The first-year writing requirement at Appalachian State University is satisfied by RC1000: Expository Writing.
Expository Writing (R_C 1000), the first-year General Education writing course, introduces students to the various types of expository essays. This course is designed to instill in students the writing and critical thinking skills necessary for success at the college level. Students work through all stages of the writing process: invention, drafting, critiquing, revising, editing, and proofreading. Likewise, students work on different genres of composition, particularly argumentation.
Students work toward developing and practicing personal composition processes. Students are expected to be active, engaged learners. More importantly, students learn through critical reflection to take authority over their own words and ideas and communicate their messages more effectively. A grade of “C” or higher in this course fulfills the English proficiency requirement for students entering the Reich College of Education or the Walker College of Business.
In specific cases, the following courses may also count toward the first-year writing requirement:
- RC1000 + 2000: Expository Writing + Lab
- WRC 1103: Watauga Residential College First-year Seminar + First-year Writing
- LLC 1000: English for International Students
Vertical Writing Curriculum's Student Learning Outcomes:
- Write to discover and to communicate.
- Draft, revise, and edit effectively.
- Write with strong voice and authority.
- Analyze and respond effectively to different rhetorical situations.
- Locate, evaluate, synthesize, and document primary and secondary sources.
- Participate actively in a writing community.
- Reflect upon semester’s writing with ability to evaluate own work and that of community.
RC1000 Course Goals and Outcomes, aligned with the Vertical Writing Curriculum:
Goal 1: Students exhibit increasing rhetorical knowledge.
- Draft with a clear purpose in mind.
- Analyze and respond appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations.
- Write with strong voice and authority.
Goal 2: Students exhibit increasing critical thinking, reading, and writing skills.
- Use writing and reading for learning, thinking, and communicating.
- Locate, evaluate, analyze, synthesize, and document primary and secondary sources.
- Demonstrate critical thinking, in part by understanding that personal investments and cultural perspectives are woven into language and knowledge.
Goal 3: Students exhibit increasing understanding that writing is a process.
- Generate ideas and draft, revise, edit, and proofread recursively, consciously, and effectively.
- Participate actively and collaboratively in a writing community.
- Reflect upon semester writing, in part by evaluating their own work and that of writing community members.
Goal 4: Students gain increasing ability to research and write in various environments, including electronic environments.
- Use a variety of technologies to produce and share writing.
- Use a variety of technologies in conducting research.