English Learning Outcomes

Students who complete their degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing will be able to do the following:

1. Demonstrate a working knowledge of the fundamental elements of craft and process across the major genres
2. Analyze literary texts from the perspectives of genre, literary history, theory, and theme
3. Critically evaluate their own and others’ work in a workshop setting
4. Hone and refine critical reading and writing skills in specialized workshops
5. Participate in a vibrant creative community of faculty, visiting writers, and student peers
6. Create a rigorously revised body of work under the close supervision of faculty

Students who complete their degree in English with a concentration in Journalism and Professional Writing will be able to do the following:

1. Produce accessible, well-designed end products through an on-going process of individual and collective critique, substantive revision, and careful editing
2. Adapt content, format, and style to different situations, audiences, and purposes, and organize material clearly and effectively for the intended audience
3. Develop collaboration skills and work and write effectively in a professional context
4. Develop good research questions and strategies, and gather, evaluate, interpret, and use information accurately, logically, and ethically
5. Demonstrate basic competence in technology associated with traditional and new communications media
6. Identify and analyze works of literature in a variety of genres
7. Accurately identify their own strengths and weaknesses as a writer and communicator and develop a long-term plan for strengthening their skills

Students who complete their degree in English with a concentration in Literature will be able to do the following:

1. Explicate a text through close and careful reading
2. Articulate the key terms, foundational assumptions, and central concepts of modern critical and theoretical movements
3. Deploy major critical modes in the interpretation of literary works
4. Demonstrate knowledge of rhetorical, theoretical, and social functions of language 
5. Distinguish the sequence of literary periodization
6. Evaluate research sources for authority, accuracy, and appropriateness
7. Synthesize multiple sources in a research paper with correct and appropriate documentation of all sources
8. Produce clearly written and well-argued papers in academic prose
9. Communicate orally in formal presentations and informal class discussion

Students who complete their degree in English with a concentration in Theatre Arts will be able to do the following:

1. Demonstrate basic familiarity with all the arts of the theatre
2. Analyze dramatic texts in order to perform, direct, design for, or produce a theatrical event based on a dramatic script
3. Trace the major trends and developments in theatre history and recognize the basic elements and periods of dramatic literature
4. Demonstrate knowledge of the works of William Shakespeare, their relationship to their historical context, and their aesthetic significance 
5. Demonstrate awareness of the collaborative process of theatrical production, and function collaboratively within a production team
6. Rehearse the basic elements of dramatic performance, including vocal production, movement for the stage, and character and scene analysis