A composition course that develops writing skills beyond the levels of proficiency required by ENGL 1101, that emphasizes interpretation and evaluation, and that incorporates a variety of more advanced research methods. Develops communication skills in networked electronic environments, emphasizes interpretation and evaluation of cultural texts, and incorporates research methods in print and on the Internet.
ENGL 1102 Course Outcomes
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking involves understanding social and cultural texts and contexts in ways that support productive communication and interaction.
- Analyze arguments.
- Accommodate opposing points of view.
- Interpret inferences and develop subtleties of symbolic and indirect discourse.
- Use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating.
- Integrate ideas with those of others.
- Understand relationships among language, knowledge, and power.
- Recognize the constructedness of language and social forms.
Rhetoric
Rhetoric focuses on available means of persuasion, considering the synergy of factors such as context, audience, purpose, role, argument, organization, design, visuals, and conventions of language.
- Adapt communication to circumstances and audience.
- Produce communication that is stylistically appropriate and mature.
- Communicate in standard English for academic and professional contexts.
- Sustain a consistent purpose and point of view.
- Use a variety of technologies to address a range of audiences.
- Learn common formats for different kinds of texts.
- Develop knowledge of genre conventions ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics.
- Control such surface features as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
- Create artifacts that demonstrate the synergy of rhetorical elements.
- Demonstrate adaptation of register, language, and conventions for specific contexts and audiences.
- Apply strategies for communication in and across both academic disciplines and cultural contexts in the community and the workplace.
Process
Processes for communication—for example, creating, planning, drafting, designing, rehearsing, revising, presenting, publishing—are recursive, not linear. Learning productive processes is as important as creating products.
- Find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize appropriate primary and secondary sources.
- Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading.
- Understand collaborative and social aspects of writing processes.
- Critique their own and others’ works.
- Balance the advantages of relying on others with [personal] responsibility.
- Construct and select information based on interpretation and critique of the accuracy, bias, credibility, authority, and appropriateness of sources.
- Compose reflections that demonstrate understanding of the elements of iterative processes, both specific to and transferable across rhetorical situations.
Modes and Media
Activities and assignments should use a variety of modes and media—written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal (WOVEN)—singly and in combination. The context and culture of multimodality and multimedia are critical.
- Interpret content of written materials on related topics from various disciplines.
- Compose effective written materials for various academic and professional contexts.
- Assimilate, analyze, and present a body of information in oral and written forms.
- Communicate in various modes and media, using appropriate technology.
- Use digital environments for drafting, reviewing, revising, editing, and sharing texts.
- Locate, evaluate, organize, and use research material collected from electronic sources, including scholarly library databases; other official (e.g., federal) databases; and informal electronic networks and internet sources.
- Exploit differences in rhetorical strategies and affordances available for both print and electronic composing processes and texts.
- Create WOVEN (written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal) artifacts that demonstrate interpretation, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and judgment.
- Demonstrate strategies for effective translation, transformation, and transference of communication across modes and media.
The WOVENText Open Educational Resources, available at woventext.lmc.gatech.edu.
Cloud, Dana L., James Cherney, Constance Gordon, James Cisneros, and Theon Hill. Rhetorical Histories of Social Movements in the U.S. 1st ed. Cognella Academic Publishing, 2025.
Ball, Cheryl, Jennifer Sheppard, and Kristin Arola, Writer/Designer, 3rd ed. (MacMillan Learning, 2022).
You will order that last required textbook, The Writer/Designer, through the through The Bedford Bookshelf. The link is available through the bookstore. To order, type the following into the Find Course Materials page at the bookstore: ENGL, 1102, your section number.
Each of the three major projects will be graded in terms of the student's active participation towards completion, the final submission, and reflective writing and activities. Successful completion of all three major projects with a passing grade (each a D or better) is required to pass the course.
Graded Work Percentages
Project 0: Common First Week Video 10%
Project 1: Profile Podcast 20%
Project 2: Group Presentation 20%
Project 3: Digital Exhibit 20%
Discussion and Engagement 20%
Final Exam: Multimodal Reflection Portfolio 10%
Major Projects Grading Scheme
All major projects (1-3) have three major components to their assessment. These are as follows:
Final Draft: 50%
Active Participation: 25%
Reflection Essay: 25%
This scheme reflects the course’s investment in the development of our writing processes, individually and collectively. This is not a course in which you primarily show up to receive instruction that you use later to complete assignments on your own. The work we do in class is the assignment. That work includes activities, group workshops, and discussions of the reading. The depth of your engagement, the quality of your contributions, the degree of your preparation for class, and the timeliness of your process work will all factor into the assessment for Active Participation. Similarly, the Reflection Essay that accompanies each major project is not an afterthought. As an invitation to study your own writing process, Reflection Essays are very important in our course. They will prompt you to rationalize your writing choices, analyze your rhetorical situations, and evaluate the effectiveness of your process.
Grading Standards
These standards establish major criteria for each grade category. Every project will not fit neatly into one category; a project might, for instance, have some characteristics of “B” and some of “C.”
The A Project: Excellent
- Project matches the assignment and reflects the learning outcomes.
- Content is significant, thorough, and well-suited for the audience, purpose, and context.
- Arguments and information are well organized—from the whole project to its individual elements—and well designed for the genre and medium.
- Reasoning is convincing and logical; claims are supported with compelling evidence.
- Style is effective for the reading situation.
- Mechanics, grammar, and formatting are correct and even rhetorically sensitive.
The B Project: Good
- Project matches the assignment and reflects the learning outcomes.
- Content is suited for the audience, purpose, and context.
- Arguments and information are organized appropriately at the macro and micro
- level for the genre and medium, but there are missed opportunities to use design
- for rhetorical purposes.
- Reasoning is logical; evidence supports claims in an adequate manner.
- Style is appropriate for the reading situation.
- Mechanics, grammar, and formatting are mostly correct.
The C Project: Competent
- Project matches the assignment and reflects the learning outcomes.
- Content is adequate for the audience, purpose, and context.
- Arguments and information are organized in a discernible pattern but may not be
- particularly effective at the macro or micro level for the genre and medium, and
- the design provides minimal support for reading.
- Reasoning is plausible, and evidence provides support for claims.
- Style is serviceable for the reading context.
- Mechanics and grammar may be correct.
The D Project: Marginally Acceptable
- Project attempts to match the assignment, but the topic or rhetorical audience is too broad, too narrow, or inappropriate.
- Content shows a poor sense of audience, purpose, and context. It may correctly assess the situation but add little substance.
- Arguments and information may be significantly flawed, including organization, at the macro and micro level.
- Reasoning is flawed on some level, resting on insufficient understanding of the situation or rhetorical audience.
- Project may rely too heavily on evidence from published sources without developing an authorial voice.
- Evidence may be missing, irrelevant, or misinterpreted.
- Style may be serviceable but inconsequential to the success of the project.
- Problems with mechanics, grammar, and formatting create distractions or confusion.
The F Project: Unacceptable
- Project does not match the assignment or its requirements, even if well written, or relates to the assignment but has no clear purpose, rhetorical audience, or focus.
- Project is missing content or essential elements of the genre or medium.
- Arguments and information have significant organizational problems.
- Reasoning is flawed, or evidence is used unsuccessfully if at all.
Note #1: To earn an A, B, or C on a project, students must complete all process work in
an acceptable fashion.
Note #2: Projects with academic integrity violations will receive a failing grade.
Attendance and participation are essential to success in courses in the Writing and Communication Program. Because of this, you are expected to attend class in person. Not attending a scheduled class session in-person results in an absence.
There may be times when you cannot or should not attend class, such as if you are not feeling well, have an interview, or have family responsibilities. Therefore, this course allows a specified number of absences without penalty, regardless of reason. After that, penalties accrue. Exceptions are allowed for Institute-approved absences (for example, those documented by the Registrar) and situations such as hospitalization or family emergencies (documented by the Office of the Dean of Students).
If you communicate proactively with me, I can suggest how to access materials or make up work you may have missed during your absence or suggest ways to participate in class remotely and/or asynchronously. You are still responsible to submit all assigned work and to fulfill any alternative arrangements we make for in-class activities. If those requirements are met, you may miss a total of four (4) classes without penalty. Each additional absence after the allotted number deducts 2% from a student’s final grade. Excessive absences may result in failure of the class, as determined by the instructor of the course in consultation with the Director of the Writing and Communication Program.
The responsibility to lead reading discussions on the days you are assigned to do so may not be excused or made up. Consequently, you must register to lead discussions on days for which you do not have an excused absence.
The course schedule details the readings and required preparation for every class session. All such assignments are due before class begins.
Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. All work submitted must be original and properly cited. Plagiarism, cheating, or any form of academic dishonesty will result in immediate consequences as outlined in the university's academic integrity policy.
This is a Core IMPACTS course that is part of the Writing area.
Core IMPACTS refers to the core curriculum, which provides students with essential knowledge in foundational academic areas. This course will help master course content, and support students’ broad academic and career goals.
This course should direct students toward a broad Orienting Question:
How do I write effectively in different contexts?
Completion of this course should enable students to meet the following Learning Outcomes:
- Students will communicate effectively in writing, demonstrating clear organization and structure, using appropriate grammar and writing conventions.
- Students will appropriately acknowledge the use of materials from original sources.
- Students will adapt their written communications to purpose and audience.
- Students will analyze and draw informed inferences from written texts.
Course content, activities and exercises in this course should help students develop the following Career-Ready Competencies:
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Persuasion