English 111 is a three credit course designed to help you develop and improve your writing skills. Through systematic practice you will learn to write, develop, revise, and edit your essays.  Because good writing depends on clear, logical ideas, the course emphasizes reading for understanding, analysis, and critical thinking; you will use these skills to develop your essays.  

ENG 111 will help you to analyze complex ideas, form your own opinions, and then express and defend them in writing.  Democracy and scholarship are both strengthened by healthy debate; hence, a substantial portion of the class time will be spent on discussing ideas to teach you to think critically. With these abilities and the knowledge you gain in your other courses, you will be capable of taking part in literate discussions of issues in your field of study and in society at large. 

To support our emphasis on debate and critical thinking, most of the reading and writing will be based on and related to contemporary issues.  Everyone will complete assignments on the same weekly schedule (with some mid-week deadlines) to insure timely feedback. Online newspapers and magazines that do not require a fee will be your textbooks for the course. Thus, you do not have to purchase a textbook for this class!

If you do well in this course, you will be able to:

• Read, summarize, critically analyze, and respond to college-level writing.
• Engage in all phases of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and reflecting.
• Incorporate your personal reading and life experience into the writing process.
• Write well-developed explanatory and argumentative essays that demonstrate your awareness of purpose and audience.
• Use correct grammar and mechanics in your writing.
• Use and incorporate outside sources of information in your writing with proper documentation and without plagiarizing.

The only "textbook" you need to purchase for this class is a subscription to  The New York Times.    You should subscribe to Mon-Fri home delivery at a discounted weekly student rate.  This subscription also entitles you to unlimited access to the nytimes.com website.  You will be using both the paper copy and online copy of the newspaper as a part of this class.  

In order to subscribe, call 1-888-NYT-COLLEGE or access  The New York Times in College site ( http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/StudentHome.do?mode=studHome) Be sure to select "Deliver Off Campus" at the first screen.

Your course grade will be determined according to the following percentages. Consult the individual entries under the Assignments tab for a further breakdown.

There are 2 proctored exams in this course.

Last Updated: October 17, 2013