LACR 101 - First-year Writing I

LACR 101 is the first part of a year-long writing, reading and research course that teaches the fundamental aspects of the responsible student-scholar. The emphasis is on the reading and writing processes that lead to argumentation, as well as on the technical aspects of writing, specifically essay structure, paragraph construction, grammar, punctuation and spelling. Students practice critical reading and writing skills to develop academic essays: describing, summarizing, analyzing, applying and synthesizing. They are introduced to the library’s holdings and taught to access and assess source material.

By the end of this course, successful students will:

Demonstrate the critical reading and writing skills needed to construct academic essays – describing, summarizing, analyzing, applying, and synthesizing.
Compose a question-based research paper (about four pages in length) and support a thesis in the body of the essay in properly structured paragraphs.
- Apply source material avoiding intentional or unintentional plagiarism through direct quotation and paraphrase and cite in MLA format (in-text citations and bibliography)
- Synthesize source material to support a deductive argument
Assess scholarly sources (locate the author’s thesis, evaluate evidence, and weigh credibility).
Access source material through the library holdings: reference section, on-line databases, stacks, and in-library periodicals.
Recognize and edit patterns of grammatical error (sentence fragments, run-on sentences, subject-verb agreement, verb tense, punctuation, and spelling) to write clear sentences.

Prerequisites & Notes
Enrollment in BS, BFA, or BM degree program required. Successful completion of LACR 009 or LACR 100 where required as a result of English placement exam.

Credits: 3 cr, 3 hrs