Catalog Description:

This is the first required general core course in college-level writing. The students will learn to compose essays and other works using various methods of development. This course fulfills the Gordon Rule requirement and must be completed with a grade of "C" or better.

Prerequisites: Student must meet the Developmental Education reading and writing requirements in State Rule 6A-10.0315 (by course, placement score, or eligible exemption).

(3 hr. lecture)

Course Competencies:

Competency 1:

The student will produce writing by:
a. choosing and limiting a subject that can be sufficiently developed within a given time, for a specific purpose and audience.
b. developing and refining pre-writing and planning skills.
c. formulating the main point to reflect the subject and purpose of the writing.
d. supporting the main point with specific details and arranging them logically.
e. using appropriate transitional devices.
f. writing an effective conclusion.

Competency 2:

The student will write well-developed essays by:
a. writing an introductory paragraph.
b. constructing a thesis statement.
c. developing the thesis by

• providing adequate support that reflects the ability to distinguish between generalized and concrete evidence.
• arranging the ideas and supporting details in a logical pattern appropriate to the purpose and focus. Patterns may include descriptive, narrative, and evaluative writing, process analysis, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, exemplification, and others.
• writing unified prose in which all supporting material is relevant to the thesis.
• writing coherent prose and providing effective transitional devices.

d. writing a concluding paragraph.

Competency 3:

The student will proofread, edit, and revise by:
a. recognizing and correcting errors in clarity.
b. recognizing and correcting errors in unity and coherence.
c. using conventional sentence structure and correcting sentence errors such as fragments, run-ons, comma splices, misplaced modifiers, and faulty parallelism.
d. recognizing and correcting errors in utilizing the conventions of standard edited American English including:

• using standard verb forms and consistent tense.
• maintaining agreement between subject and verb, and between pronoun
  and antecedent.
• using correct subjective, objective, and possessive case pronouns.
• maintaining consistency in point of view.
• using standard spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
• selecting vocabulary appropriate to audience, purpose, and occasion.