|
|
Course
Description
Students will complete five writing
assignments in Honors Composition.
At least one of these assignments
will be a research paper involving
library and on-line research. Final
drafts of papers will be word processed.
Students will keep complete portfolios
of all writing done in the course.
Honors composition classes will
be addressing the Objectives and
Means for ENG 104 and for ENG 108
(See pages 28-29, 39-40) in this
accelerated course. Upon successful
completion of ENG 112, students fulfill
the college's General Studies composition
requirement.
Before any grade appeal will be
processed for a student in ENG 100,
104, 108, or 112, the complete portfolio
of writings will have to be submitted
to the Departmental Review Committee.
ENG
112 Honors Composition and Rhetoric
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
112 Paper
Assignment: Write
an essay which interprets as well
as conveys your enjoyment of a poem.
Making the Difference
"The Road Not Taken" by Robert
Frost
"The Road Not Taken" has been my
favorite poem ever since I started
high school. You see, I had just come
home from my first day at high school
when the phone rang. "Hello?" It was
typical of me to answer the phone in
this fashion. "Two roads diverged in
a yellow wood, and sorry I could not
travel both . . . " (1-2). This was
not a typical response, but as my father
continued, I began to understand that
he was reciting a poem. He was reciting "The
Road Not Taken." He had chosen this
particular day to introduce me to this
poem because he figured that I was
beginning a period of my life where
I would be forced to make many important
decisions, and he saw this poem as
a source of guidance through those
decisions. That is what drew me to
this poem. It carries truth and edification
in its words. It forms a beautiful
analogy of life and all its complications.
However, my first day of high school
was busy and exciting. It was also
very tiring. When I hung up the phone
that day, I laid it down without a
second thought about Robert Frost or
his poetry. It was weeks, possibly
months, before I resumed thought on "The
Road Not Taken." It was not until just
under a year ago that I actually read
it. Nevertheless, I did remember that
poem, and no matter how many times
I put it aside to contemplate other
things, it was always waiting for my
return. Through all of my high school
years, it tagged along beside me, reminding
me that change is good, reminding me
that risk is what life is all about.
The first stanza of this poem introduces
the concept of change and maturing.
In the first line, the narrator is
walking through a "yellow wood," indicating
that it is most likely autumn. A
nice descriptive detail, but is that
all it is? Autumn is the season of
change between summer and winter.
That is the common definition, yet
it can also mean a time of maturity
or decline, and standing at a fork
in the road of life, the author was
prone to either of these. The process
of maturing, however, is what is
going to be enveloped in this poem.
He is being forced to examine each
road and make a mature decision about
which one to take.
He starts his decision-making process
by looking down one road as far as
he could. However, he could only
see as far as "where it bent in the
undergrowth" (5). This didn't accomplish
much, so he was left with trying
to find another method of deciding
on what particular one to take. This
was achieved by looking at each path
and deciding on the one that "was
grassy and wanted wear" (8). In other
words, the narrator didn't want to
follow in anybody else's footsteps.
He wanted to be independent, to be
free from the influence or control
of others. The author knew that the
only way that he could do this was
to break away from the mold that
society had already made take the
path that had not been worn, that
was not subject to the grooves of
the previous drifter.
This decision is not to be taken
lightly. For once it is set in motion;
it cannot be disengaged, even though
the intention may be to return someday
and explore the option you first
resisted. The author is aware of
this but feels strongly that he is
making the right decision.
- I shall be telling this with
a sigh
- Somewhere ages and ages hence:
- Two roads diverged in a wood
and I
- I took the one less traveled
by,
- And that has made all the difference.
(16-20)
In this stanza, a feeling of nostalgia
is created or at least a foreshadowing
of nostalgia, yet it is a sigh that
he begins with. A sigh of relief or
of regret, or is it simply a sigh of
wonder? The title of this poem is "The
Road Not Taken." It is not referring
to the life that he has chosen to lead
but rather to the life he has chosen
not to lead, and looking back he may
wonder what would have happened had
he taken the other path. Even so, that
does not necessarily mean that he regrets
his choice. As long as he appreciates
that the decision was based solely
on what he believes, he will be able
to look back with relief. That is what
makes the difference.
That is why this poem makes such
a difference. It sends a powerful
message of self-respect. It holds
the power to influence a person not
to be influenced. Is this a contradiction?
Perhaps, but it is the truth. When
I came to a fork in my road, I was
influenced by this poem to believe
in myself and take the road "less
traveled by" (19). The analogy is
that no life is a straight shot.
Everyone faces a fork in the road
and must make a decision, possibly
an irreversible decision, and the
only way to look back on a decision
like that with a sigh of relief is
to make the decision based on what
you believe to be right. That may
not be what society thinks is right,
what your friends think is right,
or even what your family thinks is
right, but taking the path based
on independent will is what makes "all
the difference" (20).
|
