College Reading And Writing: What To Expect

College Reading andWriting: What toExpectPROFESSOR ALLISON CORRELLNVCC-LOUDOUN CAMPUS

Reading Expectations for college-levelcourses Depends on the professor, but you should be ready for Being expected to know how to read and follow a syllabus/course scheduleBeing assigned multiple reading assignments per semester News articles In science courses, students should be ready to read complex scientific articles and being ableto summarize the main points in their own wordsEssays, Opinion-Editorial articles from newspapers (few pages in length) In ENG 111/112, the professor may assign full books (the two I assign are 275 pageslong [each]) In an average week, my students might be required to read between 50-90 pagesBeing ready to research, find, and engage with scholarly articles A significant part of ENG 111 is getting comfortable with research—that is, using thelibrary databases (search engines) and not relying on Google

Writing Expectations for ENG 111/ENG 112 15-20 pages of formal writing (a requirement for the course)At least one researched paper (with credible sources, appropriate citations,etc.). (this is a required paper for all ENG 111 students)Other types of assignments you could expect in ENG 111/ENG 112: Different types of essays (ex: compare-contrast, supporting a claim, analysis, etc.) Journals (online writing assignments that require formality; can only be viewed byyour professor) Discussion Boards (online writing assignments that require formality and are sharedwith your classmates/everyone can see)On the first day of the semester, students are expected to be familiar with Microsoft Word,and turning in properly formatted papers Most ENG professors require students to turn in papers online (via Blackboard). Most professorswill review this procedure early in the semester

Writing Expectations for ENG 111 / ENG112 (cont’d) Break free from the “5 paragraph essay” format! Many writing assignments will ask you to write a 3, 4, 5, 7 page paper.Often times, the “5 paragraph essay” that you may be used to is NOTuseful/applicable for certain papers. I tell my students to “shake it off”when thinking about the 5-paragraph template.A critical component of ENG 111 and ENG 112 is theconcept that WRITING IS A PROCESS Most professors will require you to turn in outlines (for a grade), roughdrafts (for a grade), and then a final version of the paper

Writing expectations in other NVCC courses:types of assignments/lengths History: 12-15 pages per semesters Communications: weekly journals (.5-1 page assignments), detailed outline for an informative speech, summary paper (afterresearching a company), essay-based final exam Psychology: short paper, longer research paper, handouts for the entire class (a group project) Information Technology: Proposal Projects (1-2 pages of explanatory text in addition to data models) Math: 5-7 pages per semester (research papers on mathematicians, synthesis of data after polling events, etc.) Theater: 6 journals (asking for analysis,) a score and character buildup (analysis of the monologue or scene for score, writingas the character for the buildup) Biology: multi-page lab reports, researched papers (5-6 pages) More specific from a biology professor: “students must write descriptions of data and explanations of data. Students mustalso write about cause and effect and are asked to sequence events. In science in general, students must write clearly andknow how to cite claims and back them up with specific examples.”Anatomy and Physiology: exams include short essays; lab exams are entirely short answer questionsNOTE: of the courses listed above, only BIO and A&P (and other science courses, CHM, ENV, etc.) require students to have been placed in ENG 111 in orderto enroll in that science course; however, this means that professors of other courses will assign paper/writing assignments and EXPECT theirstudents to be able to write to a certain audience, make claims and provide support/examples, write clearly and effectively, etc.

Writing expectations in any course:must be flexible From a Communications/Theater professor:“Students in my Communication and Theater classesneed to be flexible in their writing styles – someassignments call for conversational or creativeapproach, while others are more traditionally academic.”

Other important expectations/policies “RE-TAKES” Very few (if any) professors allow students to “re-take” a quiz or test if they areunhappy with their grade. You may find professors who will allow students to revise an earlier paper(especially in an English class and/or an English introductory class like ENG 111).LATE WORK Many/most NVCC professors do NOT accept late work from their students unlessthe student has spoken to them well in advance and there are clear, worthyextenuating circumstances Don’t turn in an assignment/have not communicated with the professor? ZERO/0(end of conversation).

Resources available for NVCC students Writing Center Professors’ office hours Librarians (especially for help with papers orprojects that require credible research) Computer Lab (help with Microsoft Office andusing Blackboard) Math Lab (help with math homework, problemsets, etc.). Individual tutors

Writing Expectations for ENG 111/ ENG 112 15-20 pages of formal writing (a requirement for the course) At least one researched paper (with credible sources, appropriate citations, etc.). (this is a required paper for all ENG 111 students) Other types of assignments you could expect in ENG 111/ENG 112: Different types of essays (ex: compare-contrast, supporting a claim, analysis, etc.)