English Major Learning Outcomes

Program Mission

Our mission is to cultivate critical reading, writing and thinking through the study of language, interpretation of literature, and the creation and analysis of texts. In doing so, we aim to develop ethical and discerning individuals prepared for civic, professional and intellectual life.

Program Outcomes

Majors should be able to demonstrate their ability to:

1. Read deeply, closely and widely from different time periods, cultures, media, genres and social locations
2. Analyze the interactions between texts and their contexts
3. Understand how writers and readers use literary and rhetorical devices to make meaning
4. Develop coherent and persuasive arguments that incorporate appropriate primary and secondary sources
5. Write with clarity, correctness and power, demonstrating awareness of the particular needs of the writing situation, including audience, purpose and appropriate rhetorical conventions
6. Articulate the complexity of the writing process and demonstrate a critical awareness of their own processes
7. Recognize key theoretical issues for understanding a topic or text and engage in relevant scholarly conversations
8. Recognize the dynamics of power and politics in acts of reading and writing
9. Collaborate effectively in reading and writing texts