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STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH 101
Students who successfully complete English 101 should be able to write clear, readable essays. Although some standards of good writing are debatable, there are commonly accepted principles for "clear, readable" writing. The Writing Department of the Division of English and Humanities endorses the following standards. Words should be accurately used. should be direct and precise. should follow conventional spelling. Sentences should be clear and direct. should follow conventional structure, grammar, and punctuation. Paragraphs should show unity and coherence in the development of one primary idea. should show adequate development. should relate directly to preceding and succeeding paragraphs. Essays should focus on a central idea. should develop the central idea adequately. should be organized and unified. should fulfill the specified assignments.
Achieving the skill level expected of college students in English 101 requires that both you and your instructor invest time and assume various responsibilities. 1. Your instructor will assume responsibility for explaining the nature and requirements of the course; communicating the major principles of writing set for the course by discussion,lecture, assignments, or other means; communicating other course content by discussion, lecture, assignments, or other means; holding conferences when and if necessary; evaluating your papers within a reasonable time period; holding classes and/or alternative learning activities regularly. 2. You must assume responsibility for submitting writing assignments and other homework on time; doing the reading assignments on time; taking exams and quizzes when scheduled; attending class and participating as required by the instructor; attending conferences or other course-related activities your instructor may require; working, if necessary, in the Learning Lab or Writing Center to improve writing", skills; showing courtesy and appropriate classroom demeanor toward classmates, instructor, guest speakers, or others involved in your instruction. 3. Your instructor may have additional information on policies regarding conferences, late papers, format of papers, and the like. Be sure to consult your instructor's handouts and acquaint yourself with such policies.
The following information pertains to student competencies and faculty grading standards for English composition. Statement of Expectations. The Chief Academic Officers (CAOs, Maryland college and university presidents) have charged committees of English faculty representing the state's two- and four-year public and private institutions to propose uniform minimum competency levels and valid assessment methods for the General Education course in English composition (at Prince George's, EGL 101). The goal is to assure that students transferring from one Maryland college to another bring knowledge and skills equivalent to those students at the receiving institution. One result of this charge is a Statement of Expectations listing core writing skills. Prepared in 1995 by a state-wide committee of writing department chairs and faculty, and approved by the CAOs, the Statement says: Students who complete the designated composition course should write well organized and balanced expository prose. They should be able to formulate and support a thesis inform, argue, and persuade address a range of audiences effectively employ advanced conceptual skills: analyze, synthesize, evaluate, formulate support claims with adequate and pertinent evidence support generalizations with legitimate specifics. To achieve these goals for students, the designated composition course should be designed to promote students' ability to understand writing as a recursive process as well as a product manage that process through skills of sorting, drafting, revising, editing recognize stylistic options, their range of choices among them, and the reasons for using each use the conventions of standard written U.S. English and manuscript presentation understand the primary principles of scholarly inquiry, and research, including how to identify appropriate issues, formulate appropriate questions, find relevant information, and effectively incorporate findings in their own writing respect and use the conventions of documentation craft an extended piece of expository or persuasive writing Standards for a "C" Paper A second result of the charge by the Chief Academic Officers is a set of written standards defining a "C" paper in English composition. A subcommittee of the English Composition Committee formed to answer the CAOs' charge and composed of writing faculty from two- and four-year schools prepared these standards in 1997. The full committee passed the standards and made them a part of the report forwarded to the CAOs for approval. To formulate these standards, the subcommittee researched existing written standards provided by more than a dozen Maryland college and university composition programs. Intended to provide a uniform bench mark for writing that meets the minimum requirements for transferability to receiving institutions-the grade of "C"-- the standards are as follows: Content. The C paper fulfills the assignment, meeting all specified requirements as to subject, pattern of organization, length, etc. The paper presents a sound central idea supported by relevant material (facts, figures, examples, quotations, or other details). The reasoning is sound; arguments are supported with evidence that is well chosen and well presented; and the paper makes use of specific, concrete, and relevant information. Other points of view are acknowledged and responded to as appropriate. The paper reflects the author's awareness of audience and purpose. Organization. The C paper has a discernible and logical plan. h has a focus, and the writer attempts to maintain the focus throughout the essay. The writer has unified the entire essay in support of the central idea, or thesis, and individual paragraphs in support of subordinate points. Some individual paragraphs, however, may be weak. The writer attempts to promote coherence through the logical order of paragraphs and the use of some or all of the following devices: thesis statement, topic sentences, opening and closing paragraphs, and transitions. The use of these devices may occasionally be labored or lack smoothness, but, essentially, logical order prevails. Style/Expression. The paper uses reasonable stylistic options (tone, word choice, sentence patterns) for its audience and purpose. The writing is clear and precise, neither too wordy nor too terse. The paper has smooth transitions between paragraphs, although some transitions may be missing or ineffective. The meaning of sentences is clear, although some sentences may be awkward or there may be a lack of variety in sentence patterns. Nonetheless, sentence structure is generally correct, although it may show limited mastery of such elements as subordination, emphasis, sentence variety and length, and modifiers. Grammar/Mechanics. The C paper is substantially free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics. Such (very few) errors as may remain do not distract the reader. The paper uses the conventions of edited standard written U.S. English, including correct format for presentation of information and for citation of sources. The paper uses appropriate conventions for manuscript presentation. |