Course Description
English 102 builds upon the critical thinking, reading, and writing capabilities that students developed in English 101. Students learn the processes necessary for collecting and incorporating research material into writing. They learn how to:
- Evaluate, cite, and document primary and secondary research sources
- Investigate, report, and document existing knowledge
- Develop arguments and support them with sound evidence
Course Objectives
Specific skills and abilities students will learn in this course are:
- To understand argumentation as a process that seeks to examine a range of views and treats opposing views respectfully
- To use research, reading, and writing as tools for questioning, critical thinking, and informed communication
- To critically read and write with attention to the use of evidence
- To develop an understanding of the strategies of argument
- To analyze and evaluate reasons and evidence in arguments
- To design and implement appropriate research strategies
- To evaluate primary and secondary research sources
- To summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize research material
- To plan and to organize a research essay
- To integrate and document research sources
- To address purpose and audience effectively in a research essay
- To evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their own writings and those of others
- To revise through several drafts
- To use conventions of format, structure, and language