Curriculum and Objectives

English 1500: Critical Thinking and Communication
Credits: 3. Contact Hours: Lecture 3.

Application of critical reading and thinking abilities to topics of civic and cultural importance. Introduction of basic oral, visual, and electronic communication principles to support writing development. Initiation of communication portfolio. Concurrent enrollment in LIB 1600 is recommended. (Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer)

English 2500: Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition
Credits: 3. Contact Hours: Lecture 3.
Prereq: ENGL 1500 or exemption from ENGL 1500; Sophomore classification or exemption from ENGL 1500; Credit for or concurrent enrollment in LIB 1600

Analyzing, composing, and reflecting on written, oral, visual, and electronic (WOVE) discourse within academic, civic, and cultural contexts. Emphasis on supporting a claim and using primary and secondary sources. Continued development of communication portfolio. Graduation Restriction: The University requires a minimum grade of C in ENGL 2500 to meet the Communication Proficiency graduation requirement; some majors/degree programs may set higher standards. (Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer)

English 2500H: Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition: Honors
Credits: 3. Contact Hours: Lecture 3.

In-depth analysis, composition, and reflection on written, oral, visual, and electronic (WOVE) discourse within academic, civic, and cultural contexts. Emphasis on argumentation: developing claims, generating reasons, providing evidence. Individual sections organized by special topics. Development of communication portfolio. Graduation Restriction: The University requires a minimum grade of C in ENGL 2500 to meet the Communication Proficiency graduation requirement; some majors/degree programs may set higher standards. (Typically Offered: Fall)

English 1500 Objectives

The purpose of English 1500 is to prepare students for communicating successfully in their academic courses, as well as in their work, personal, and civic lives. Because of what the National Council of Teachers of English calls the importance of 21st-century literacies, most of the course will be devoted to writing, but students will also practice and analyze oral, visual, and electronic communication. Students will also compile an ISUComm Portfolio to showcase and reflect their work.

Written

  • adapt their writing to specific purposes, audiences, and situational contexts
  • integrate and document a range of informational sources, from personal interviews to print and electronic publications
  • practice varied organizational strategies and transitional devices
  • match expression to situation and audience, avoiding errors that distract or confuse
  • design effective presentation forms by attending to spacing, margins, headings, color, and typography
  • develop strategies to revise their own writing
  • reflect upon their communication processes, strengths, goals, and growth

Oral

  • ask effective questions and listening actively
  • function as an effective team member in small groups as contributor, listener, collaborator, and presenter
  • develop basic oral presentation skills, focusing on meaningful information, clear organization, and engaging delivery

Visual

  • design effective layouts by attending to spacing, margins, headings, color, and typography
  • create an appropriate layout format for a visual document
  • analyze visual communication
  • use visuals effectively (e.g., imported, scanned, or digital pictures) and integrate them with written texts
  • accurately document visual sources

Electronic

  • use appropriate format, voice, and language in a professional email (e.g., correspondence with an instructor)
  • use word processing skills, including making headings, attachments, tables, etc.
  • compose a communication portfolio using appropriate media

Types of Assignments in English 1500

Below are a few of the typical assignments included in English 1500. Learning communities often modify assignments to their specific field.

Assignment 1: Personal Narrative Write a personal narrative that shares an experience from your life and reflects on its significance.
Assignment 2: Profile Conduct an interview and write a profile on an individual.
Assignment 3: Analysis Write an analysis of a multimodal text from an organization in your community.
Assignment 4a: Multimodal Design Create a multimodal form of communication by repurposing content from a past assignment.
Assignment 4b: Presentation Create a 5 minute video presentation based on your work for Assignment 5a.
Assignment 5: ISUComm Portfolio Compile a project that showcases the communication skills that you develop during the course.

English 2500 Objectives

The goals of English 2500 are for students to develop skills in written, oral, visual, and electronic communication. As a result, students should become not only a more perceptive consumer of information, but also a communicator better able to make effective decisions in their own academic life and work. A central concept in this course is that “arguments are all around us, in every medium, in every genre, in everything we do….An argument can be any text–written, spoken, aural, or visual–that expresses a point of view” (Everything’s an Argument 5). In this course, students will summarize, analyze, and evaluate various types of communication and then use those skills in four kinds of assignments: summaries, rhetorical analyses (both textual and visual), persuasive arguments, and research arguments.

Written

  • summarize accurately and responsibly the main ideas of others, especially published sources
  • analyze professional writing to assess its purpose, audience, and rhetorical strategies
  • explore and develop arguments that integrate ethical, logical, and emotional appeals (i.e., ethos, logs, pathos)
  • continue to integrate appropriate source material, providing accurate and consistent documentation
  • continue to demonstrate an ability to conform to usage conventions and to adapt expression to purpose and audience
  • continue to reflect systematically upon all of your communication processes, strengths, goals, and growth (e.g., an ISUComm Portfolio)

Oral

  • give an oral presentation, either individually or as part of a team, using effective invention, organization, language, and delivery strategies
  • continue to improve as an effective team member in small groups as contributor, listener, collaborator, and presenter

Visual

  • apply the visual communication principles related to pattern, contrast, direction, chunking, and color
  • compose or analyze the rhetoric of visual communication (e.g., advertisement, documentary film, political cartoon, public service announcement)
  • create a visual argument (e.g., advertisement, poster, slide)

Electronic

  • apply the electronic communication principles related to content, layout, graphics, color, and interactivity
  • analyze electronic communication (e.g., TV commercials, videos, websites) and compose a communication portfolio
  • deliver a piece of communication to its intended audience, using one or more suitable media

WOVE

  • ensure that all modes contribute to the primary message, purpose, and targeted audience
  • develop clear, purposeful relationships between the modes
  • exhibit a sensitivity to differences in modes and their cultural implications
  • create a rich, interactive experience for the audience
  • develop confidence in ability to adapt skills and knowledge used here to future situations

Types of Assignments in English 2500

Below are a few of the typical assignments included in English 2500. Learning communities often modify assignments to their specific field.

Assignment 1: Summary in Conversation Compose a summary of an essay (see assignment description for options) and incorporate another source and your thoughts on the topic.
Assignment 2: Rhetorical Analysis Compose a rhetorical analysis of a communication artifact (see assignment description for options).
Assignment 3a: Multimodal Design Create your own multimodal design.
Assignment 3b: Multimodal Design Presentation Create a presentation that explains your design choices for 3a.
Assignment 4a: Research Project Research and compose an essay comparing and contrasting two different viewpoints on a topic of your choice.
Assignment 4b: Research Presentation Create a 4-to-6-minute video presentation based on the essay you wrote for Assignment 4a.
 Assignment 5: ISUComm Portfolio Review and reflect on the communication skills that you developed through each of our major assignments.