Time Denoted on the Course Schedule
- In this course, the student will demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative writing processes;
- Develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution;
- Write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose;
- Read, reflect, and respond critically to a variety of texts; and
- Use Edited American English in academic essays.
Above are the official “student learning outcomes” for this course, what the state of Texas says a student should know at the end of this course. They actually correspond to three key aspects of this course, as explained below. For your final exam, you are asked to write an intro/body/conclusion (three-part format) essay that discusses each aspect.
Here are the three aspects, keyed to the above five learning outcomes, and what you will do with each aspect in writing your final exam:
- One key aspect of this course, probably the most important one, is learning a reliable writing format—the three-part writing format, also called intro/body/conclusion format—which you can use in a variety of writing contexts. This teaches the “individual writing process” mentioned in #1 above; the writing format also helps to “develop ideas with appropriate support” as mentioned in #2 above; it helps you learn to “write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose” as #3 calls for; and it gives you a format to use when asked to “read, reflect, and respond critically” to any assignment, piece of writing, or brief communication, as #4 calls for. In one body paragraph of your final exam essay, discuss how you have responded to learning the intro/body/conclusion writing format and the overall writing process used in this course.
- Another aspect of this course is what the fifth learning outcome calls for: using standard American English in your essays and other writing. In a second body paragraph of your final exam essay, discuss how you have responded to the need to write in a formally correct way, and how you have responded to how this course has focused on and taught this skill.
- A third important aspect of this course is teamwork. This is touched on by the #1 item above, in its call for learning about “collaborative writing processes.” It is also touched on in how you have been encouraged to consider the needs of your reader, and this is part of #3 above, in the part that talks about writing “in a style appropriate to audience.” When #4 four speaks of reading and responding appropriately to “a variety of texts,” it is no great stretch to see that one sort of “text” would be the partial drafts of your classmates, in the peer review you have done. In a third body paragraph of your final exam essay, discuss how you have responded to the various classmate-focused, collaborative parts (peer review and/or groupwork) of this course, including any less formal help you have given and received.
To sum up, you are asked to reflect on your experiences with three key aspects of this course: learning the intro/body/conclusion writing format, working to improve your sentence-level writing skills, and working collaboratively with classmates.
The way you are to do this is to write a somewhat brief intro/body/conclusion essay. In your introduction, list these three things in a preview, probably at the end, and for your thesis, sum up, in one sentence, your experience in this course. You may want to begin with some background info that simply states that you will reflect on your experience and your own effort in this course.
Then write a body paragraph on each of the three above aspects. You may talk about how well the course worked for you, but mainly, please talk about your own level of engagement and effort in each of these three aspects. In each body paragraph, as you have learned to do, include some specific illustration to nail down your point; do more than merely generalize. End with a brief concluding paragraph that lists the three aspects again and sums up your thesis. You must submit your final exam essay according to the instructions provided to you.
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