Objectives Most 101-201 courses deal with a developmental sequence, moving from fairly easy topics to more complicated topics which draw upon, build upon, the earlier steps. The overall idea is Read-Write-Think and do it again and do it again and again, in a cycle of increasing intensity and depth. Ideally, English 101 and 201 are two parts of a sequenced program of intellectual development.  English 102 is a stand-alone second-semester course for students who place out of English 101. For information about placement, please click here. To see each of the sets of objectives isolated click on one of the following: 101, 102, 201.
ENGLISH 101	ENGLISH 102 AND 201
Critical Skills	Critical Skills
-  Ability to observe closely, to cite details, to infer, and to generalize. -  Familiarity with standard purposes (to explain or to persuade or both). -  Familiarity with standard modes of thinking and writing: narrative, description, comparison and contrast, example, cause and effect, factor analysis, deliberate mixtures of modes. -  Outlining and essay interpretation and evaluation.	-  Ability to think critically and to make intellectual discriminations. The student should have some reflexive knowledge about the thinking-writing process. -  Ability to recognize and apply introductory level learning and methods of logic and argumentation. -  Ability to complete a process of observation, inference, and generalization with accuracy and precision. The subject matter may include works of literature or other kinds of texts. -  Ability to maintain some intellectual independence at a level of University discourse. The student should be able to sustain either side of a debate with some agility.
Organizational Skills	Organizational Skills
-  Ability to stick to a central idea.   -  Conscious control of paragraph structure, with clear thesis or topic sentences and supporting details.   -  Deliberate control of emphasis and importance (subordination and coordination of ideas).	-  Ability to form a restricted arguable thesis and organize supporting points. -  Ability to develop and sustain an exposition and/or argument over a longer, 5-10 page, paper. -  Ability to research primary and secondary sources, including familiarity with the resources in the University Libraries, and to integrate research into a thesis.
Usage and Rhetorical Skills	Usage and Rhetorical Skills
-  University-level control of English usage. -  Some effective variety of sentence length and structure. -  Some control of tone, connotation, and coherence. -  Introductory knowledge of the writing and revision process. -  Introductory knowledge of persuasion and argumentation. -  Presentation of evidence, debate techniques, sensitivity to bias.	-  Ability to complete a paper without distracting mechanical errors. -  Ability to document a research paper properly. -  Ability to sustain a consistent tone, with variations appropriate to the audience and purpose of the essay.
	English 201 Only
	Humanities Credit   -  Ability to conceptualize and interpret human experience. -  Ability to analyze the meaning and significance of creative works.