Building Block Number One: Descriptive Summary

English 1301 is a hands-on course where students will study different types of writing processes, such as revising, editing, and identifying rhetorical devices to further explain a topic. The class tackles writing processes through peer revisions and individual work and helps students to think of complex ideas rather than pushing them to stick to one restrictive idea. 

The course consists of three Learning Unit papers, and one Learning Unit website which averages to 15-20% of the students total grade. Learning Units will cover different writing styles that students should know. Students will participate in peer review sessions and undergo vigorous revising and editing to improve their essays. In addition to that, class engagement is 15% of the overall grade. Being engaged in class will help students with analyzing passages in order to find the author’s purpose. All of this builds up students strength and confidence in the writing process. 

Students are expected to attend every class session, with the only exceptions being religious events or UT Tyler athletic affiliations. Having perfect attendance will be a great advantage for students, because they are learning key writing and thinking concepts that will improve with every class they attend.

The overall goal of this course is to help students understand the writing process in order to write a strong paper with strong support and thoroughly thought out ideas. Students will be able to identify a passage’s purpose, and understand the audience for which the text is intended. Attending class and working on the assignments consistently, paired with a conscious effort to improve, will hone students’ writing and critical thinking skills. 

Building Block Number Two: Argument Summary

John Pekins is an English professor at Tallahassee Community College. In his essay, “A Community College Professor Reflects on First-Year Composition” Pekins’s discusses the decline in academic writing proficiency with students entering college courses, particularly in his first-year English Composition class. He believes changes must be made to fix the decline in interest and passion for students improving their writing skills. 

Students struggle to meet the expectations of their English Composition course because the instructors of the class have different expectations for what the course should focus on. Since student’s writing experience is so diverse, it is hard to engage students in the class, potentially causing a lack of interest in the students. Due to this lack of student interest, it is difficult for teachers to perfect their English Composition criteria because they do not receive feedback from students. Pekins suggests that the lack of interest in writing could be a direct result of students not reading for pleasure anymore. Teachers have accepted that there is not a passion for learning to write from students anymore, because most students are focused on taking the course to reach their required credits for their degree. He argues that the decline in reading comes from the presence of technology, particularly television. Technology is what Pekins sees as a driving force in the incompetence of students when it comes to writing.

Pekins believes changes must be made, and proposes solutions such as producing a nation-wide assessment of the English Composition course in order to produce a set list of criteria for the course. He also suggests integrating critical reading as a staple piece of the course so that students are required to think outside the box and embrace the writing process. Pekins suggests that a complete course redesign might not be an immediate success, but will be beneficial in attempting to encourage students to want to learn about the writing process.