English Learning Outcomes
Department of English Learning Outcomes
The Bachelor of Arts degree with an English major includes 56-57 semester hours of core and general education courses and 39 semester hours in the major.
The English major prepares students to:
- Identify and explain the significance of specific literary elements of texts.
- Identify and understand multiple theoretical and critical perspectives.
- Synthesize ideas and information among multiple primary literary texts and among primary texts and other period resources and/or secondary theoretical and critical resources, to develop analytical arguments.
- Identify characteristics of historical literary periods/movements and analyze works of American, British, and world literature within the contexts of their historical literary periods/movements.
- Analyze and evaluate the interaction between literature and culture.
- Identify and analyze rhetorical, grammatical, and stylistic features of texts.
- Apply sound principles of rhetoric, grammar, and style in writing analytical, persuasive, and scholarly papers and other types of writing.
- Develop an analytical/persuasive thesis and perform systematic research and evaluate sources in support of that thesis.
- Produce effective oral analyses of literary works and researched topics.
- Master fundamental skills of technical, professional writing, media writing, and/or writing pedagogy.
- Demonstrate information fluency through the informed use of technology to create rhetorically sound materials.
The major is of value to students needing broad liberal learning for their professional goals, students interested in teaching, and students interested in law or graduate school.