English 102

English 102 builds on the critical thinking, reading, and writing practice begun in English 101. This class includes critical analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of literary works, along with writing of argumentative essays about literary works.

The Student Learning Outcomes for English 102 are:

• Compose well-structured, grammatically-correct essays which assert the reader's analytical interpretation of a literary work and support that interpretation with convincing textual evidence
• Analyze and evaluate elements of reasoning in college-level texts

To achieve these goals, students will learn to:

• Identify the formal and stylistic aspects of specific literary genres, such as the dramatic monologue or revenge tragedy
• Relate an author's use of literary devices, such as diction, tone, setting, character, and figurative language, to the theme and/or literary, social/historical context of a given literary work
• Compare one's own values and assumptions to those of the text
• Create a thesis that states the reader's interpretation of a literary work and support that interpretation with convincing textual evidence
• Revise their own work with attention to issues of organization, clarity, mechanics, and style based on peer appraisal of and self-reflection on composition strengths and weaknesses
• use effective transitions within and between paragraphs to connect ideas logically
• Analyze and evaluate elements of reasoning, such as logical fallacies and value assumptions, in written texts.

In this course, students can expect to write formal essays outside of class totaling 6,000-8,000 words.