三亿体育官网

A Guide to EN 105: Writing Seminar II

Most 三亿体育官网 students fulfill the Expository Writing Requirement by taking EN 105 Writing Seminar II. The English Department offers between 20 to 25 sections of EN 105 each semester. Enrollment in each section is limited to 15 students to assure that students receive individual, in depth attention to their development as writers. Although the majority of 三亿体育官网 students are familiar with EN 105, many faculty and staff often have questions about the course. We've designed this page to answer many of those questions. To learn more about EN 105: Writing Seminar II, click on one of the following questions:

What is EN 105?

What happens in an EN 105 class?

How do students prepare for class?

How much writing do students do?

What kinds of comments do students receive on their papers?

 

WHAT IS EN 105?

EN 105 Writing Seminar II is the course most students take to fulfill the College's Expository Writing Requirement. Because students in each section will be planning to major in a variety of academic disciplines or programs, EN 105 aims to prepare them to write clearly and correctly for the rest of their college career.

EN 105 classes are theme-based writing courses. The readings, discussions, and writing assignments revolve around the theme that the instructor has chosen. Sample topics include "Writing in the Tang"; "Class Matters"; "'Race,' Writing, and Difference"; "Writing on Demand"; and "Everything is Relatives." The offers a list of the current EN 105 classes under the "Prospectus" link.

As theme-based courses, EN 105 seminars may seem like first-year . However, the theme of an EN 105 section is not what the course is "about." EN 105 courses are about writing and the writing process: developing a thesis, organizing an essay coherently and logically, using evidence effectively to support assertions, and crafting clear, grammatically correct sentences, and revising one's own writing.

 

WHAT HAPPENS IN AN EN 105 CLASS?

EN 105 classes typically focus on several different activities:

• Workshops where the instructor leads a discussion of one or more student papers. Usually, these workshops focus on drafts that the students will revise. Faculty conduct these workshops in a variety of ways: some assign drafts to be read before class; sometimes students read drafts in class; sometimes the writer reads the draft aloud. Some faculty read student drafts without identifying the writer; others ask the writer to participate in the workshop discussion to focus the session.
• Discussion of general writing issues. Faculty often devote classes to features of academic writing such as introductions, thesis statements, transitions, paragraph development, organization, conclusions, and revision.
• Grammar review. Instructors will spend some of class time reviewing--or often teaching--particular points of grammar. This instruction my include exercises, explanations, or student presentations. Other times, instruction in grammar may occur on an individual basis in student-teacher conferences.
• Discussion of style, diction, and editing. Some faculty spend individual class time on these topics; others incorporate them into writing workshops.
• Discussion of documentation and plagiarism. EN 105 writing seminars are often the classes in which students learn the principles of academic integrity, citation, and documentation.
• Discussion of readings. Good writers are good readers. Many faculty, therefore, devote time in EN 105 classes to helping students analyze readings, develop their own questions about readings, and think about ways to respond to readings in writing.

Overall, the majority of class time in EN 105 classes is devoted to writing concerns, not discussion of the course theme.