Freshman Year Composition Programs

English 100A-100B

First-Year Composition is a year-long integrated reading and writing course designed to equip students with the fundamental skills necessary for college writing. The course begins with the premise that both reading and writing are meaning-creating processes taking place within social settings, and thus students will learn to read strategically by examining how texts are put together by writers for specific purposes. Likewise, students will learn to write through a reader’s eyes in order to understand the effects of their rhetorical choices on particular audiences. This course focuses on the sustained development of students’ literacy competencies and includes training in a variety of college writing genres, as well as in appropriate expression (diction, usage, syntax, and other basics such as self-editing for grammar trouble spots). Instruction in research methods and practice in the oral communication of ideas are also included. Completion of the English 100A-100B sequence satisfies GE Area A2 (Fundamentals of Communication). Grading mode: grade only. 3 units each semester.

English 101

The mission of 101 is to develop students’ skills in different kinds of academic writing that enhance appropriate expression (diction, usage, syntax, as well as other basics such as self-editing for grammar trouble spots) and an awareness of a variety of audiences and occasions. This course focuses on the reading of academic discourses in a variety of disciplines. In addition to several in-class essays, students are required to write at least five or more different writing assignments of four or more pages. Instruction in research methods and practice in the oral communication of ideas are also included. Completion of English 101 satisfies GE Area A2 (Fundamentals of Communication). Grading mode: grade only. 4 units.