ENGL 128 - Research Writing: Science/Engineering/Business

Credits: 5
A composition course with readings designed to teach research-based writing in the sciences, engineering and business. Continues to develop the basic reading and writing skills taught in ENGL& 101  , but emphasizes the development of academic research and writing skills. Students engage in critical thinking which includes the analysis, interpretation, evaluation, documentation, and synthesis of multiple sources and evidence.

Prerequisite: A grade of 2.0 or higher in ENGL&101 .

Satisfies Requirement: Basic Skills/Communication

Course Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:

1. Read and evaluate a range of sources in the sciences, engineering, and business; situate sources in their historical, social, political, economic and/or cultural contexts.
2. Practice writing as a recursive process that includes topic selection and narrowing, prewriting, research, planning, drafting, revising and editing, and use tone, style, organization, content, and argument to meet the needs and expectations of specific writing contexts and audiences to produce writing that is professional in format and appearance.
3. Identify, evaluate, and be able to develop the conventional components of an academic argument, including research question, claim, reasons, support, warrants (assumptions, values, beliefs, etc.), qualifiers, and engagement with multiple points of view. Respectfully consider and engage the diverse perspectives and intellectual contributions of others within the classroom.
4. Gain familiarity with a range of research tools and resources, including library materials, electronic databases, the World Wide Web, interviews, etc.; choose appropriate tools to find a wide and diverse range of secondary sources, including scholarly articles, and to evaluate critically those sources.
5. Apply the conventions of various common forms of research writing, which may include annotated bibliography, research proposal, literature review, research~based argument, among others.
6. Accurately and effectively incorporate and comment upon references to a variety of sources; recognize the differences among summary, paraphrase and direct quotation and when to use each; cite sources according to documentation style guides appropriate to specific disciplines within the range of humanities (APA, MLA, CSE, CMS); understand and avoid plagiarism.
7. Recognize and analyze the various qualitative and quantitative research methods employed in the sciences, engineering, and business, such as survey, interview, ethnography, primary source analysis, observation, experiment, statistical analysis, among others.
8. Develop awareness of how social position and geopolitical location can affect identity, perspective, expression, and/or action. Evaluate how social, economic, and/or political power can affect the way ideas are produced, distributed, and received.

1. Produce effective written communication, which demonstrates critical thinking; writing and research processes; and knowledge of genres for workplace, expository, or research writing.
2. Demonstrate college-level reading skills by summarizing, analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing, and evaluating college texts; and develop an awareness of the approaches writers use for different audiences, genres, and rhetorical situations.
3. Evaluate how social, economic, and/or political situations can affect the way ideas are produced, distributed, and received.

• Written Communication - Written Communication encompasses all the abilities necessary for effective expression of thoughts, feelings, and ideas in written form.