Programs

Freshman Writing Program

We take reading and writing skills seriously because we take your success in future endeavors seriously. 

We've heard from CEOs of companies, prison wardens, business managers, and lawyers that strong communications skills are among the most important keys to success in any field.

Even though the tasks may be difficult and the learning curve high, students who rise to the challenge of our faculty pass notes of gratitude and appreciation back to us later in their careers when they find doors opening for them.

On these pages you will find the professional standards by which we live and work, and we expect all of our writing students to enter in and live by them, as well.

 

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Courses

English 1001: Composition I
Composition of analytical, expository, and argumentative writing; emphasizes writing as a process.

English 1002: Composition II
Composition of in-depth analytical and argumentative writing using documentation and research. Prerequisite: C or better in ENGL 1001.

Standards for Content and Organization in Papers

Departmental Rubric

Plan

• Choose a subject and narrow it so that it can be sufficiently developed within the limits of the assignment.
• Discover and abide by a controlling position statement or thesis.

Organize

• Organize the sequence of the composition so that it is clear, coherent, and persuasive, making apparent to the readers the logical progression within and between paragraphs.
• Begin and conclude the composition in interesting, engaging, and provocative ways.

Support

• Arrange details, examples, facts, and plausible conjectures to develop and to substantiate claims.
• Draw upon credible, pertinent supporting research when necessary.

Use Language

• Use appropriate language in a given context.
• Abide by grammatical rules and recognized standards of formal usage.
• Learn to identify which occasions and contexts might warrant departure from such rules and usage.

Revise and Proofread

• Reconceive and restructure the argument, gathering and incorporating more effective evidence.
• Draft, edit, revise, and proof carefully.

Additional Resources

Class Attendance Regulations - see the ULM Academic (Undergraduate) Catalog

Academic Cheating and Plagiarism Policy - see the Student Policy Manual [pdf]