English Composition Program

The offerings in English Composition are designed to meet the general requirements of the various academic programs at this university and comparable institutions. It is advantageous to students to complete these classes during the freshman or, if necessary, sophomore year.

Many of these classes are taught by Graduate Assistants under the supervision of program director Ann Spurlock. Others sections may be taught by instructors or lecturers, or members of the graduate faculty, with Honors sections taught exclusively by members of the graduate faculty.

Courses

• Curriculum
• Placement 
• Class Descriptions
• Texts

Resources

• Writing Center
• WebCT

Instructional Faculty

• Teaching Assistants
• Instructors and Lecturers
• Graduate Faculty

Statement of Purpose

The Department of English has adopted this statement of the general aims of the first and second composition courses:  "The purpose of freshman English is to improve the student's ability to use language effectively in reading and writing and to improve his or her reading comprehension.  The effective use of language is an art, not merely a skill.  It can be learned and improved.  All arts involve the adaptation of means to ends. Continued human experience with an art involves following certain procedures effectively and efficiently to achieve these ends. These procedures then are formulated into a body of knowledge governed by a set of standards that must be followed if success in that art is to be achieved. The criteria for the effective use of language can be classified into the rules of grammar, rhetoric, and logic. The general aim of all freshman courses is to familiarize the student with the standards of contemporary American usage and to provide her or him with opportunities for putting these standards into practice in writing."

Program History