Defining Features English 1101 and English 1102
The names “English 1101” and “English 1102” reflect the University of Georgia System’s relationship to the courses. They’re the only “English” courses in Georgia Tech’s course catalog. All of the school’s other courses carry the prefix LMC, but to conform to the State’s standards, we use the “English” for Composition I and II.
English 1101 and English 1102 are a sequence, which means that the latter builds on concepts taught in the former, but they also emphasize different aspects of composing. Brittain Fellows’ research interests usually direct their selections of supplementary texts for both English 1101 and English 1102.
- English 1101 introduces rhetorical principles and multimodal composing. Supplementary texts can include all varieties of print and digital nonfiction – creative nonfiction (e.g., essays, memoirs, biographies, autobiographies), journalism (e.g., op-ed pieces, interviews, travelogues, feature articles, news articles), documentary films, websites, blogs, nonfiction video games, and other types of nonfiction artifacts.
- English 1102 continues to address rhetorical principles and multimodal composing while introducing research as well as cultural studies and literary/discourse analysis. Supplementary texts often include fiction, poetry, drama, film, television, video games, and other forms of literature/entertainment. Students complete a sustained research project, which can be individual or collaborative.
For both courses, themes and supplemental texts should reflect LMC’s interests in digital media and the cultural studies of science and technology, but since those interests are quite broad, instructors have great flexibility. In the past, instructors of English 1101 have chosen themes ranging from debates about intellectual property on the Internet to the forms that comedic performance take in different media. Instructors of English 1102 have chosen themes ranging from Chaucerian textuality to the cultural significance of zombie movies. Regardless of the thematic focus, English 1101 and English 1102 are courses in rhetoric and multimodality; the theme for a particular section is simply a vehicle for helping students become more competent and confident writers, speakers, designers, and collaborators.
Required Books/Materials: WOVENText
All sections of English 1101 and English 1102 must use WOVENText (now in its fourth edition), the core text that our program has designed to support the principles of rhetoric and multimodality that shape all our courses. For all supplemental outcomes, instructors select additional texts of their choice. Mandate. All English 1101 and English 1102 classes instructors must indicate on their syllabi that students must acquire and use their own copy of WOVENText. Instructors should use WOVENText—in multiple ways (e.g., homework reading exercises, quizzes, assignments, class activities and discussion) to integrate the textbook into English 1101 and English 1102 classes.
WOVENText History. WOVENText (or its immediate predecessors) has been part of the Writing and Communication Program since 2007.
- During the 2007-08 academic year, the Writing and Communication Program used a Bedford/St. Martin print handbook and first-year argument text as the across-the-board adoptions for English 1101 and English 1102.
- During the 2008-09 academic year, we worked closely with Bedford/St.Martin’s Publishing to create a prototype of a custom e-book for English 1101 and English 1102 that reflected our Program’s rhetorical, multimodal focus; we supplemented that e-book with a brief printed booklet.
- In 2009-10, we named our again- expanded e-book WOVENText, sufficiently revised so that a print supplement was no longer necessary.
- In 2010-2011 and again in 2012-13, we expanded the e-book further to include significantly more multimedia content as well as new materials related to issues that current and past Brittain Fellows considered particularly important issues, such as assessment, ESL, and digital technology.
- For the 2015-16 academic year, the Writing and Communication Program has created the fourth edition of WOVENText in a print edition, based in part on the Bedford Book of Genres, Writer/Designer, and Oral Presentations in the Composition Course and in part on substantive chapters from faculty in our own Writing and Communication Program (WCP). WOVENText does NOT include thematic readings. Individual instructors choose supplementary texts that reflect themes they want to address in their courses.
Programmatic Goals for English 1101 and English 1102
The Writing and Communication has two broad goals (below) for English 1101 and English 1102 and a number of specific course outcomes.
- The goal of English 1101 and English 1102 is for students to develop competence and confidence in critiquing and creating communication modalities (written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal) and to understand how effective communication balances modalities thoughtfully and synergistically.
- The emphasis in every project should be on deep understanding of the genre on which the project focuses and rhetorical processes involved in critiquing and creating that genre.
Georgia Tech GenEd Goals for English 1101 and English 1102
Faculty teaching English 1101 and English 1102 are directly and solely responsible for this Georgia Tech General Education goal:
- Learning Goal A1: Communication—Student will demonstrate proficiency in the process of articulating and organizing rhetorical arguments in written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal modes, using concrete support and conventional language.
Faculty teaching English 1101 and English 1102 contribute to student achievement related to two other GedEd goals:
- Learning Goal III: Critical Thinking—Student will be able to judge factual claims and theories on the basis of evidence.
- Learning Goal C: Humanities, Fine Arts, and Ethics—Student will be able to describe relationships among languages, philosophies, cultures, literature, ethics, or the arts.
Learning Outcomes for English 1101 and English 1102
Learning outcomes typically refer to observable demonstrations of behavioral objectives. In other words, they’re what the students do. English 1101 and English 1102 are communication courses with outcomes that address the critical thinking, rhetoric, processes, and modes and media involved in communication. These outcomes derive from state, disciplinary, and institutional mandates.
What we must do. As instructors who teach English 1101 and English 1102, we must meet the following expectations:
- Discuss outcomes common to all sections of the two courses—for example, in the syllabus, in the introduction to the course, in reflective writing assignments, and so on
- Develop assessment criteria that are linked to the outcomes
- Incorporate our own scholarly interests—for example, literacy, piracy, sexuality, digital cultural, pop music, diasporas, theater, neighborhood development—as vehicles for students to explore and practice communication
Why we must do it. We have to meet state and institutional requirements, so we must comply with the following responsibilities:
- Comply with the Board of Regents’ mandate that specifies consistent outcomes for English 1101 and English 1102
- Respond to Georgia Tech’s mandate for superior curriculum and instruction in the multimodal communication that students need to enter highly competitive professions
- Establish programmatic identity for our Writing and Communication Program through program-specific outcomes for English 1101 and English 1102
What language conveys the objectives and outcomes. To fulfill these responsibilities, faculty must include course goals and outcomes on syllabi. The table below includes the required language. It can be copied directly into syllabi, or the language can appear verbatim in another form. You should also provide a link to program-wide policies in your syllabus and/or on your course website.
Outcomes for First-Year Composition in the Georgia Tech Writing and Communication Program (GTWCP)
The image above is a copy of the table of expected outcomes for First-Year Composition by category, identifying expectations of the Board of Regents, Council of Writing Program Administrators, and the Georgia Tech Writing and Communication Program. A version of this table in Word is available on T-Square for inclusion in your course syllabus.
What you might add. You may also incorporate additional outcomes that you anticipate for your course, providing a framework, consistent with the preceding table, for presenting outcomes that individual instructors establish for specific sections. In other words, when you choose a theme for your sections of English 1101 or English 1102, you’ll probably have goals for how students will explore and respond to issues related to your theme. You might articulate those goals in terms of outcomes. Such a table provides a shortcut for expressing your individual outcomes in a way that matches the preceding table. If you prefer to present the information from the tables in other forms, do so.
WCP believes this broad approach to composing is vital to the success of any student at Georgia Tech. Students at Georgia Tech are expected to engage with their English 1101 and English 1102 course work on multiple levels, including activities such as participating in online forums for group discussion, contributing daily/weekly blogs designed to allow students to write about the class and the discussions in a less formal and perhaps more familiar medium, constructing class wikis that compile class knowledge and learning in a navigable format, and practicing many different kinds of writing for different audiences and purposes. Students can still create a formal belletristic essay, but their experience with writing should extend to other genres and make them more adept at electronic communication and interaction than they were before stepping into class.
Sample Syllabi
Dr. Fitzsimmons – ENGL1101, Fall2017
Dr. Fitzsimmons – ENGL1102, Spring2018