Writing
Program Courses
Students place into one of the following
courses based on the English
Placement Exam. All students must complete English
16 as part of their Writing
Across the Curriculum requirement. English 16
is also a prerequisite for the
core literature courses (English 61-64). If
you have questions, please contact Mary
Hallet, Director of Writing, at 718-488-1108.
English 13/13X
Students should exit English 13/13X with
an enhanced ability to read carefully and critically and
to write basic narrative and expository prose that adheres
to the conventions of standard edited English. Students
will learn to read and write about a variety of shorter
texts, including essays, stories and poems, and they will
also read and respond in writing to one longer text, either
fiction or non-fiction. By the end of English 13/13X,
students will understand what it means to read and write
in an academic context and will begin to develop skills
in these areas. Editing skills—including the
language of basic grammar, syntax, usage, and punctuation—will
be introduced.
English 14/14X
In English 14/14X, students should develop
their reading, writing and formal rhetorical skills, all
of which go hand in hand. Not only will students learn
to read and write about a variety of texts, they will also
learn to compose rhetorically sophisticated essays that
take account of purpose, context, and audience. Students
will learn the basics of such rhetorical strategies as description,
definition, summary, comparison/contrast, narration, exposition,
and analysis, and, more importantly, they will learn how
to use these strategies in creating effective written arguments.
In other words, student writers in English 14/14X will learn
to articulate and develop a clear position within a specific
context.
English 16/16X
Students in English 16/16X will learn
to manipulate the vocabulary choices, sentence structures,
and rhetorical forms necessary for the development of sophisticated
essays. English 16 seeks to initiate a dialogue among students
that will lead them to write with more than their own “personal”
position in mind: the readings and classroom discussions
will give the sense that they are entering an ongoing conversation
of consequence. To this end, students in English 16/16X
will be required to integrate both the thoughts and
words of other writers into their own essays. Students
in English 16/16X will learn the fundamentals of such rhetorical
strategies as description, definition, summary, comparison/contrast,
narration, exposition, and analysis, and, more importantly,
they will learn how to use these strategies to create effective
and sophisticated arguments. Both in relation to their
own experience and to a text or set of texts, student writers
in English 16/16X will learn how, within a specific
rhetorical situation, to articulate and develop a sophisticated
position.
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