Course Resources 

English 106 is a three-credit hour composition course for entering students at Purdue. To meet all your goals in this one-semester course, you should expect to produce approximately 8000 words of polished writing. Some of this text production will be done using multimedia, and some of it may be given through short assignments. Your writing topics will be closely tied to the course's theme or approach, and may include personal experiences as well as research-based arguments. You may also be asked to write on topics that are related to your major field of study.

It is common practice in English 106 to conduct different types of research and create a final project that demonstrates the expertise you have gained over the semester. So, we will be using planning assignments in order to help you discover and explore a topic, perspective, or audience. We will also spend some time in exploration of topics and rhetorical contexts, and in the production, interpretation, and analysis of multimedia environments. This course requires reading and discussing writing by you, your peers, and professionals.

This reading and discussion will be accomplished through in-class review sessions or in bi-weekly conferences. The main purpose of this course is to introduce you to the world of academic writing. Sounds fishy, I know, but there are few things more gratifying than winning an argument (just ask your mother). Academic writing involves stating your argument clearly in written form and backing it up accurately. To win an argument, whether spoken or written, you need a solid statement of your argument (e.g., Michael Jackson is indeed sane). Next, you need substantial support to back up that statement (e.g., 1. his epidermal blanching and nose reductions are factors of a medical condition; 2. it is truly healthy to wear face masks in public places; 3. it is good to accuse your boss of racism; 4. dangling babies from windows helps relieve gas, etc.). The wonderful thing about arguments is that they always involve two sides, if not more, and if you can play the game, you can almost always win; however, to get to this point, you need to become a critical thinker, and therefore, a critical reader and writer.

There are several musts that we will explore throughout the semester and that you should adhere to through the writing process:

Writing Musts: 

*Your writing must be detailed and descriptive. There is a world of difference between: Margaret likes character actors better than leading men and Margaret prefers the strong, piercing gaze, buck teeth, and upturned sneer of the robust Steve Buscemi over Russell Crowe's size 40 chest.

*You must concentrate on the language you use, and gear that towards the audience you are attempting to convince of your argument. If you are writing a grant proposal for a child abuse sanctuary for social work, you want to focus on clearly stating your argument for the need of the sanctuary, supporting that argument, and utilizing language that will guide the reader to realization of that need.

*You must learn to use a computer. The computer will be vital to your editing and revisions, research, and communication.

*You must research sources to support your argument. There is a wealth of resources, such as reference texts, journals, magazines, and the internet, that you can use to support your statement, but they must be accurate and relevant to your intent.

*You must learn to accurately give credit to the works you have built your own upon through citation. You cannot simply take another individual's work and use it without giving the author, artist, etc. proper accolades.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

You should walk away from this course with some true knowledge and the ability to critically read and write (along with sugarplum faeries dancing in your head). You should be able to:

*Read critically and analyze essays.

*Build on other authors' ideas, whether to agree with or to dispute them.

*Create a solid thesis statement that clearly and concisely summarizes your argument.

*Support your argument with substantial and relevant facts.

*Manipulate your language as to engage the audience you intend to reach.

*Overcome grammatical and mechanical flaws.

*Utilize transitions to make your ideas flow into each other.

*Conduct research and be able to ascertain whether the resources you have selected are accurate or not.

*Cite all sources in your work.