IAI GECC Course Description: C1901

C1 901: Writing Course Sequence (3 Semester Credits)

The writing course sequence (1) develops awareness of the writing process; (2) provides inventional, organizational and editorial strategies; (3) stresses the variety of uses for writing; and (4) emphasizes critical skills in reading, thinking and writing. The writing course sequence must include production of documented, multi-source writing in one or more papers for a combined total of at least 2500 words in final version.

Policies on acceptance of AP credit vary among academic programs and from institution to institution, so AP credit toward the GECC or major requirements is not guaranteed. In general, a score of three or higher on the AP exam on Language and Composition or Literature and Composition may be considered as equivalent to successful completion of one of the two writing courses but will not satisfy the multisource writing requirement.

Upon successful completion of the writing course sequence (which requires grades of C or better for students entering in Summer 1999 and beyond), students should have the competencies listed below. The student is expected to:

• comprehend, analyze, and critique a variety of texts including academic discourse;
• use various invention, drafting, and revising/ editing strategies depending upon the purpose of the writing, the materials available to the writer, and the length of time available for the task;
• engage a topic in which the writer explores writing as a means of self-discovery and produces a text that is designed to persuade the reader of the writer's commitment;
• demonstrate a theoretical understanding of rhetorical context (that is, how reader, writer, language, and subject matter interact);
• establish a voice appropriate to the topic selected and the rhetorical situation;
• clarify major aims, arrange material to support aims, and provide sufficient materials to satisfy expectations of readers;
• select, evaluate, and interact effectively with sources, subordinating them to the writer's purpose and creating confidence that they have been represented fairly;
• demonstrate satisfactory control over the conventions of edited American English and competently attend to the elements of presentation (including layout, format, and printing); and
• recognize the existence of discourse communities with their different conventions and forms.