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ENGL-231: Special Topics in Writing Studies

Course Information

Course, prefix, number, & title: ENGL-231 Special Topics in Writing Studies

Hours (Class, recitation, Laboratory, studio): 3 class hours, 1 recitation hour

Credits: 3

Pre-requisites (if any): ENGL-102

Course Description in college catalog:

These courses will focus on fiction and nonfiction writing about a specific theme or topic to be announced in advance and will vary each semester. Descriptions of the topic in a particular semester will be available in the English Department before registration. Students may take two such courses for credit, as long as they do not repeat the topic.

Topics will include but not be limited to:

  • Reading and Writing about Crime and Murder
  • Reading and Writing about the Immigrant Experience
  • Finding Nurture in Nature: Reading and Writing about the Natural World
  • Reading and Writing about Place: Geography, Travel, and Identity
  • Reading and Writing about War
  • Be Home Before Dark: Reading and Writing about Family
  • Navigating Difference: Reading and Writing about Being “Other”
  • Love, Lust and Romance: Reading and Writing about Love
  • I Can’t Believe I Ate the Whole Thing: Reading and Writing about Food
  • Reading and Writing about Prison, Criminality and the Law
  • Writing for Children and Young Adults
  • The Teaching of Writing
  • Multimedia Writing

Academic programs for which this course serves as a requirement or an elective:

A.A. Liberal Arts and Sciences

General Education Outcomes: Below is a listing of General Education Outcome(s) that this course supports.

  1. Communicate effectively in various forms

  2. Use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate evidence in order to make informed decisions

Course-specific student learning outcomes:

  1. Demonstrate understanding of forms and conventions of a given genre in the context of an historical period or theme.

  2. Analyze texts through an historical, rhetorical, and/or theoretical framework. 

  3. Generate a logical argument or article based on evidence from primary and secondary sources: clear thesis statement or statement of purpose, appropriate sources, transitional language, and progressive development of ideas or generate a sustained creative work or collection of works. 

  4. Apply and synthesize appropriate knowledge to produce clear and effective writing. 

Other program outcomes (if applicable).

  1. Integrate knowledge and skills in the program of study

  2. Work collaboratively to accomplish learning objectives

Methods by which student learning will be assessed and evaluated; describe the types of methods to be employed; note whether certain methods are required for all sections:

Students participate in-class writing exercises, group writing, workshop critique, writer’s notebooks, technique-specific practices, reading and group discussion with the aim of creating a collection of creative work (e.g. one complete short story, one act of a dramatic work, a non-fiction essay, and several poems) that will be the result of in-class practice, workshop, homework, discussion, and revision.

Academic Integrity policy (department or College):
Academic honesty is expected of all students. Any violation of academic integrity is taken extremely seriously. All assignments and projects must be the original work of the student or teammates. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any questions regarding academic integrity should be brought to the attention of the instructor. The following is the Queensborough Community College Policy on Academic Integrity: "It is the official policy of the College that all acts or attempted acts that are violations of Academic Integrity be reported to the Office of Student Affairs. At the faculty member's discretion and with the concurrence of the student or students involved, some cases though reported to the Office of Student Affairs may be resolved within the confines of the course and department. The instructor has the authority to adjust the offender's grade as deemed appropriate, including assigning an F to the assignment or exercise or, in more serious cases, an F to the student for the entire course." Read the University's policy on Academic Integrity opens in a new window.

Disabilities
Any student who feels that he or she may need an accommodation based upon the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Accessibility Services in Science Building, Room S-132, 718-631-6257, to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. You can visit the Office of Accessibility Services website.

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QCC Art Gallery

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