ENG 241/242 Objectives (2008)

The primary objectives of ENG 241 / 242 (Political Literacy I & II) are:

1. To provide students with the necessary academic skills to read, analyse, discuss and write about primary canonical political theory texts.

2. To consolidate and develop the academic skills taught in ENG101 and ENG102 (see First Year Objectives).

Argument Objectives

FAE Second Year argument objectives aim to build upon, consolidate and develop those argumentation skills which were introduced in the FAE First Year Courses (ENG101 and ENG102). As such the Second Year argument objectives should be understood to encompass not only those detailed below but also the consolidation of all First Year Argument Objectives.

By the end of ENG 241, students should be able to:

• comprehend the central ideas of the texts used for a specific task;

• identify and comprehend theses, conclusions, premises, assumptions and refutation;

• determine the logical inferences being made in the texts;

• distinguish between concurrent arguments;

• evaluate an argument and determine its validity;

• compare the views of different theorists;

• relate parts of an argument to the whole;

• synthesize information / ideas from various parts of one or more texts;

• support their arguments using illustration, example and textual reference;

• critically question the ideas with which they are presented.

In addition to encompassing the above objectives, by the end of ENG 242, students should be able to:

• produce with more accuracy theses, conclusions, premises and refutation;

• more critically compare the views of different theorists;

• support their arguments with more sophisticated / better focused illustrations;

• examples and textual reference.

Reading Objectives

FAE Second Year reading objectives aim to build upon, consolidate and develop those reading skills which were introduced in the FAE First Year Courses (ENG101 and ENG102). As such the Second Year Reading Objectives should be understood to encompass not only those detailed below but also the consolidation of all First Year Reading Objectives.

Rhetoric

By the end of the Second Year, students should be able to recognise and appreciate the function of rhetorical factors and devices such as:

• ambiguity

• metaphor

• analogy

Lexical and Structural Awareness

By the end of the Second Year, students should be able to cope with:

• archaic terms;

• archaic and / or idiosyncratic sentence and paragraph structures;

• non-English terms;

• author-specific terminology.

Intra- and Inter-textual Awareness and Understanding

By the end of ENG 241, students should be able to:

• develop their ability to construct their own understanding of the overall idea(s) of a text;

• distinguish the author's own ideas from ideas that the author is reporting for the purposes of support or refutation;

• understand how key ideas or issues in one text relate to ideas in other texts on the course;

• distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information for a given task.

In addition to encompassing the above objectives, by the end of ENG 242, students should be able to:

• actively use the key ideas or issues in one text to critically analyze another text or texts on the course.

Writing Objectives

FAE Second Year writing objectives aim to build upon, consolidate and develop those writing skills which were introduced in the FAE First Year Courses (ENG101 and ENG102). As such the Second Year Writing Objectives should be understood to encompass not only those detailed below but also the consolidation of all First Year Writing Objectives.

Structure and Argument

By the end of ENG 241, students should be able to:

• analyze the question / task they have been set;

• focus and organize their ideas / argument;

• structure their arguments in a logical and coherent manner;

• understand the importance of explanation, justification and illustration when supporting their argument;

• avoid over-generalizations, and illogical / nonsensical statements.

In addition to encompassing the above objectives, by the end of ENG 242, students should be able to:

• use explanation, justification and illustration more effectively to support their argument.

Use of Texts

By the end of the Second Year, students should be able to:

Re quotations

• select appropriate quotations to support their ideas / arguments;

• accurately and grammatically embed quotations in their own writing;

• employ appropriate stylistic conventions in using quotations.

Re reporting

• express the authors' arguments accurately in their own formulation;

• evaluate and criticize the authors' arguments;

• critically compare different authors' ideas / arguments;

• synthesize information from different sources.

Re referencing

• accurately reference when both quoting and reporting;

• compose accurate bibliographies;

• accurately use the appropriate format for referencing.

Re textual distance

• express their own interpretations of the texts in a manner which responds to the underlying problems and issues the texts address;

• distinguish their own voice from that of

  1. the author(s);

  2. secondary sources (e.g. commentaries, introductions, other lecturers' notes).

Re language

• accurately use appropriate style and register;

• clearly indicate purpose in writing;

• accurately use signaling transitions;

• effectively elucidate relationships between ideas;

• accurately use the contemporary equivalents of archaic terms found in the texts;

• accurately use hedging language to express uncertainty, exception, frequency, etc.

Students should also take into account teacher feedback and be actively involved in editing their work by diagnosing and correcting their errors.

These errors include:

• empty, nonsensical, illogical or clichéd language;

• over-generalized language;

• over-emotional language;

• fragments (esp. subordinate "because" clause) and run-on sentences;

• incorrect and inconsistent use of tenses;

• spelling mistakes;

• punctuation mistakes.

In addition to language errors, students should also be able to self-edit for tone and argumentative style.

Discussion and Interaction Objectives

By the end of the ENG 241, students should be able to:

• accurately articulate authors' arguments in their own words;

• distinguish between their own and an author's voice;

• see the value in listening to the views, arguments, and questions of others;

• identify difficulties and articulate them in order to seek help.

In addition to encompassing the above objectives, by the end of ENG 242, students should be able to:

• listen to the views, arguments, and questions of others and respond critically, appropriately and with consideration.

Students should also show improvement in accuracy and fluency in:

• using appropriate style and register;

• distinguishing between their own thoughts and those of the author;

• indicating purpose in discussions;

• signaling transitions/moves;

• explaining relationships between ideas;

• using hedging language to express uncertainty, exception, frequency, etc.