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Teaching Writing at LaGuardia


ENG 102–Composition II: Writing Through Literature

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Course Description

3 credits; 3 hours

Fulfills “Pathways: Required Core”

This course extends and intensifies the work of Composition I, requiring students to write critically and analytically about culturally-diverse works of literature. Students are introduced to poetry, drama, and fiction, employing close-reading techniques and other methodologies of literary criticism. Students will utilize research methods and documentation procedure in writing assignments in varying academic formats, including a research essay that engages literary critics or commentators. Admission to the course requires completion of Composition I.

Prerequisite: ENA/ENC/ENG/ENX101 and CSE099

Pathways Student Learning Objectives (Common Across CUNY):

  • Read and listen critically and analytically, including identifying an argument’s major assumptions and assertions and evaluating its supporting evidence.
  • Write clearly and coherently in varied, academic formats (such as formal essays, research papers, and reports) using standard English and appropriate technology to critique and improve one’s own and others’ texts.
  • Demonstrate research skills using appropriate technology, including gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing primary and secondary sources.
  • Support a thesis with well-reasoned arguments, and communicate persuasively across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media.
  • Formulate original ideas and relate them to the ideas of others by employing the conventions of ethical attribution and citation.​

Course Learning Objectives (Specific to LaGuardia):

  1. Reinforce the practice of writing as a process that involves pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, critiquing, and reflection.
  2. Reinforce students’ skill​at writing clearly and coherently in varied academic formats (such as response papers, blogposts, formal essays, and research papers) with an emphasis on writing as a critical thinking process. Essays will vary in length between ​600 and ​2000 ​words, using standard written English (SWE).
  3. Familiarize students with poetry, drama, and fiction, and introduce students to techniques of literary criticism including the close reading of literary texts.
  4. Introduce students to methodologies of literary analysis, such as biographical context, historical context, and critical theory.
  5. Reinforce critical reading and analytical skills by guiding students to identify an argument’s major assumptions and assertions and evaluate its supporting evidence and conclusions.
  6. Reinforce students’ skills in creating well-reasoned arguments and communicating persuasively over a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and mediums.
  7. Reinforce students’ research skills including the use of appropriate technology and the ability to evaluate and synthesize primary and secondary sources, while employing the conventions of ethical attribution and citation and avoiding plagiarism.
  8. Reinforce writing strategies to prepare students for in-class writing.

Program Learning Objectives

**This is informational as these 2 objectives are embedded in the Course Learning Objectives. These do not need to appear on syllabi. These objectives are assessed annually by the WPAs and Composition Committee and shared with the Assessment Leadership Team.**

PLO 1: Evaluate and synthesize sources using summary and/or paraphrase and/or quotation.

PLO 2: Engage critically and analytically with a text’s major assumptions and assertions.

Assessment in ENG 101

Coming soon for Fall 2024

Course Resources 

Accessible Syllabus Template

Rachel Boccio and Tara Coleman created this optional accessible ENG 102 Syllabus and Course Schedule. You can personalize the template to include your specific section information.

Faculty-Facing Introduction To Sheet–About Teaching This Course

Student-Facing Introduction To Sheet–About Taking This Course

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