Course Description and Competencies

What to Expect

This course will help you develop writing skills that will benefit you in all aspects of your life. You will be introduced to four distinct writing approaches: expressive, narrative, interpretive, and argumentative.

You will write and revise about 10 pages as a requirement for the course over 4 writing assignments. The course highlights both overall writing and sentence-level revision. You will be encouraged to improve each piece of writing.

This process will help develop your overall writing skills. You will also learn to cite your sources properly. That is, including the big 4 details: author (when known), publishing date, article/book title, and publication location information (like URL or publisher name). This will help demonstrate your commitment to quality work.

Course Competencies

This course covers the following competencies:

  • The learner applies grammatical rules, sentence structure, and writing conventions to all writing.
  • The learner incorporates necessary writing elements, such as thesis statements, paragraphs, and conclusions.
  • The learner integrates credible and relevant sources into writing, including the "big 4" details when citing.
  • The learner demonstrates the ability to recognize and avoid plagiarism.
  • The learner composes expressive writing aligned with rubric standards.
  • The learner composes narrative writing aligned with rubric standards.
  • The learner composes interpretive writing aligned with rubric standards.
  • The learner composes argumentative writing aligned with rubric standards.

Assessment

You must achieve a ranking of Competent on each assessment to pass the course. You may attempt each assessment two times before additional support is necessary. If you require further attempts, please contact your Student Experience Team.

4 Papers
3 Competency Units

Course Outline

Your English Way Finder

At the start of the course, you will complete this assessment. It will illustrate your current knowledge of concepts related to this course. Your results will help us create a tailored plan for you.

ModuleUpon completion of this module, you will be able to:
Expressive Writing:
Achieving Goals Through Self-Reflection
  • Use structural and grammatical elements specific to expressive writing.
  • Reflect on core values and explain how those values help to contribute to educational, career, and personal goals.
  • Reflect on your progress as a writer.
  • Use proper formatting standards.
Narrative Writing:
Learning Through Storytelling
  • Use structural and grammatical elements specific to narrative writing.
  • Compose a narrative that conveys an appropriate theme.
  • Tell a story that captures a personal experience.
  • Incorporate dialogue and description in storytelling.
Interpretive Writing:
Reading with Purpose
  • Use structural and grammatical elements specific to interpretive writing.
  • Do a close reading of a story, using a model to explore and question ideas.
  • Demonstrate critical thinking by conveying story concepts.
  • Include and respond to specific textual examples.
  • Include proper in-text citations and reference information including author, publishing date, article title, and publication information.
Argumentative Writing:
Writing to Persuade
  • Use structural and grammatical elements specific to argumentative writing.
  • Create a supported argument using trustworthy sources.
  • Build a workable thesis statement reflected in all paragraphs.
  • Review and consider opposing ideas.
  • Build cohesive and coherent arguments within each paragraph.

Check Your Progress
At the end of the course, you will complete a final assessment. It will illustrate your progress in the course. It consists of multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and open-text response questions.

Key Contacts

Certificate Connect
Check out this online community to take advantage of course resources, including videos and tips from your educators. You can ask and answer questions, provide feedback on your progress, and interact with fellow students. You will find this platform in the Student Resources section of the course. Log on and do some exploring!

Technical Support
If you encounter technical issues, be sure to contact the Help Desk. Just submit a Support Request for assistance.

Program Support
Do you have questions about your account? Student Support has answers. They can help with billing, switching courses, and other requests. You can contact them at (888) 320-0540 or support@academy.wgu.edu.

Accommodations

WGU provides compliant and accessible learning experiences. If you require accommodation, please contact us at the start of the course. You can email disability@academy.wgu.edu.

We are committed to ensuring that all students with disabilities have equal access to WGU's services and materials. We strive to use best practices for accessibility. Our goal is to conform to existing U.S. laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Our learning management system (LMS) platform is Open edX. Open edX’s commitment to accessible content is published in their Website Accessibility Policy.