Composition/Rhetoric Curriculum

Why do colleges make students take composition? Why is college writing important?

The ability to write clearly, completely, and effectively is one sign of an educated person. Taken seriously and followed earnestly, our composition courses at Columbus State will help you develop the skills you will need in your chosen field.

Our department offers a full sequence of composition courses. Each one stresses skills in reading, writing, developing expository essays, and writing research papers.

Depending on their placement scores, transfer credit, or proficiency exam credit, students may enter the department's sequence with either ENGL 100, 101, or 111.

For further information about any English 100 and 102, please contact lead instructor Robyn Lyons-Robinson. For information about English 101 and 111, please contact lead instructor Sue Lape.  For information about English 220 through 253, contact lead instructor Steve Kaczmarek.

- Courses -

ENGL 100 Language Development
(A,W,SP,SU)
5 credits
Students develop skills in reading and writing in preparation for ENGL 101 by analyzing the writing of students and professionals and by developing paragraphs and short essays using narration, description, and examplification and/or illustration.
Lecture: 5 hours – Lab: 5 hours
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: DEV 041 with a grade of “C” or higher plus successful completion of the DEV 041 exit examination, or DEV 042 with a grade of “C” or higher, placement by test. Credit will not count toward graduation in any degree program.
Lab fee: $3.00 except for specific sections of the course using Academic Systems software and taught in the computer lab. Computer-assisted sections using the Academic Systems software include the textbooks for the course and the course fee is $65.00.

ENGL 101 Beginning Composition
(A,W,SP,SU - DL)
3 credits
Students compose clear, concise expository essays using various modes such as definition, exemplification, process, analysis, cause and effect, comparison and contrast. This course or its equivalent is required for all degrees.
Lecture: 3 hours – Lab: 0 hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 100 with a grade of “C” or higher or placement by test
Lab fee: $3.00

ENGL 102 Essay and Research
(A,W,SP,SU - DL)
3 credits
This course is a continuation of ENGL 101 expanded to include argumentation, logic, and research techniques. Research papers using MLA documentation are written.
Lecture: 3 hours – Lab: 0 hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 101 with a grade of “C” or higher
Lab fee: $3.00

ENGL 111 English Composition
(A,W,SP,SU- DL)
5 credits
This course is an accelerated combination of ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 . Students receive training in the fundamentals of exposition and argumentation through using the writing process. The course stresses critical reading of the students’ own and professional writing. It includes units on library research and documentation.
Lecture: 5 hours – Lab: 0 hours
Prerequisite: Placement test score
Lab fee: $3.00

ENGL 220 Composition and Literature
(A,W,SP,SU)
3 credits
English 220 (Composition and Literature) is a course in the writing of expository and critical essays with an introduction to literature. Students will be introduced to a variety of works by American and British authors, as well as works in translation. This course is designed primarily for students in career and technical programs.
Lecture: 3 hours – Lab: 0 hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 102 or 111 with a grade of “C” or higher
Lab fee: $3.00

ENGL 250 Writing About the American Experience
Experience
(A,W,SP,SU - DL)
5 credits
English 250 (Writing About the American Experience) is an intermediate writing course that extends and refines skills in expository and argumentative writing, critical reading, and critical thinking by having students analyze, discuss, and write about major topics pertaining to the theme of the American Experience  and the ways in which individual writers have articulated this theme. Assigned reading of United States literature will address such issues as race, culture, ethnicity, disability, class, gender, and sexual orientation, and will stimulate writing and facilitate an awareness of the interplay among purpose, audience, content, structure, and style. This course requires students to plan, draft, and revise essays that represent a sophisticated application of expository skills and critical analysis. This course will also refine skills in the areas of researching a topic, documenting sources, working collaboratively, and preparing and giving oral presentations.
Lecture: 5 hours – Lab: 0 hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 102 or 111 with a grade of “C” or higher. Not open to students who have credit for ENGL 251, 252, or 253.
Lab fee: $3.00

ENGL 251 The American Identity
(A,W,SP,SU - DL)
 5 credits
English 251 (The American Identity) is an intermediate writing course that extends and refines skills in expository and argumentative writing, critical reading, and critical thinking by having students analyze, discuss, and write about major topics pertaining to the theme of identity  in the United States, and the ways in which writers have discovered, defined, celebrated, and criticized what it means to be American. Assigned readings of United States literature will address such issues as race, culture, ethnicity, disability, class, gender, and sexual orientation, and will stimulate writing and facilitate an awareness of the interplay among purpose, audience, content, structure, and style. This course requires students to plan draft, and revise essays that represent a sophisticated application of expository skills and critical analysis. This course will also refine skills in the areas of researching a topic, documenting sources, working collaboratively, and preparing and giving oral presentations.
Lecture: 5 hours – Lab: 0 hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 102 or 111 with a grade of “C” or higher. Not open to students who have credit for ENGL 250, 252, or 253
Lab fee: $3.00

ENGL 252 Images of Men and Women
(A,W,SP,SU - DL)
5 credits
English 252 (Images of Men and Women) is an intermediate writing course that extends and refines skills in expository and argumentative writing, critical reading, and critical thinking by having students analyze, discuss, and write about major topics pertaining to the theme of gender  in the United States, and the ways in which issues of gender have shaped not just the writer’s voice but the content, politics, and style of writing. Assigned readings of United States literature will address such issues as race, culture, ethnicity, disability, class, gender, and sexual orientation, and will stimulate writing and facilitate an awareness of the interplay among purpose, audience, content, structure, and style. This course requires students to plan, draft, and revise essays that represent a sophisticated application of expository skills and critical analysis. This course will also refine skills in the areas of researching a topic, documenting sources, working collaboratively, and preparing and giving oral presentations.
Lecture: 5 hours – Lab: 0 hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 102 or 111 with a grade of “C” or higher. Not open to students who have credit for ENGL 250, 251, or 253
Lab fee: $3.00

ENGL 253 Regional American Writing
(A,W,SP,SU- DL)
5 credits
English 253 (Regional American Writing) is an intermediate writing course that extends and refines skills in expository and argumentative writing, critical reading, and critical thinking by having students analyze, discuss, and write about major topics pertaining to the theme of American Regionalism  and the ways in which individual writers have articulated this theme. Assigned reading of United States literature will address such issues as race, culture, ethnicity, disability, class, gender, and sexual orientation, and will stimulate writing and facilitate an awareness of the interplay among purpose, audience, content, structure, and style. This course requires students to plan, draft, and revise essays that represent a sophisticated application of expository skills and critical analysis. This course will also refine skills in the areas of researching a topic, documenting sources, working collaboratively, and preparing and giving oral presentations.
Lecture: 5 hours – Lab: 0 hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 102 or 111 with a grade of “C” or higher. Not open to students who have credit for ENGL 250, 251, or 252
Lab fee: $3.00
 

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