English Composition II

This course is a part of:

Associate of Paralegal Studies

Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies

Bachelor of Business Administration

Bachelor of Science in Psychology

This writing course builds upon those writing skills you developed in Composition I. Specifically, Composition II differs in that it develops critical writing and thinking skills through in-depth readings and your analyses of literature, translating your thoughts across a range of disciplines. You will develop these critical reading and writing strategies by engaging works of fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry with the goal of developing your own mature interpretation of them with greater clarity and depth.

Further, you will employ various literary theories or ways of reading that not only distinguish literal from figurative meaning, but also may portray the cultural, political, or philosophical underpinnings of a particular literary piece. Structurally, for example, you will learn how form and content, as found in poetry, support each other in determining meaning.

You will research and address opposing views of the critics’ interpretations of the literary works, and assert your own interpretation, informed by the best and brightest authorities you can find.

As you continue your written explorations, your newly acquired interpretative and writing skills will be applied to a research paper. Here you will discover and demonstrate your ability to take a position (argue), and discern expert from textual evidence to support your thesis, applying the documentation requirements of the MLA.

The student will develop a mature, critical, and effective writing style through in-depth understanding of reading and analyzing literature, its elements, and its ability to effect sound reasoning, insight, and the student’s writing style.

Course Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate mastery of clear and effective writing through carefully written analyses of exemplary models of literature.

• Identify and apply in an essay, various rhetorical modes in English Composition, focusing upon the expository (i.e., comparison/contrast) and argumentative (i.e., literary argument) approach.

• Identify elements of a theme and its evidence presented by the author throughout a piece of literature.

• Effectively read a poem, analyze its components, rhythm, and how a poem sounds versus how it reads, and ultimately demonstrate improved mastery of word choice and poetic devices in her own writing.

• Actively engage literary works to develop creative interpretations through an individualized “strong” reading of classic short stories, poetry, and drama.

• Working within the context of selected pieces of fiction, the student will compose a literary argument with appropriate documentation.

• Develop techniques for addressing opposing views to insure the basic theme of a paper is adequately, though ethically supported.

• Recognize and assess the philosophical or analytic approaches literary critics adopt as “templates” for understanding what a piece of writing means and identify any potential author or critic ideological bias.

• Write an in-depth research paper displaying a discriminating focus upon what constitutes good literature and demonstrating facility with the MLA format and its specific requirements for citing references.

• Recognize various forms of plagiarism, both “benign” and intentional.