WRI 111 - Writing

Semester Hours: 4

This foundational course-required of all first-year students-aims to develop and refine their critical thinking, reading, and writing skills, and prepares them to write successful college-level essays. Together, the instructor and the class will consider the functions of writer and audience, and will come to understand writing as an ongoing process: a creative mix of reading, re-reading, thinking, re-thinking, drafting, and revising. Assignments will include different types of papers and essays (descriptive, summary, analytical, and argumentative). Students are expected to invest themselves in research, organize a paper topic, compose a lucid thesis statement, and build substantial body paragraphs leading to a pointed conclusion. Along the way, the instructor will lead the class in a review of English grammar and style, as well as present MLA citation rules for print and electronic sources. These and a variety of activities and exercises will help students gain confidence, independence, and sophistication as writers. Students will take 111 either in the fall or the spring semester of their first year. A minimum passing grade of C- is required for graduation.