Advanced General Education

SJSU’s Guidelines for Upper-division

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION II

1. Goals

Students will develop advanced proficiency in college-level writing and appropriate contemporary research strategies and methodologies to communicate effectively to both specialized and general audiences. Written Communication II should reinforce and advance the abilities developed in Written Communication IA and IB, and broaden and deepen these to include mastery of the discourse peculiar to the discipline in which the course is taught.

2. Student Learning

Students shall write complete essays that demonstrate college-level proficiency. Students shall be able to:

· refine the competencies established in Written Communication IA and IB;

· express (explain, analyze, develop, and criticize) ideas effectively, including ideas encountered in multiple readings and expressed in different forms of discourse; and

· organize and develop essays and documents for both professional and general audiences, including appropriate editorial standards for citing primary and secondary sources.

3. Content

· Diversity. Issues of diversity shall be incorporated in an appropriate manner.

· Writing. Written assignments should include both in-class and out-of-class writing, giving students practice and feedback throughout the semester. A single final term paper would not satisfy the requirement. Assignments will total a minimum of8000 words assigned throughout the semester, providing frequent practice and feedback for improving application skills.

· Reading. Readings used in the course should be models of excellence.

· Discipline. Written Communication II courses are discipline specific. All courses will use language and forms of writing appropriate to the discipline.

4. Support

· Class structure. Classes shall normally have no more than 25 students per section, with a maximum of 100 students per instructor and no class shorter than six weeks.

· Prerequisites

· Passage of the Writing Skills Test (WST)

· Upper division standing (56 units)

· Completion of CORE GE

· Pedagogical Approach

· Courses shall focus on issues or present perspectives from different academic disciplines.

· Courses shall require students to apply basic skills (reading, writing, speaking, critical thinking, research, and mathematics) and to utilize knowledge gained in CORE GE courses.

· Active Learning

· Each course shall provide for active student participation. The course may not be exclusively lecture format.

· Assignments must utilize library research and oral and written communication skills.

· Courses should promote reflective processes and critical analysis.

· Primary sources. Course materials (readings, research) must include primary sources.

5. Assessment

· Writing shall be assessed for correctness, clarity, and conciseness.