English

Welcome

The Department of English considers itself the gateway to the community college. Prefatory to registration in a program, all students are required to take an Assessment Test. Prior to the test, students receive a letter from the Department that both emphasizes the rationale for the test--an awareness that all students bring special skills and talents that must be developed at their own pace--and identifies the abilities to be considered--an ability to read with understanding, to think analytically, and to respond critically to what is read. This letter provides an overview of the areas that shape the Departments work--a thoughtful assessment and placement process; a rigorous curriculum that focuses on critical reading, thinking, and writing; a sensitivity to diverse learning abilities and strategies; student-centered pedagogies; and an attitude of high expectations.

While the majority of our offerings are in Composition as well as in developmental courses that prepare students for Composition, we also offer courses in research writing, technical writing, creative writing (both fiction and poetry), and literature. Additionally, we offer courses in English as a Second Language. Beyond the classroom, faculty members from our department coordinate support services in writing for the campus, coordinate support services for students with learning disabilities, and sponsor activities for the campus and the community that encourage a love of writing, such as our Writing Contest, our literary journal, and our series of poetry readings.

On behalf of the English faculty, welcome.

James M. Gentile
Chair, Department of English

Mission

The English Department at Manchester Community College is committed to the belief that reading, writing, and critical thinking are essential activities for all people. The Department enriches the academic, economic and cultural life of the College and of the community by providing a spectrum of courses, events and activities to meet the needs of a diverse population of learners and to engender a love of the spoken and written word in the communities we serve.

The Department's primary goal is to help students become successful college-level readers, writers, and thinkers. In particular, it strives to develop each student's "voice" as a writer. It encourages each student to recognize his or her ethical responsibility as a writer--to argue fairly, to use language fairly, and to use sources fairly.

To achieve this distinctive mission, the Department:

• Welcomes people of every ethnicity, national origin, religion, political belief, sexual orientation, age or ability, and strives to create curricula and instructional materials that are inclusive and reflective of our diverse community.
• Responds to the needs of the College and the community.
• Assesses each student's reading and writing abilities.
• Provides classes in developmental English and English as a Second Language for those learners who may not be ready for college-level classes.
• Provides a foundation in English that is suited to the needs of students who wish to transfer to baccalaureate institutions as well as for those who wish to develop or upgrade English skills for the workplace.
• Provides upper level courses for students who wish to pursue more advanced courses in English, either as part of a degree or for personal enrichment.
• Supports college initiatives that facilitate student success, including courses and lab facilities, tutoring in the College Learning Center, and online tutoring.
• Sponsors poetry readings and other events that provide opportunities for students and the community to enjoy the spoken and written word.

MCC English Department - Developmental and College-level  Reading and Writing

The English Department has developed a sequence of courses - English* 043, *066, *093, and *101 - that is intended to prepare students for the rigors of critical thinking, reading, and writing at the college level.  Based on their performance on the assessment test, a decision is made by the English Department concerning the degree of preparation students will need in order to enter and successfully complete English* 101.  Students are subsequently placed in one of these four English courses.

Each course in the sequence is process-oriented, allowing students to develop the strategies necessary to read and write effectively within a college setting.  As students proceed through each course, they will be required to read more complex texts, to respond to those texts using more challenging analytical strategies, and to write about those texts in ways that demonstrate an increasing depth of thought and control.   A final grade of "C" or better at each level is required to progress to the next level.

Students may only move out of English* 043 if they can respond to a reading or readings in a piece of writing of at least 750 words.  Such writing must have a central idea supported by specific evidence.  Students may only move out of English* 066 if they can respond to a reading or readings in an analytical essay of from 1000 to 1500 words.  This essay must have a central idea supported by relevant, adequate, and varied evidence.  Material from the readings must be integrated into the essay to support your ideas.  This essay must progress logically from beginning, to middle, to end.  Students may only move out of English* 093 if they can respond to a reading or readings in an analytical essay of from 1250 to 1750 words.  This essay must have the qualities of strong writing that are the focus of English* 066.  This essay must also show a fuller control of paragraph form and sentence structure.  Further, it must demonstrate a burgeoning ability to think abstractly about the readings.

After successfully completing English* 043, *066, and/or *093, students will be prepared for English* 101.  Students will be able to read with comprehension.  Students will be able to write essays focused on a single idea which is developed logically and which is supported by evidence drawn from experience and the readings.  Students will be able to write in a style that is easy to read and relatively free of error.  In short, students will have acquired the minimal reading and writing skills necessary for college level work.  Also, students will have begun to acquire the critical thinking skills that will be the foundation of English* 101.  In particular, they will have begun to demonstrate an ability to think abstractly about the readings and the ideas that they raise.

In English* 101 students will develop more advanced reading and writing skills.  They will learn how to read more complex texts and how to find connections within and between them.  In particular, students will learn how to engage in strong critical analysis and how to evaluate ideas and issues effectively.  Additionally, they will learn how to use sources fairly and ethically. Students will then develop the ability to respond to these ideas and issues in essays that are focused, logically developed, fully supported, and clearly written.  These essays will be from 1250 to 1750 words.  As the semester progresses, students will become increasingly confident of their ability to write for an academic audience.

MCC English Department - The Connection between Reading and Writing

The focus of the curriculum of the Department of English is perhaps best expressed through an objective identified for our Composition course: to introduce students to "the ‘language of the academy’ - that is, to the complex literacies of reading, thinking, speaking, and writing required of college students regardless of their area of specialization."  The focus on reading and writing is central.  As the objective further indicates, students learn to "improve their ability to read critically and resourcefully and integrate material from the readings into their essays."  In those classes which prepare students for Composition, in Composition itself, and in our higher-level courses, the reading process is centralized.  Additionally, instructors prepare students both to describe what they read - to engage in the critical acts of summary and paraphrase and quotation - and to interpret what they read - to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate a text or texts. Thus, students are continually reading texts, responding to texts individually and collaboratively, rereading and reconsidering texts in the context of subsequent work, and writing about texts and the ideas that they raise.  The Department believes that through these various activities, students will develop successful processes for reading diverse texts and for writing essays about them.  The Department further believes that these processes will prepare students for realizing the aims of academic and professional writing.