ENGLISH 50 FINAL EXAM PROMPT

TO BE WRITTEN in class on

Tuesday, June 6, 11:00am-1:30pm

First, review the Course Descriptions and Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for English 50 and English 1A on the back of this sheet.

Then, reflect on the quality and quantity of work you have done this semester. What SLOs for English 50 have you met without question? What SLOs do you think you still need to work on as you progress as a writer? How has the work you’ve done in English 50 prepared you to tackle the SLOs for English 1A? Taking all of this into consideration, your job is to write a letter to a new instructor (who is teaching English 1A or another class that evaluates primarily through writing) convincing them that you are ready for their course, telling them how specifically you have been prepared and what you have excelled at. You need to provide specific evidence and examples of your work throughout the semester to demonstrate that you are prepared for English 1A. How many words have you written? What assignments have you done that have helped you achieve these objectives? What kinds of essays have you written? How can you use these essays to show that you are prepared for the next class? What have you done in the WRC lab to practice the skills needed for the next class? What did you do in class, the WRC, and at home to make sure you met the objectives for English 50? What resources did you use? You can also make space to acknowledge what you still need to work on, but you might think of treating this section in terms of a counterclaim and refutation – in spite of the things that you still struggle with, why are you still qualified for this next class? Your letter should have an appropriate tone for an instructor. While a letter is a different genre, rules of effective writing still hold: a thesis is necessary so your letter does not ramble; unified paragraphs with detailed and specific evidence help to convince; a conclusion should sum up your main idea and drop that mic. This letter should include a salutation/greeting, three well-developed body paragraphs, and closing after which you sign your name.

You should bring a blue book and this prompt sheet so you can refer to the SLOs. You may fill in the planning form below to help guide you during the final exam. No other notes or outlines are allowed.

I. SALUTATION/INTRO Dear Professor:

Thesis______

______

II. Body Paragraph 1 Topic Sentence ______

Evidence______

______II. Body Paragraph 2Topic Sentence ______

______

Evidence______

______II. Body Paragraph 3Topic Sentence ______

______Evidence______V. Conclusion + Drop the mic

CLOSING: Sincerely,

ENGLISH 50

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Emphasizes and develops skills in critical reading and academic writing as preparation for college-level composition. Students will write a minimum of 5,000 words. Classroom instruction integrates Writing and Reading Center activities. 72 hours lecture and 18 hours laboratory.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following skills:

  1. Distinguish among rhetorical strategies, main idea, and evidence in non-fiction texts.
  2. Critical Thinking:Students will be able to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills about issues, problems, and explanations for which multiple solutions are possible. Students will be able to explore problems and, where possible, solve them. Students will be able to develop, test, and evaluate rival hypotheses. Students will be able to construct sound arguments and evaluate the arguments of others.
  3. Construct unified, organized, primarily text-based essays, largely free of disruptive errors, which employ various rhetorical strategies, perspectives, and concrete evidence in support of arguable thesis statements.
  4. Communication Skills:Students will be able to communicate effectively in diverse situations. They will be able to create, express, and interpret meaning in oral, visual, and written forms. They will also be able to demonstrate quantitative literacy and the ability to use graphical, symbolic, and numerical methods to analyze, organize, and interpret data.
  5. Employ MLA conventions for documenting sources and citing parenthetically.
  6. Demonstrate writing as a process which includes pre-writing, drafting, and revising essays.

ENGLISH 1A

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Emphasizes and develops skills in critical reading and academic writing. Reading and writing assignments include exposition, argumentation, and academic research. Students will write a minimum of 10,000 words. Classroom instruction integrates Writing and Reading Center activities. Students may not receive credit for both ENG-1A and ENG-1AH. 72 hours lecture and 18 hours laboratory.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following skills:

  1. Analyze rhetorical strategies, reliability, ideas, and evidence in non-fiction texts of varied difficulty.
  2. Construct arguments that explore complex academic issues by evaluating differing ideas on an issue, testing rival hypotheses, and responding to the challenges to one’s own argument.
  3. Critical Thinking:Students will be able to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills about issues, problems, and explanations for which multiple solutions are possible. Students will be able to explore problems and, where possible, solve them. Students will be able to develop, test, and evaluate rival hypotheses. Students will be able to construct sound arguments and evaluate the arguments of others.
  4. Write unified, well-organized, text-based essays of various lengths, applying a variety of rhetorical strategies with arguable theses and persuasive support, free of disruptive errors.
  5. Communication Skills:Students will be able to communicate effectively in diverse situations. They will be able to create, express, and interpret meaning in oral, visual, and written forms. They will also be able to demonstrate quantitative literacy and the ability to use graphical, symbolic, and numerical methods to analyze, organize, and interpret data.
  6. Find, evaluate, analyze, interpret, and engage with primary and secondary sources, meaningfully incorporating them into essays, using appropriate documentation format.
  7. Information Competency & Technology Literacy:Students will be able to use technology to locate, organize, and evaluate information. They will be able to locate relevant information, judge the reliability of sources, and evaluate the evidence contained in those sources as they construct arguments, make decisions, and solve problems.
  8. Demonstrate varied and flexible strategies for generating, drafting, and revising essays.