ENGL 1020 - Composition I

Credits: 4
Hours/Week: Lecture 4
Course Description: This course provides students with the opportunity to improve the clarity and effectiveness of their academic and professional writing through persuasive and expository essays. This course covers employing a writing process, applying rhetorical principles, incorporating source materials, and using context-appropriate writing conventions when constructing essays.

Composition I is a 4-credit course; instructors may require instructor-supervised use of the Writing Center, equivalent to one of the four credits. Students are notified of this requirement through the course syllabus and registration notes.

ENGL 1020 is equivalent to ENGL 1021 Composition I. Students who have completed both ENGL 1020 and ENGL 1021 receive four (4) credits for Composition I and the higher of the two grades is used in calculating GPA.
MnTC Goals
MNTC Goal 1: Communication

Prerequisite(s): Course placement into ENGL 0950  OR completion of RDNG 0940  with a grade of C or higher OR completion of RDNG 0950  with a grade of C or higher OR course placement into ESOL 1033 or completion of ESOL 0043 with a grade of C or higher and ESOL 0051 with a grade of C or higher and ESOL 0052 with a grade of C or higher.
Corequisite(s): ENGL 0950
Recommendation: Word processing proficiency and basic computer skills.

Major Content
 

1. Rhetorical principles
   1. Purpose
   2. Audience
   3. Style
   4. Persuasive appeals
   5. Voice
2. Writing process(es)
   1. Invention strategies
   2. Drafting as thinking
   3. Revision based on feedback within a community of writers
   4. Editing for context-appropriate writing conventions, such as grammar, mechanics, and spelling
   5. Professional presentation
3. Thesis-driven essays
   1. Logical and persuasive support
   2. Unity and coherence
4. Conventions of academic discourse
5. Finding, evaluating, and incorporating sources
   1. Using databases and other credible resources
   2. Integration of source material
   3. Documentation
   4. MLA, APA, or other professionally recognized documentation styles as appropriate
   5. Avoiding plagiarism
6. Responding to peer and/or instructor feedback

1. employ a writing process.
2. apply rhetorical principles, such as purpose, audience, and context.
3. construct logical and coherent written arguments.
4. incorporate constructive feedback during the revision process.
5. locate and evaluate diverse source materials.
6. use strategies to compose texts that integrate the writer’s ideas with those from relevant sources.
7. use context-appropriate writing conventions such as grammar, mechanics, and spelling.

Courses and Registration