English 101
About 101
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For Writers
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• developing topics for writing through critical reading and discussion
• understanding how to write rhetorically for different situations and audiences
• using a wide range of persuasive strategies in different rhetorical situations
• distinguishing among the wide variety of possible audiences for their writing
• revising their writing to better address these audiences
• asking questions that will guide effective revision of their writing
• reading others' writing so that they can offer effective responses
• thinking and writing critically and analytically in order to revise writing
• knowing where, when, and how to research topics to strengthen ideas and arguments
• making the best use of technology in writing, researching, revising their papers
• improving their editing and proofreading skills

Writing for academic situations and professional situations beyond college demands constant revision and analysis. This course teaches students how to revise effectively and how to think about themselves as writers so that they will continue to improve throughout their lives.

Why this Course is Required of All Incoming Freshmen
Reading and writing are skills that underpin nearly everything students will do in college and in the rest of their professional lives. This course provides students with methods and skills for successful writing so that they will do well in the other courses they take in the university. As all writing classes are taught in networked computer classrooms, students will learn how to use the latest technology and be able to use computer technology effectively in other classes.

About Language and Composition Instructors
Instructors for Language and Composition will be trained to teach writing at the college level. All teachers in the course are writers themselves, and all have served an apprenticeship to become expert teachers of writing. The course adheres to a standard syllabus but may vary from teacher to teacher in specific assignments and activities. Still, everyone in this course will do the same amount of writing, revising, and research, and all students will write final extensive analytical essays at the end of the course.

Required Course Work
In this course, students will:

• write several papers, usually seven or eight in all, and will spend a great deal of time on each of these papers
• develop topics from essay reading assignments and from group discussions in class
• draft papers in class on computers
• devise questions to ask peers in order to get feedback leading to effective revision
• read fellow students' papers to provide ideas for their revisions
• rethink and revise each paper several times during the course, often adding research and data as the topic, situation, and audience demand.
• learn to use the technology in the classroom and in the library to write and revise and to do research for their papers
• write analytically about the changes they are making in the structure and arguments of their papers throughout the drafting and revision for each paper.
• combine these analyses into an essay that explains the skills they have learned and employed in the class.
• prepare and submit a final portfolio for the course that includes the multiple revised drafts for each paper, along with peer responses both to and from other students, and analyses of the changes and decisions made for each paper.

Succeeding in Language and Composition
Success in Language and Composition depends in part on students attending class and participating in individual and group work. They will develop papers in groups, respond to papers in groups, and suggest revisions and research possibilities in groups. This means their grade will depend not only on their writing, reading, and revising, but also on how well they employ others' suggestions for revision. Thus they must be in class and do all their writing, reading, and revising on time. They must be able to use the technology effectively and efficiently for text production, revision, and research, and they must analyze their progress as they develop as writers. As they proceed though the course, they will collect their drafts and responses in a portfolio that will be introduced by the analytical essay they have been writing throughout the semester.