Courses

DENG 0113: Introduction to College Writing

DENG 0113, formerly ENGL 0113, is a course dedicated to helping students acquire transferable writing skills that can be applied in various academic or professional situations. We will recursively practice building writing foundational techniques, such as developing strong thesis statements, constructing logical arguments, and utilizing communicative, persuasive rhetorical principles. Students will be prepared to perform successfully in ENGL 1113 and ENGL 1213 by the end of the course.

There will be three major writing assignments and a presentation over the course of the semester. Students will write a narrative, a community profile, and an argumentative research paper. DENG 0113’s final presentation gives students the opportunity to present a general overview of their final portfolio work while also practicing public speaking and presentation skills.

Course Objectives

  • Responding to the assigned readings in accurate and detailed ways, including defining key terms and effective use of summary, analysis, and quotation
  • Constructing paragraphs (using examples to develop and follow through on ideas)
  • Establishing meaningful connections between assigned readings (synthesis)
  • Developing a thesis or argument that gives focus and momentum to each essay 
  • Organizing the points of an essay in a way that sustains a logical progression of ideas, including the use of transitions to connect one idea to the next from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph
  • Gaining flexibility and control in using grammar to create meaning (this involves both the awareness of and ability to correct errors and improved flexibility in using a variety of sentence structures to express complex ideas)
  • Following proper MLA citation guidelines

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ENGL 1013: English for Exchange Students

This course has four main goals for students: 

  1. Improve English conversation
  2. Assist with essay writing skills
  3. Practice reading and listening comprehension and 
  4. Learn something about the American and Oklahoman way of life

To achieve these goals we will have three main writing assignments, many class discussions, and an individual and group presentation.

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ENGL 1023: English for Exchange Students II

ENGL 1023 is designed to build on your experience in English 1013. Together we will move through four units that will 

  1. introduce new vocabulary
  2. provide opportunities for collaborating with fellow students
  3. explore relationships among American culture and other cultures, and 
  4. invite you to practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening in English

As in ENGL 1013, we will focus on and explore writing processes as you compose and revise your essays for each unit. This course builds on ENGL 1013 by devoting increased attention to comprehension and analysis as well as more rigorous attention to each draft of your papers. In addition, as part of moving you from acclimation to American culture to more active participation in it, you will complete two essay exams on course content and present your work to the class for discussion.

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ENGL 1113: Principles of Composition I

ENGL1113 is designed to help students develop practices of inquiry that will prepare them, not only for ENGL 1213, but for writing in a diverse set of social, academic, and professional contexts. Students will investigate and write about social and political issues of interest to them with the goal of learning more about the values that inform their own beliefs and the beliefs of the community and people around them.

The semester’s writing assignments will teach students how to develop effective research questions, and also expose them to a variety of research methods so they may choose research strategies that best address their lines of inquiry. These methods allow them to lead and engage in productive conversations with specific audiences. Students will also have the opportunity to design and deliver oral speeches, a skill that will be of value to them in ENGL 1213 and beyond. 

In order to accomplish these goals, students will reflect on how their past experiences have shaped their personal values, research how groups in the local community and/or university enact shared values, and analyze the competing value systems that animate the social and political issues in the world around them. 

In summary, this course will teach students to use inquiry and writing as tools capable of teaching them more about themselves, the communities around them, and the values that are vital to both.

Learning Outcomes

When students complete ENGL 1113, they will be able to:

  • Use writing for discovery, comprehension, problem solving, and the construction of nuanced arguments
  • Contribute, via writing or speech, to conversations mediating important social issues in a manner appropriate for the content and context specific to those issues
  • Compose and deliver essays and speeches that demonstrate rhetorical awareness
  • Develop flexible and effective strategies for organizing, revising, practicing/rehearsing, editing, and proofreading (for grammar and mechanics) to improve development and clarity of ideas
  • Find, analyze, and correctly cite primary and secondary sources relevant to assignments to support and develop personal points of view and/or explore new lines of inquiry
  • Develop considerate and constructive strategies for responding to peer work
  • Define and practice revision strategies for essays and speeches that locate areas for improvement and effectively target them

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ENGL 1213: Principles of Composition II

ENGL 1213 builds on the writing, research, inquiry, and revision skills developed in 1113. In 1213, students will explore an issue of personal interest to them throughout the semester.

This inquiry will begin by exploring students’ personal investments in their chosen issues. The issue will also become an object of study as students conduct research that considers both the issue’s history and various stakeholders. The project culminates in opportunities for the student to construct written and oral arguments designed to persuade specific audiences.

Students will be introduced to multiple argumentative options and learn how to choose organizational strategies that support their goals. To support their persuasive arguments, students will also practice and engage in both primary and secondary research, as well as revision and editing strategies that will help them produce polished and effective documents.

By the end of this course, students will be prepared to encounter new academic writing projects and engage in public conversations about issues important to them.

Learning Outcomes

When students complete ENGL 1213, they will be able to:

  • Compose in writing and deliver orally one major project grounded in scholarly research that responds to audience needs and expectations
  • Pursue a line of inquiry to explore and intervene in an issue of public interest
  • Conduct relevant secondary and primary research on a subject, effectively presenting and synthesizing research findings
  • Use advanced rhetorical strategies for analyzing arguments and developing ideas
  • Engage in effective peer critique
  • Identify and apply revision strategies to their own writing, working with classmates, instructors, and others
  • Refine speaking, writing, and visual communication skills, focusing on matters of construction, design, and delivery style

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ENGL 1913: Writing for the Health Professions

For people working in the Health Sciences, the ability to communicate expertly, while adapting to an ever-changing collaborative landscape that includes many different levels of expertise, is an incredibly important skill. Clear communication is especially vital in the health professions, as it really may mean the difference in someone’s health. This course aims to introduce you to various types of writing that you will be exposed to and undertake in the health professions. The course will also help you begin to develop key competencies in health communications, which you will further hone as you professionalize into your respective fields.

However, as many of you may know, health professions are expansive and diverse. For this reason, it is impossible to cover all types of writing for every health profession. Instead of attempting to do this, ENGL 1913 focuses on rhetorically analyzing some common texts as a way of practicing figuring out how to read and write the different texts you will encounter in the future. In other words, we will closely look at the elements of select texts to better understand why they contain particular components and who they are written for and why. Going through this thinking process will help you develop a meta-awareness of the writing process and rhetorical context that you can apply to your future writing and reading.

What this looks like in terms of our class is a heavy amount of reading, writing, and rhetorical analysis. As long as you stay on top of these things, participate in class, and ask your instructor if you have any questions, you should do fine.

We think you will find this course engaging and fun as you learn more about health writing and get to delve deeper into your own academic and health interests. 

Course Goals & Objectives

  • Prepare you to go on to OUHSC as more confident writers within your field.
  • Study the discourse conventions of genres in health science fields.
  • Understand how to rhetorically analyze different texts and to apply that knowledge to crafting your own field-specific texts in the future.
  • Gain familiarity with issues in the field.
  • Reflect on writing and reading practices.
  • Practice the research process.
  • Produce writing that adheres to conventions (including content, organization, format, and documentation style) and remains free from errors that detract from meaning

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ENGL 3153: Technical Writing

From the most basic lab report to medical aftercare instructions, from museum displays to airplane safety guides—in ENGL 3153, students learn to analyze and produce technical documents across a variety of settings. In particular this course will take a user-centered design research approach to writing for science, workplace, and consumer settings.

Goals

  • Learn to produce technical communication genres
  • Learn to respond to the rhetorical situations of professional settings, designing documents in specific ways for specific audiences
  • Learn the basics of scannable document design
  • Learn to translate technical information to non-technical audiences
  • Learn how to run a usability test and learn from users
  • Learn to work, write, and present collaboratively

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