Improving student abilities in reading, writing, speaking and research requires serious, sustained practice and overt, in-class reflection upon that practice. A critical feature of this sustained practice is that students receive detailed, constructive response to their work from instructors, from peers, and from mentors and/or Writing Center tutors.
Underlying the teaching of communication skills in the FYP and the FYS is the assumption that these courses are components of a university-wide, four-year commitment to teaching communication skills across the undergraduate curriculum.
a) to develop an oral presentation through a series of drafts, demonstrating substantial conceptual and performative revision.
b) to produce a speech with a clearly defined rhetorical purpose that is appropriately and adequately fulfilled given the audience being addressed.
c) to use informal conversation, in class or out, to facilitate close reading and promote critical thinking.
d) to speak from notes or outline, rather than from a manuscript or in an impromptu fashion.
By the end of the FYP/FYS, students should demonstrate an increased ability:
a) to develop a piece of writing through a series of drafts, demonstrating substantial revision at both the conceptual and the sentence level.
b) to produce an essay with a clearly defined rhetorical purpose that is appropriately and adequately fulfilled given the audience being addressed.
c) to use informal writing, done in class or out, in journals, reader-response papers, or exploratory essays, to facilitate close reading and promote critical thinking.
d) to produce writing that is characterized by a mature prose style and that conforms to the conventions of standard written English.
By the end of the FYP/FYS, students should be better able to conduct productive, imaginative research. Specifically, they should demonstrate an increased ability:
a) to assess the research requirements of a particular assignment and to meet those requirements by using library collections, electronic databases, and Web-based sources.
b) to be able to choose amongst the sources to determine which are most appropriate for a particular assignment.
c) to assess and represent the complexity of a particular line of inquiry and to enter responsibly into the conversation about the issues it raises.
a) are given diverse and repeated opportunities to write and speak, including the opportunity to write and speak in response to readings, discussions, lectures, films, etc. These responses may occur in class or out, and they may take many forms: freewriting, open or directed journals, graded or ungraded exploratory essays, essay exams, small group discussion, impromptu discussion, oral exams
b) are required to engage in at least three formal, graded writing projects. A “project” requires that students develop a piece of writing over time on the basis of appropriate feedback at a number of stages in the process
c) are required to engage in at least two oral communication projects, one of which undergoes a process of revision. A “project” requires that students develop a speech over time on the basis of appropriate feedback at a number of stages in the process. At least one speech must be extemporaneous, by which we mean that students should deliver a prepared speech from an outline or minimal notes
d) are required to conduct library research and use the sources as an integral part of at least one written and/or oral project
e) are instructed in and held responsible for the ethical use of sources
f) are required to keep all of their written work in a course portfolio, to reflect in writing upon their work, and to submit the completed portfolio to their faculty for review
a) are given diverse and repeated opportunities to write and speak, including opportunities to benefit from detailed formative feedback from instructors and peers
b) are asked to assess adequately the research requirements of a particular assignment and to seek out efficiently the means of meeting those requirements
c) are given diverse opportunities to incorporate appropriate illustrative
or persuasive detail in oral and written communication
d) are required to complete at least one and no more than two projects comprising
some combination of formal and informal oral, written, and research activities
that demonstrate a satisfactory grasp of the program’s communication
goals
e) are instructed in and held responsible for the ethical use of sources
f) are required to assemble all their work in a portfolio that includes a written assessment of that work, and to submit the completed portfolio to their faculty for review
1. that students engage in oral and written assignments that address a variety of audiences, ranging from instructors and peers to other imagined or real audiences.
2. that students write and speak for a variety of purposes: to explore, to express, to inform, and to persuade
3. that students be encouraged to respond to texts via creative projects
4. that students engage in a variety of research tasks that encourage critical use of sources
5. that colleges include assignments that require the production and analysis
of visual images, so as to improve visual literacy