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"What
can I expect in composition
classes?"
You can expect
several benefits
from your English
classes at Missouri
Western State University.
Among these benefits
are the following:
- You will be
exposed to both
factual and imaginative
readings which
in turn will
improve your
writing ability.
- You will learn
to analyze as
well as comprehend
what you read.
- You will form
valid judgments
rather than simply
learn content.
- You will put
your thoughts
on paper in a
mature manner.
Though individual assignments
and activities will vary from
class to class and among instructors,
our department has as its major
goals your achievement of self-knowledge,
your understanding of human relations,
and your awareness of your own
culture and that of others.
We hope you will adopt these
academic goals as your own personal
goals, both now and in your life
after college.
"How will the Department
contribute to my overall education?"
Our department is organized to
meet the academic needs of all
Missouri Western students. Through
our participation in the General
Studies program, we offer classes
in composition, introductory literature,
and foreign languages. We are
also responsible for the administration
of classes in literature, foreign
languages, writing, and journalism.
Our department works toward a
four-fold goal:
- to improve
writing,
- to develop
skills in organizing
and expressing
ideas and in
the interpretation
of ideas expressed
by others,
- to develop
and practice
the habits of
careful and perceptive
reading,
- to increase
language awareness.
In the area of composition, our
instructors believe that educated
men and women should be able to
express themselves clearly; therefore,
the primary concern in the General
Studies writing courses is to
help you find something to say
and to choose a form that allows
you to say it well. In order to
write well on any chosen subject,
you must consider the world around
you both in the physical world
and your inner, emotional world.
Thus, writing provides you with
essential practice in expressing
your insights and perceptions.
Through practice in composition
essays, reports, letters, research
papers, and/or journalism projects
you will have the opportunity
to have your work evaluated for
its form and its content.
Our department also recognizes
that good communication skills
are vital employment skills. In
a recent survey, top and midlevel
managers indicated that promotions
were often tied to the employees'
ability to communicate clearly
and correctly. Writing, then,
will help you develop those skills
necessary for advancement on the
career ladder.
Additionally, our faculty believes
that the study
of language and literature is
essential for the intellectual
growth and development of all
students. Literature cuts across
boundaries of time and place and
unites all people in its reflections
on the human condition. Through
the study of literature, you will
also have the opportunity to learn
to appreciate the use of language
as it is demonstrated in the works
of the world's talented writers.
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