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English 1105: Introduction to College Composition

Course Description* (This page created using Canvas's Page tool)

English 1105 is an introduction to college-level composition. In this course, students are introduced to composition’s rhetorical dimensions; they are asked to consider the purpose, audience, occasion, and genre that are called for in a variety of writing, speaking, or visual assignments.

This course also focuses on writing processes, asking students to brainstorm topics, to write drafts, and to revise their writing based on reflection and peer feedback. As students read and respond to each other’s papers, they will learn an important step in addressing readers’ concerns. Each student’s writing is taken seriously, and they are asked to engage seriously with their peers’ writing as well.

Writing and reading go hand-in-hand, of course, so students are asked to read challenging articles, essays, and prose, and to consider paintings, films, or other visual compositions. College composition begins from the assumption that written, visual, and spoken texts can be in conversation with each other. Thus, the readings serve as both models of effective communication and as beginning places for a student’s own arguments and analyses.

Learning Objectives (Create Learning Outcomes in Canvas's Outcomes tool)

By completing English 1105, students will…

  • Gain knowledge of composition’s rhetorical dimensions.
  • Use writing as a tool for critical thinking and reflection.
  • Practice writing as a process by using various brainstorming, invention, revision, and editing strategies.
  • Write in several genres that utilize analysis, reflection, narrative, critique, and argument skills.
  • Practice using the conventions of written, spoken, and visual composition.
  • Practice writing and creating in digital environments.

Course Requirements (Create in Canvas's Assignments Tool) 

  • A minimum of 3 papers for formal grading. Major papers in English 1105 tend to be 4-10 pages in length, depending on the topic and the task.
  • A minimum of 20 pages of informal writing, such as journal responses, discussion board postings, blogs, proposals, etc.
  • At least one group oral presentation including the use of visual elements. (Many instructors include individual presentations as well.)

*This page was created from information taken the following site: http://www.composition.english.vt.edu/courses.html 

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