Learning Goals for all Emphases leading to an Undergraduate Degree in English

1)   Students exhibit knowledge of diverse literatures in English and the cultural and historical contexts in which these works were produced.

2)   Students can discern and evaluate the aesthetic and formal qualities of various texts.

3)   Students can write an analytic essay that exhibits both critical thinking and effective argumentation.

4)   Students can write a research essay that exhibits effective deployment of research as evidence.

5)   Students’ writing exhibits correct usage of grammar and of MLA format and citation conventions.

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COURSE GOALS FOR ENGLISH 490

The department's goals:

        1.  Assess the undergraduate curricula, with an eye to improving them

        2.  Our final chance to advise you, polish you, tell you what the world expects

The use of the course to you:

        3.  An occasion to do significant individual work

        4.  A chance to consider, and to read materials directed at, life beyond the academy

        5.  A chance to work on presentation skills and other skills/knowledge the world thinks you possess

Questions the course should pose:

    What do you know as a result of being an English major?
    How do people react when you tell them you’re majoring in English? (“What are you going to do with that?”)
    What don’t you know because you majored in English?
    What kind of curriculum would you design to position you, an English major, better?
    What do your skills prepare you to do right now? What learning are you prepared to take on that will address real-world concerns?