Course
Description
ENG 108 students will complete
three formal research based
projects in addition to other
graded and ungraded work. In
these assignments, students
will learn how to analyze,
synthesize, and evaluate the
thinking of others in order
to discover, develop, and test
their own points of view. Final
drafts of all formal writing
assignments must be word processed.
All students are expected to
be prepared for class and participate
in class discussions related
to reading and writing assignments.
In addition, students will
keep complete portfolios of
all their writings.
Before any grade appeal will
be processed for a student
in ENG 100, 104, or 108, the
complete portfolio of writings
will have to be submitted to
the Departmental Review Committee.
Objectives
Students will add the following
abilities to those presented
in the objectives for English
104.
Learning to write
for different audiences and
purposes
Students will…
- focus particularly on academic
audiences and scholarly purposes
Learning to use active
reading and critical thinking
Students will…
- classify and define objects,
events, data, ideas, and
terms discovered through
research;
- make judgments based on
criteria that can be supported
and explained;
- ask questions to clarify
issues and solve problems;
- identify explicit and implicit
meanings in a text;
- recognize problems and
find workable solutions.
Learning to use writing
processes
Students will…
- apply pre-writing strategies
to discover what they already
know and what they want to
learn through research;
- write summary notes in
the process of doing research;
- write drafts in which they
reconstruct their beliefs
on the basis of the wider
experience they gain through
research;
- revise for an organization
appropriate to their specific
main purpose and audience.
Learning written conventions
Students will…
- practice documentation
conventions for styles such
as MLA and APA;
- learn important grammatical
concepts used for analyzing
sentence correctness and
style;
- correctly incorporate language,
information, and ideas from
sources;
- use advanced editing resources
like dictionaries and writing
handbooks.
Institutional
Competencies
State-Level Goals:
SKILL AREAS
Communicating
To develop students’ effective
use of the English language and
quantitative and other symbolic
systems essential to their success
in school and in the world. Students
should be able to read and listen
critically and to write and speak
with thoughtfulness, clarity,
coherence, and persuasiveness.
A. Analyze
and evaluate their own and
others’ speaking and
writing.
B. Conceive
of writing as a recursive process
that involves many strategies,
including generating material,
evaluating sources when used,
drafting, revising, and editing.
C. Make formal
written and oral presentations
employing correct diction,
syntax, usage, grammar, and
mechanics.
D. Focus
on a purpose (e.g., explaining,
problem solving, argument)
and vary approaches to writing
and speaking based on that
purpose.
E. Respond
to the needs of different audiences
and choose words for appropriateness
and effect.
Higher-Order Thinking
To develop students’ ability
to distinguish among opinions,
facts, and inferences; to identify
underlying or implicit assumptions;
to make informed judgments; and
to solve problems by applying
evaluative standards.
A. Recognize
the problematic elements of
presentations of information
and argument.
B. Formulate
questions for clarifying issues
and solving problems.
C. Use linguistic,
mathematical or other symbolic
approaches to describe problems,
identify alternative solutions,
and make reasoned choices among
those solutions.
D. Analyze
and synthesize information
from a variety of relevant
sources and use the results
to address complex situations
and problems.
E. Defend
conclusions using relevant
evidence and reasoned argument.
F. Reflect
on and evaluate their critical-thinking
processes. Managing Information
To develop students’ abilities
to locate, organize, store, retrieve,
evaluate, synthesize, and annotate
information from print, electronic,
and other sources in preparation
for solving problems and making
informed decisions.
A. Access
and/or generate information
from a variety of sources,
including the most contemporary
technological information services.
B. Evaluate
information for its currency,
usefulness, truthfulness, and
accuracy.
C. Organize,
store, and retrieve information
efficiently.
D. Reorganize
information for an intended
purpose, such as research projects.
E. Present
information clearly and concisely,
using traditional and contemporary
technologies.
Sample
English 108 Paper
Assignment: Write
a research essay which connects
the date of an important autobiographical
event with world happenings
at that time.
Kinship Care: The Best Possible
Choice
In June 1995, as I stood by my
niece Jennifer's side in the
hospital while her knee was being
stitched, I realized the pain
a child endures when away from
her parents and how important
it is that some form of a relationship
be sustained. Jennifer had not
seen her mother in two years.
She still asked about her, especially
when she was hurt or when things
did not go her way. During this
hospital visit, I realized how
deeply Jennifer missed her mother.
I decided I would try to locate
her mother and persuade her to
visit Jennifer. I would not have
had this option if Jennifer had
remained in a standard foster
home rather than with relatives.
A kinship home provides permanence,
less risk of abuse, and potential
for maintaining close ties with
relatives.
When Jennifer was three years
old, she was removed from her
home and placed with strangers
within the foster care system.
This was so traumatic for her
that within two weeks she was
hospitalized for psychiatric
evaluation. What Jennifer needed
was a familiar face. Her sense
of loss was overwhelming, and
she could not understand why
she had been taken from her
home. Had she been placed with
a relative, as she now is at
age five, her situation could
have been less traumatic.
Because relatives are more
likely than foster families
to provide long term care,
the child's need for a permanent,
stable home is fulfilled. Being
shuttled from one family to
another causes a child to become
inaccessible, unwilling to
form relationships for fear
they will soon be moved and
lose them. To verify this,
Jennifer does not remember
who her caregivers were during
her 14 month stay in the foster
care system nor does she remember
how many homes she was in.
Kinship care alleviates this
behavior by providing a stable,
permanent home. Children know
they belong to the family and
are comfortable continuing
those relationships.
Because of the existing bond
between a child and relative,
the child is less likely to
be abused. Abuse in the foster
home can come from other foster
children or any member in that
family. Children in foster
care are most likely experiencing
feelings of anger and hurt.
These feelings, combined with
the knowledge that they will
not be staying with this family
long, promotes negative behavior.
They often choose to ignore
rules and behave in whatever
manner they want. The stress
of a belligerent child increases
the risk of abuse. The relationship
bond between the child and
relative promotes harmony and
is therefore less likely to
be abusive. An article in Parents
magazine indicates that studies
show foster homes are not always
caring homes and children are
more likely to be abused in
foster care than in society
as a whole (Alderson 36). Zuravin,
Benedict and Somerfield agree
and state in their study, "Because
of the increase in kinship
care placements, it is somewhat
reassuring to see that such
homes are at less risk for
maltreatment than regular homes" (594).
When removed from the home,
a child's need for ongoing
relationships with close relatives
is necessary for his or her
emotional well being. A foster
home cannot provide this. Many
times neither the foster family
nor the biological family have
knowledge of each other's identity.
The child is therefore caught
in the middle, staying with
strangers and not knowing what
has become of their relatives.
Kinship care allows children
access to family members, although
some may be on a limited basis.
When Jennifer was in foster
care, no family members were
allowed direct contact. We
could send cards and letters
to the social worker, and she
would pass them on. Jennifer
did share that she had wondered
what had happened to everyone
even though she had gotten
most of our cards and letters.
Since her placement with me,
Jennifer has picked up most
of her relationships as if
nothing had happened. She still
misses her mother but has gotten
to see her twice since her
June accident.
Being removed from home is
such a frightful event for
children. Every effort to lessen
their anxiety must be made.
Kinship care goes a long way
in accomplishing this because
it provides permanence, safety,
and loving relationships.
Works Cited
Alderson, Jeremy Weir. "The
Foster-Care Crisis." Parents Jan.
1994: 36-29.
Zuravin, Susan J., Mary Benedict,
and Mark Somerfield, "Child
Maltreatment in Family Foster
Care." American Journal
of Orthopsychiatry 63 (1993):
589-96.
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