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Home Page > Academics > College Of Arts And Sciences > English > Composition Standards
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Composition Standards
This page provides information about Adding and Dropping Composition Courses and describes the guidelines for English 032-033, English 101, and English 201, including the Assessment Criteria for the composition classes.
ADDING AND DROPPING COMPOSITION COURSES
All drops and adds are done by the students through WebAdvisor or Telephone Registration. Students must be willing to keep trying until they find an opening, since under this system the department can have no waiting lists. The absolute maximum for composition sections is shown on WebAdvisor. Because of the number of papers and the need to provide feedback to each student, the English Department will not raise these maximums to allow additional students into composition sections.
STUDENT GUIDELINES FOR ENGL 032-033: BASIC WRITING
On the basis of their ACT or Compass test scores, students may be required to take English 032 or 033. Which one depends on the student's test score. If one of these courses is required, it must be taken prior to taking English 101. Pass/fail grading. The assessment criteria are the same as for Composition I.
STUDENT GUIDELINES FOR ENGLISH 101, COMPOSITION I
In English 101 (Freshman Composition) you will receive intensive instruction in (1) reading and thinking critically; (2) writing clear, coherent, correct, persuasive prose; and (3) conducting library research and integrating primary and secondary sources into your own texts. These skills and aptitudes are essential to your academic and subsequent professional success--whatever your field. For this reason South Dakota State University requires that you must pass English 101 before you can graduate.
WRITING REQUIREMENTS
You will write a number of short exercises, major essays, and one research paper that together total at least 10,000 words. All sections of English 101 observe this minimum requirement.
GRADING POLICIES
For the semester you will earn the grade that reflects your performance on the major essays and research paper, as well as your performance on shorter writing assignments, quizzes, and class participation.
In the major writing assignments, those criteria upon which you will be assessed include your ability to do the following:
1. Plan Your Essay by (a)choosing a subject and narrowing it so that you can develop it sufficiently within the limits of the assignment; and (b) discovering and abiding by a controlling statement or thesis.
2. Organize Your Essay by (a) Sequencing the steps of your essay clearly, coherently, and persuasively: making apparent to readers the logical progression of ideas both within and between paragraphs; and (b) beginning and concluding your essay in interesting, engaging, provocative ways.
3. Support Your Essay by marshaling details, examples, facts, and plausible conjectures to develop and to substantiate your claims.
4. Use Language Precisely, Correctly, and Effectively by (a) seeking out the appropriate word in a given context; and (b) abiding by grammatical rules and recognized standards of formal usage, but also learning to identify which occasions and contexts might warrant departing from such rules and usage.
5. Revise and Polish Your Essay by (a) reconceiving and restructuring the argument, gathering and deploying more effective evidence; and (b) editing and proofreading.
STUDENT GUIDELINES FOR ENGLISH 201, COMPOSITION II
English 201 is the second of the two required semesters of instruction in basic composition for students at SDSU. The English Department strongly recommends that the course be taken in the sophomore or junior year in order that the skills developed in the course may be applied by Juniors and Seniors in advanced courses, and in order that the skills may be fresh in the students' minds when they find it necessary to apply them in their professional life. This is an advanced composition course. It is not designed to cover once more the materials presented in Composition I (English 101). Students in this course are expected to be able to spell and punctuate properly, to write a grammatical sentence, and to organize paragraphs and essays coherently. Therefore, students should not expect much in-class emphasis on such matters in English 201.
English 201 is designed to help students do the following:
1. Write cogently upon a subject of some complexity.
2. Use some of the simpler techniques of conscious language manipulation to express vividly what they have to say. They should be able to use devices such as:
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| parallel structure | | images and figures of speech that are connotative as well as denotative | | appropriate allusions supporting their ideas and showing experience and background in reading | | the proper word in the proper context | 3. Be logical and avoid non-sequiturs.
4. Be economical and precise.
5. Avoid jargon and cliches.
6. Evaluate their own work and revise intelligently.
By the time they have reached English 201, students should have learned to avoid the following common errors:
1. Incorrect spelling
2. Sentence fragments
3. Misplaced modifiers
4. Faulty agreement
5. Vague pronoun reference
6. Mixed metaphors
7. Faulty parallelism
8. Shifts in person or tense
9. Fused and run-on sentences
When basic errors such as these, or others specified by the instructor, appear in students' writing, it is the instructor's obligation to sharply lower the grade in order to stress the students' need to correct such errors.
The attached definitions of letter grades should help give the students an idea about where they need to improve. Students should have retained their freshman handbooks as a course of reference and the instructors have a right to assume that they can refer to it in basic matters and not have to spend class time on grammar review. Every student should have a good dictionary.
Aside from the Freshman Composition handbook, there is no standard text required for English 201. Instructors choose the materials they think best and will include the title or titles in their individual course descriptions. Instructors have the right to demand reading proficiency from students in complex areas. Analysis of assigned readings teaches a student to think, and, as a result, to have something to write about.
Students will be required to write approximately 5,000 words (several themes) during the semester. Requirements may vary a bit according to instructor, but all Composition II sections will do basically the same amount of work.
Instructors are free to establish their own attendance policies, and the students should be aware that classroom lectures and discussions serve to increase understanding of required subject matter.
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ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR COMPOSITION CLASSES
The grade of “A” (exceptional) designates that an essay demonstrates
- an excellent command of subject matter
- a clear explanation and synthesis of ideas
- independent thought
- thorough and persuasive substantiation of claims
- clear and effective organization
- precise, correct, and effective usage
- correct grammar and punctuation
The grade of “B” (superior) designates that an essay demonstrates
- a reasonable command of subject matter
- a capacity for explanation and synthesis of ideas, though it is not fully realized
- a capacity for independent thought, though it is not fully realized
- sufficient substantiation of claims
- mostly clear and effective organization
- mostly precise, correct, and effective usage
- mostly correct grammar and punctuation
The grade of “C” (average) designates that an essay demonstrates
- an adequate command of subject matter
- some weakness or inconsistency in its explanation and synthesis of ideas
- relative absence of independent thought
- inconsistent substantiation of claims
- significant lapses in organization
- significant lapses in usage
- significant lapses in grammar and punctuation
The grade of “D” (passing) designates that an essay demonstrates
- an inadequate command of subject matter
- insufficient explanation and synthesis of ideas
- unexamined, clichéd thinking
- inadequate substantiation of claims
- poor, hard-to-follow organization
- numerous errors in usage
- numerous errors in grammar and punctuation
The grade of “F” (failure) designates that an essay demonstrates
- a majority of the qualities of a “D” essay, but to a degree unacceptable in college-level writing
- a failure to follow or complete the assignment
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