MCCCD Program Description

Writing Across the Curriculum

Course: WAC101

First Term: 2020 Fall

Lecture 3.0 Credit(s) 3.0 Period(s) 3.0 Load
Subject Type: Academic
Load Formula: S - Standard Load

Description: Expressive, expository, and academic writing experiences to develop students` rhetoric and composition foundation. Experience planning and drafting multi-paragraph essays through a writing process with emphasis on essay and paragraph structure and the elements of sentence structure. Participation in writing workshop, group work, reading to support writing tasks, and writing from sources. A minimum of three multi-paragraph essays and a final reflection paper.

MCCCD Official Course Competencies
1. Describe how the rhetorical context, writer`s purpose, topic, and audience influence writing choices. (I) 2. Compose written work by engaging in a recursive writing process including invention, prewriting, drafting, reflecting, applying feedback, revising, and editing activities. (II) 3. Organize ideas in writing in a coherent and unified manner to support and develop a central idea, supported with specific, credible, and relevant supporting ideas and evidence. (III) 4. Apply source material accurately as evidence to support a claim, subclaim, or point. (IV) 5. Read actively and critically, using a variety of comprehension strategies and rhetorical reading practices to support reading and writing tasks. (V) 6. Apply appropriate conventions to written work (i.e. format, mechanics, syntax, punctuation, usage, voice, tone). (VI) 7. Engage effectively in discussion and listening activities during large and small group discussions of course content, generative writing tasks, and peer review activities. (VII) 8. Identify and apply strengths and areas for improvement in writing through reflective writing, collaborative work, instructor conference, written feedback, Writing Center tutor evaluation, peer response, portfolio review, and/or other methods. (VIII) 9. Explain the role of writing in personal, academic, and workplace contexts. (IX) 10. Demonstrate regular use of campus technology to track course content, assignments, and instructor feedback and to produce writing assignments. (X)
MCCCD Official Course Competencies must be coordinated with the content outline so that each major point in the outline serves one or more competencies. MCCCD faculty retains authority in determining the pedagogical approach, methodology, content sequencing, and assessment metrics for student work. Please see individual course syllabi for additional information, including specific course requirements.

MCCCD Official Course Outline
I. Rhetorical contexts in writing A. Circumstance or rhetorical situation B. General topic in reading or writing task C. Writer`s background and credibility D. Writer`s purpose E. Audience II. Recursive writing process A. Task analysis B. Writing plan C. Invention D. Discussion E. Close reading of source material related to task F. Problem solving strategies G. Pre-writing H. Drafting I. Formative feedback J. Revision K. Editing L. Reflection throughout the writing process III. Organization and unity in writing A. Genre expectation B. Patterns of development C. Working thesis statement or key claim D. Informal and formal outlining E. Unity through consistent support of thesis or key claim F. Selection of appropriate and relevant evidence G. Effective and engaging introductions H. Paragraph structure I. Relationship between evidence and explanation or commentary J. Effective conclusions K. Transitional words and phrasing IV. Source material as evidence in writing A. Identification of credible resource material B. Evaluation of source relevance to writing task C. Accurate integration of source material D. Quoting vs. paraphrasing E. Signal phrases and other attribution strategies F. Primary and secondary source material G. Ethical use of resources in academic work H. Evidence citation in consistent documentation format I. Explanation to connect evidence with claims and supporting ideas J. Librarians, Writing Center tutors as resource V. Rhetorical reading A. Purpose B. Author`s credibility and purpose C. Publication/venue/source credibility D. Text genres E. Questioning strategies F. Reader background knowledge assessment G. Text annotation H. Main idea or argument in texts I. Text`s relevance to writer`s purpose J. Ideas, reasons, and evidence in texts K. Denotative, connotative and figurative language in texts L. Reflective response to ideas in texts VI. Conventions in writing A. Informal or academic register B. Point of view C. Passive vs. active voice D. Tone through appropriate and purposeful diction E. Surface features including comma, semi-colon, and colon placement, pronoun usage, subject/verb agreement, and other conventions F. Sentence structure practice, completeness, balance, and variety G. Formatting of formal papers H. Writing Center tutors, instructors, and/or peers as resource VII. Appropriate and engaged discussion behaviors A. Formal vs. informal speaking behaviors B. Listening behaviors C. Dialogue skills D. Appropriate and respectful discourse VIII. Feedback in the writing process A. Peer, tutor, and instructor formative feedback throughout the process B. Reflection about one`s writing process and growth C. Verbal process reflections D. Reflection on a body of work to self-assess one`s growth as writer E. Role of summative feedback to future writing tasks IX. Writing across contexts A. Personal and expressive writing B. Expository C. Academic writing D. Workplace writing X. Campus technology use A. Course learning management system B. Writing applications C. Other productivity applications D. Online resources

MCCCD Governing Board Approval Date: February 25, 2020

All information published is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, but based on the dynamic nature of the curricular process, course and program information is subject to change in order to reflect the most current information available.