111: Composition I (3) Frequent writing assignments to produce informal and formal texts, with emphasis on academic thinking and writing. Develops effective writing processes, from inventing and investigating through organizing, drafting, revising, and editing. Helps students meet the needs of their readers. Includes workshop approaches to develop students' ability to analyze and evaluate their own writings as well as the writings of others. Prerequisite: "P" grade in ENGL 080 or satisfactory performance on Course Placement Test in writing.

English 111 Course Outcomes

The student who successfully completes English 111 will be able to:

  1. Use writing processes that develop exploratory drafts into revised prose for specific audiences, including the ability to:
    1. Generate, select and focus writing topics
    2. Plan, organize, and structure writing to develop a focus and purpose
    3. Use specific and credible evidence to support positions in a convincing manner
    4. Review, critique, revise
    5. Edit writing to conform to the general conventions of Standard English.
  2. Produce formal college-level essays that exhibit the requisite skills to attain a C level or better on the course rubric, which signals that a student is prepared to enter Communication Intensive courses and engage in academic discourse at the university level.
  3. Conduct introductory library and other research, integrate facts and evidence from multiple sources, and document appropriately.
  4. Read critically and analyze material written for multiple audiences and purposes.
  5. Effectively participate in interactive/collaborative reading and writing activities.

English 111 Course Practices

  1. Students will write approximately 7500 words in the course, at least half of which will come from formal essays.
  2. Students will write a minimum of five formal essays; two or more of these essays will incorporate multiple outside sources, documented appropriately. Students will also produce a variety of other less formal pieces.
  3. Students will receive library orientation, including a tour and an introduction to hands-on and online research resources.
  4. Students will be provided with hands-on opportunities to develop technological skills for creating and/or sharing documents (i.e., word processing, e-mailing, and online workshopping or online discussion).
  5. Students will be provided with opportunities for in-class writing as well as instruction in essay exam strategies.
  6. All English 111 students' products will be assessed using clearly defined criteria, including course rubric, sample papers, and other materials provided by the instructor.
  7. Both product and process (journals, drafts, portfolios and conferences) may be taken into account when assessing student performance in the course.
  8. At least 75% of a student’s final course grade in English 111 will be based on the evaluation of formal essays.
  9. To pass the course with the grade of “C,” a student must earn 70% of total points possible, average at least 70% on all formal essays, and demonstrate significant competency in all course outcomes.
  10. English 111 instructors will actively engage in strategies that work toward student retention and student success.

English 080 Course Description

English 080: Writing Skills (3) Practice in the generation of short essays and in the recognition and elimination of errors in style, usage, and sentence structure. Attention to individual needs. Pass/no credit. See note under basic skills.

English 080 Course Outcomes

The student who successfully completes English 0080 will be able to:

  1. Use writing processes that develop exploratory drafts into revised prose for specific audiences, including the ability to:
    1. Generate, select and focus writing topics
    2. Plan, organize, and structure writing to develop a focus and purpose
    3. Support positions in a manner convincing to targeted audiences
    4. Review, critique, revise
    5. Edit writing to conform to the general conventions of Standard English.
  2. Produce formal college level essays that exhibit the requisite skills to attain a C level or better on the course rubric, which signals that a student is prepared to enter English 111 and engage in academic discourse at the university level.
  3. Read critically and analyze material written for multiple audiences.
  4. Effectively participate in interactive/collaborative reading and writing activities

English 080 Course Practices

  1. Students will write approximately 5000 words in the course, at least half of which will come from four formal essays.
  2. Students will be provided with opportunities for in-class writing with some attention to instruction in essay exam strategies.
  3. All English 080 students' products will be assessed using clearly defined criteria, including course rubric, sample papers, and other materials provided by the instructor.
  4. Both product and process (journals, drafts, portfolios and conferences) may be taken into account when assessing student performance in the course.
  5. At least 75% of a student’s final course grade in English 080 will be based on the evaluation of formal essays.
  6. To pass the course with the grade of “P,” a student must earn 70% of total points possible, average at least 70% on all formal essays, and demonstrate competency in all course outcomes.
  7. English 080 instructors will actively engage in strategies that work toward student retention and student success.

Program Assessment

Other Important Information

More information about our program can be found in the First Year Writing Program Manual.  Questions and comments can be directed to the Coordinator of First-Year Writing, Dr. Nathan Garrelts, ncgarrel(at)svsu.edu.