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WNC Catalog 2007-2008: English
Course Descriptions


English

The study of English will enhance students' communication skills, their capacity for critical thinking in all disciplines, and their ability to purposefully interact with professional and academic audiences.

By exploring the writing process, students will learn different strategies for creating successful written works. Whether the work is a creative piece or a formal essay, students in English classes will benefit from a better understanding of prewriting methods and the importance of revision. As students progress towards a completed manuscript, they will learn to anticipate and negotiate with a target audience, creating a purposeful message with the English language.

Clarity and correctness in writing will ensure that intentional messages produce intended results, instead of costly confusion or misunderstanding. Through the practice of English composition, students can learn to avoid obvious errors, focus their thinking, organize their ideas, and ultimately present professionally developed and formatted work. By appropriating the conventions of English discourse, students will be better prepared to present essential information and relevant ideas within any discipline. Whether the subject of their writing is a literary text, a personal experience, a voting guide, or a scientific theory, the ability to understand language and to use it effectively is essential to successful communication.

Furthermore, the study of English encourages attitudes of critical inquiry. To write well at the college level and for critical audiences, students learn to explore, observe, and synthesize information. While close observation of literary texts and other subjects will enable students to accurately and effectively discuss external experiences, the study of English also encourages the examination of internal dispositions and their role in the formulation of ideas. Through careful reading, students practice essential critical thinking skills that will facilitate their scrutiny of both themselves and the world around them.

By appropriating these skills and attitudes, student learners will empower their voices. The study of English promotes and enhances discourse in both local and global communities. With the potential exposure and opportunity presented by the Internet, study of the English language has an even greater chance of improving civic participation, an awareness of culture, and the visibility of vital, independent ideas. The ability to effectively express opinions, share important experiences and otherwise communicate information with their peers, ensures that students can fully participate in their field of study, in professional settings, and in the larger culture around them. These abilities are also likely to aid students in professional advancement.

According to a recent survey conducted by the National Commission on Writing, seventy-percent of companies and agencies (across all sectors of employment) agreed that their salaried employees are expected to write. Fifty-percent of these respondents also indicated that they consider writing skills when hiring new employees. This data illustrates how students will directly benefit from the study of English; by acquiring effective writing skills, students will better compete for salaried positions and be prepared for the tasks demanded by their future employers.

Overall, the study of English will help students grow in their ability to meaningfully communicate their ideas, their experiences, and their knowledge. It will also enhance their capacity to understand and respond to the communication of others.

Courses in English as listed in the 2007-2008 WNC catalog. Back to the English main page.

Courses
ENG 080 Diagnostic/Prescriptive Reading
    Credits: 1. Prerequisites: none
This class focuses on reading improvement through individual diagnostic procedures, identifies reading problems, prescribes and implements remediation procedures.
ENG 090 Basic Writing I
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: none
Provides instruction in basic English skills including grammar, parts of speech, agreement, syntax, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure. Focuses on a variety of sentence patterns and types. Provides extensive practice in grammar and usage. Grading: pass/fail.
ENG 095 Basic Writing II
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: none
Provides instruction in basic writing skills including sentence patterns and basic paragraph development. Provides review of grammar, mechanics, punctuation, spelling, and word usage. Some sections of the course may be offered through computer-assisted instruction. Grading: Pass/Fail.
ENG 098 Basic Writing III
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: appropriate score on WNC placement examination or equivalent examination
Helps students improve their writing for school or on the job. Offers practice in sentence, paragraph and short essay writing with attention to grammar, sentence structure and punctuation. The student will learn how to combine sentences and paragraphs to communicate clearly and effectively.
ENG 100 Composition - Enhanced
    Credits: 5. Prerequisites: ENG 095 or appropriate score on WNC placement exam or equivalent examination
Intensive reading and writing course focusing on writing the expository and argumentative essay. Emphasis on revising and editing essays for development, coherence, style, and correctness as well as on investigative, reasoning, and organizational skills necessary to create successful research papers. Extra assistance in English writing skills, grammar, sentence structure, usage, and punctuation.
ENG 101 Composition I
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 098 with a grade of C- or better, or appropriate score on WNC placement examination or equivalent examination
Studies expository writing with special attention to the modes, arrangement and style. Students learn to write essays which are unified, thorough, clear and convincing. Students read essays to augment critical reading skills. They learn the research, reasoning and organizational skills necessary for effective academic and research writing.
ENG 102 Composition II
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 100 or ENG 101
Continues the study of expository writing. Students read and analyze writing and discursive techniques of interpretation, argument, and research.
ENG 190 Science Fiction/Fantasy Literature
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: none
Introduces the student to a variety of science fiction or fantasy literature with a focus on historical context and literary interpretation.
ENG 200 Novels Into Film
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor
Studies film and novels to examine the transformation in genre when novels are made into films. Students read novels and view films based on those novels to examine the impact of each form upon the audience as well as to understand the differences between literary and film genre. Emphasizes critical reasoning and writing skills.
ENG 205 Introduction to Creative Writing
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor
Offers a beginning writers' workshop in poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction.
ENG 220 Writing Poetry
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102
Teaches poetry writing in a workshop setting. Lectures focus on different styles and forms of poetry. Discussion focuses on student writing with emphasis on providing positive, constructive criticism to motivate the student to develop new and better approaches to writing poetry.
ENG 221 Writing Fiction
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor
Teaches fiction writing in a workshop setting. Includes lectures and discussion of plot, character, style, and elements of fiction. Students are required to produce several works of short fiction.
ENG 222 Intermediate Fiction Writing
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 221 or consent of instructor
Continues the study and application of the elements of fiction in a constructive workshop setting.
ENG 223 Themes of Literature
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 101 & ENG 102 or consent of instructor
Offers readings of short stories, poems, plays and novels on a theme selected by the instructor. Course could examine such a topic as the American myth of the frontier or study perceived differences between various multicultural perceptions and attitudes in Europe and the United States.
ENG 226 Memoir and Autobiography
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor
Offers a writing-intensive class which explores various approaches to writing memoirs, autobiography, family history, autobiography-based fiction, or other "life stories," incorporating the classic elements of the personal essay.
ENG 227 Advanced Memoir and Autobiography
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 226 or consent of instructor
Continuation of English 226. Students explore various approaches to writing memoir,
autobiography, family history, other "life stories," or "creative nonfiction," and are encouraged to choose whichever approach or combination of approaches best fit their individual needs. Students also read selected works written by "masters" in the field, studying strategies employed in those texts. Combines lecture/discussion/writers' workshop
format.
ENG 231 World Literature I
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor.
Surveys literary masterpieces of the Western World. The works as well as the traditions and values they reflect are emphasized. Works from the Old and New Testaments, Sophocles, Plato, St. Augustine, Dante, Chaucer, Cervantes and Shakespeare will be examined.
ENG 232 World Literature II
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor. ENG 231 is not a prerequisite.
Surveys literary masterpieces of the Western World after the mid 1600s within the cultural/historical context of the different periods.
ENG 250 Children's Literature
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor
Includes reading and discussing selected children's literature. Students examine the role of literature in various themes and genres.
ENG 261 Introduction to Poetry
    Credits: 1–3. Prerequisites: ENG 102
Offers the elements of poetry, its basic types and forms, and the study of representative poets.
ENG 266 Popular Literature
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor
Studies various forms of popular writing, e.g., best-sellers, the western, science fiction, fantasy, the detective story.
ENG 267 Introduction to Women & Literature
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor
Studies women writers and their work and the ways in which women are portrayed in literature.
ENG 271 Introduction to Shakespeare
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor
Examines Shakespeare's principal plays read for their social interest and their literary excellence.
ENG 275 Contemporary Literature
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: ENG 102 or consent of instructor
Studies selected contemporary writers for understanding and appreciation. Emphasizes British and American figures.
ENG 282 Introduction to Language & Literary Expression
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: none. Recommended: ENG 102
Explores the forms and function of language with special application to literary study.
ENG 295 Directed Study in English
    Credits: 1–3. Prerequisites: ENG 102
Allows students to pursue individual writing or research projects under the close supervision and guidance of the instructor.
ENG 297 Reading and Interpreting
    Credits: 3. Prerequisites: none. Recommended: ENG 101 or ENG 102
Examines the methods for creating personal, critical responses to literature representing a range of time periods and genres. Within the framework of traditional and current critical approaches to literature, students will read the works from a thematic, as well as a critical, perspective.
ENG 299 Special Topics in English
    Credits: 1–3. Prerequisites: none
Includes short courses and experimental classes covering a variety of subjects. May be repeated for up to three credits.
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