Writing 121 - Cora Agatucci
English Composition [Expository Essay Writing]

WRITING 121 COURSE COMPETENCIES
& BENCHMARKS 
Prof. Cora Agatucci, WR 121 CRNs # 40754 & 40763, Fall 2000
Shortcut: Benchmark Tracking Sheets

As revised and approved by the Humanities Department Composition Committee, on 17 February 1999, ten course Competencies, or student learning outcomes, have been defined for Writing 121 - English Composition; and the following Benchmarks have been established for Writing 121 courses:

  1. Benchmarked Competencies are those numbered 1-6 below [i.e. those competencies prioritized as essential in measuring effective instruction]. 
  2. Benchmarks are program-wide, as well as specific to each section of Writing 121.
  3. [One means of assessing the educational effectiveness of a Writing 121 course in enabling its students to achieve the targeted course Competencies, is to meet the following standards on designated assignments:]
    70% of students will perform at minimum competency
    with a score of 75% (C) or better;
    30% of students will perform at advanced skill level
    with a score of 85% (B) or better;
    10% percent of students will perform at mastery skill level
    with a score of 95% (A) or better.
  4. The measure for an outcome may be a single assignment or more than one assignment in each class.
Completed Benchmark Tracking Sheets:  I have adapted the approved WR 121 Benchmark Tracking Sheet and reported on my two Fall 2000 sections of WR 121 below.  The Tracking Sheets identify the assignments used to measure whether benchmarks for Competencies #1-6 have been achieved.  I designed my Fall 2000 WR 121 Syllabus course description [relevant excerpts quoted below] to address identified WR 121 competencies.

WR 121 Course Competencies (2) - Fall 2000 
 Student Self-Assessments [of Competencies] & Course Reflections
compiled from Final Writer's Profile Survey [at end of term]:
  http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr121/compet2.htm 

WR 121 Assignments (2) - Fall 2000:
Criteria-Referenced Evaluation forms used in Grading Writing Assignments
& Course Competencies Progress Reports (on student learning Outcomes)
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr121/assign2f00.htm 

WRITING 121 COMPETENCIES #1-6 
& BENCHMARK ASSIGNMENTS

COMPETENCY 1: Write essays that use a thesis to establish control over content; supply relevant and adequate supporting details; employ the organizational strategies of effective beginnings, transitions, and endings; and conform to standard edited English.

BENCHMARK ASSIGNMENTS (instructor-assessed): Out-of-Class Essay #3 

COMPETENCY 2: Achieve Competency 1 under time constraints (during the WR 121 final exam), while conforming to expectations of an assigned topic and of edited English appropriate for timed writing.

BENCHMARK ASSIGNMENTS (instructor-assessed): In-Class Essay #4 and  In-Class Final Exam Essay

COMPETENCY 3: Demonstrate the ability to use a variety of expository essay patterns, such as definition, classification, analysis, problem-solution, and comparison-contrast.

BENCHMARK ASSIGNMENTS:
PROBLEM: My Wr 121 students are required to identify which expository patterns that they have used on each essay assignment in their Writers Profiles, they are required to try at least three different patterns among the four regular course essay assignments, and of these the topic choices given for In-Class Essays #2 and #4 require students to use at least two different patterns.  Final Exam Essay topic choices are each designed to be addressed by a different expository pattern, but again students may choose among them.  My benchmark tracking problem is posed by the fact that I do not assign topics nor specific expository essay patterns for out-of-class Essays #1 and #3, which may be written on topics and in patterns (or combinations of patterns) of student choice.  I believe that I have good pedagogical reasons for this teaching strategy, and I am loathe to change it for the sake of ease in tracking benchmarks. And in the end, my students do try out at least three expository essay patterns.  But at present I see no way to track demonstration of this competency unless I do it by individual student performance across all five essay assignments. (Is this making sense?)
STOP-GAP SOLUTION:  I asked students to rate this competency in later-term Writer's Profiles, including the Final Writer's Profile Survey of WR 121 Outcomes (Student-Assessed).  Below I report STUDENT-ASSESSED completion of Competency #3.

To review the student self-assessments of all 10 WR 121 competencies, see:
 http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr121/compet2.htm 

COMPETENCY 4:  Employ observation; personal experience; active, responsive reading; and the responsible use of sources (without plagiarizing) as the basis for essay content.

BENCHMARK ASSIGNMENTS (instructor-assessed): Out-of-Class Essay #3

COMPETENCY 5:  Demonstrate, in an essay, a sustained style employing rhetorically effective tone, persona, diction, idiom, and syntax.

BENCHMARK ASSIGNMENT (instructor-assessed): Out-of-Class Essay #3 

[From Cora Agatucci's WR 121 Syllabus for Fall 2000:] "Writing 121 will develop and refine students' college essay writing skills, through critical reading, informal skill-building exercises and graded essay writing assignments.  Some of these graded essays will be prepared outside class on topics of student choice, with opportunities to revise and improve essay assignments turned in on time.  Other essays will be written in class on assigned topics, under timed essay-examination conditions.  Textbook assignments will offer introductions, examples, techniques, and topic ideas for critical thinking and writing in variety of expository essay patterns, such as definition, classification, and comparison - contrast.  Students will be guided in applying these patterns effectively to achieve students' own writing purposes, drawing upon observation, personal experience, and reading to develop essay content.  Plagiarism is defined in this WR 121 Syllabus below: acceptable methods for avoiding plagiarism and using outside sources responsibly will be presented in class.  Wr 121 students will also be prompted to identify and analyze examples of effective style (such as tone, persona, word choice, sentence structure) derived from textbook readings, as well as in other students' essays in Writers Workshops. A series of short informal Writer’s Profiles (WP), accompanying major graded writing assignments, will guide students in monitoring their progress, assessing their performance, and devising plans for strengthening their writing."

COMPETENCY 6:  Use critical reading and writing to analyze and synthesize ideas in an academic writing sample, identifying rhetorical patterns, major assertions, and supporting details.

BENCHMARK ASSIGNMENTS (instructor-assessed): Formal Academic Summary 

[From Cora Agatucci's WR 121 Syllabus for Fall 2000:] "Class discussion, small group activities, and informal exercises will guide WR 121 students in identifying main ideas, analyzing rhetorical patterns and writing strategies used in textbook examples of academic writing. A formal academic summary assignment will require students to distinguish major assertions from supporting details in a textbook reading, and to represent authors' main ideas concisely and objectively in writing."  

Completed BENCHMARK TRACKING SHEETS: Competencies #1-6

Instructor Agatucci CRN 40754   Term Fall  Year 2000
Instructor Assessments (except Outcome #3)

WR 121 Competency Assignments Date Total Students
Enrolled		 %A %B %C %D,F
0/NE*		 Benchmark
Met? (Y/N)
1: Write essays that a) use a thesis to establish control over content; b) supply relevant and adequate supporting details;
c)  employ the organizational strategies of effective beginnings, transitions, & endings; and . . ..
d) conform to standard edited English.		 a (Out of class)
Essay #3: 
Comp 1.a-c

11/14/00

23

 17%
4/23

 39%
9/23

17%
4/23

26%
6/23

Y: 74%
at min.
or above
17/23
a (Out of class)
Essay #3:
Comp 1.d		 11/14/00

23

13%
3/23

26%
6/23

26%
6/23

35%
8/23

N: 65%
at min.
or above
15/23
a (Out of class)
Essay #3 [after
Opt'l Revisons]		 12/1/00

23

30%
7/23

48%
11/23

9%
2/23

13%
3/23

Y: 87%
at min.
or above
20/23
2: Achieve Competency 1 under time constraints (during the WR 121 final exam), while conforming to expectations of an assigned topic and of edited English appropriate for timed writing. (In-Class) Essay #4

11/21/00

22

4%
1/22

 14%
3/22

64%
14/22

18%
4/22

82%
at min.
or above
18/22
b Final Exam Essay 12/4/00

22*
took
the final

0 %
0/22

27%
6/22

55%
12/22

18%
4/22

82%
at min.
or above
18/22
3: Demonstrate the ability to use a variety of expository essay patterns, such as definition, classification, analysis, problem-solution, and comparison-contrast. See Problem
explained above:
Final Writer's Profile (student assessed) 		12/4/00

16*
 completed
Final WP

19%
3/16

50 %
8/16

31 %
5/16

0 %
0/16

100%
student assessed
at min.
or above
16/16
                       
 
4: Employ observation; personal experience; active, responsive reading; &/or the responsible use of sources (without plagiarizing) as the basis for essay content. a (Out of class)
Essay #3		 11/14/00

23

 74%
17/23

26 %
6/23

Y: 74%
at min.
or above
17/23
5: Demonstrate, in an essay, a sustained style employing rhetorically effective tone, persona, diction, idiom, and syntax. (Out of class)
Essay #3 		 11/14/00

23

 13 %
3/23		 26%
6/23		 26%
6/23		 35%
8/23

N: 65%
at min.
or above
15/23
6: Use critical reading and writing to analyze and synthesize ideas in an academic writing sample, identifying rhetorical patterns, major assertions, and supporting details. Formal     Academic
Summary
10/17/00


25


20%
5/25
36%
9/25
12%
3/25
32%
8/25


N: 68%
at min.
or above
17/25
Formal Academic Summary [after
Opt'l Revisons]		 12/1/00

23

 26%
6/23		 48%
11/23		 9%
2/23		 17%
4/23

Y: 83%
at min.
or above
19/23

NE = Not Evaluated (Incomplete or O/Late)

Instructor Agatucci CRN 40763   Term Fall  Year 2000
Instructor Assessments (except Outcome #3)

WR 121 Competency Assignments Date Total Students %A %B %C %D,F,
0/NE*		 Benchmark
Met? (Y/N)
1: Write essays that 
a) use a thesis to establish control over content; b) supply relevant and adequate supporting details; 
c) employ the organizational strategies of effective beginnings, transitions, and endings; and . . . 
d) conform to standard edited English.		 (Out of class) Essay #3
Comp 1.a-c

11/14/00

21

5%
1/21

43%
9/21

19%
4/21

33%
7/21

N: 67%
at min.
or above
14/21
(Out of class) Essay #3
Comp 1.d		 11/14/00

21

 9.5%
2/21		 24%
5/21		 38%
8/21		 28.5%
6/21

Y: 71.5%
at min.
or above
15/21
(Out of class)
Essay #3 [after
Opt'l Revisons]

12/1/00

21

5%
1/21

62%
13/21

14%
3/21

19%
4/21

81%
at min.
or above
17/21
2: Achieve Competency 1 under time constraints (during the WR 121 final exam), while conforming to expectations of an assigned topic and of edited English appropriate for timed writing.
(In-Class) Essay #4 11/21/00

21

 5%
1/21

19%
4/21

47.5%
10/21

28.5%
6/21

71.5%
at min.
or above
15/21
(In-Class) Final Exam Essay - cf. F2000 DEPT. STATS below  12/5/00

18*
 took
the final

0%
0/18

22%
4/18

56%
10/18

22%
4/18

78%
at min.
or above
14/18
3: Demonstrate the ability to use a variety of expository essay patterns, such as definition, classification, analysis, problem-solution, and comparison-contrast. See Problem
explained above
Final Writer's Profile (student assessed)

12/5/00

15*
 completed
Final WP

27%
4/15

40 %
6/15

33%
5/15

0 %
0/15

100%
student assessed
at min.
or above
15/15
4: Employ observation; personal experience; active, responsive reading; and the responsible use of sources (without plagiarizing) as the basis for essay content. (Out of class) Essay #3 11/14/00

21

71.5%
15/21

28.5%
6/21

71.5%
at min.
or above
15/21
5: Demonstrate, in an essay, a sustained style employing rhetorically effective tone, persona, diction, idiom, and syntax. (Out of class)
 Essay #3		 11/14/00

21

9.5 %
2/21

24 %
5/21

38 %
8/21

28.5%
6/21

Y: 71.5%
at min.
or above
15/21
6: Use critical reading and writing to analyze and synthesize ideas in an academic writing sample, identifying rhetorical patterns, major assertions, and supporting details. Formal     Academic
Summary		 10/17/00

22

14%
3/22

32%
7/22

36%
8/22

18%
4/22

Y: 82%
at min.
or above
18/22
Formal Academic Summary [after
Opt'l Revisons]		 12/1/00

21

14%
3/21

48%
10/21

24%
5/21

14%
3/21

86%
at min.
or above
18/21
                   

NE = Not Evaluated (Incomplete or O/Late)

Student self-assessment ratings of Competencies #1-6  also been
compiled from Final Writer's Profile Survey [at end of term]:
  http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr121/compet2.htm 

FALL 2001 DEPT. STATISTICS:
Summary data for WR 121 Completion Rate forms
ALL SECTIONS TAUGHT IN Fall 2001 - *100% return

1. Number of students listed on grade roster: 501

2. Number of students who took the final exam: 404

3. Number of students who passed the final: 312 or 73.5%

4. Number of students who did not pass final and received INC grade (Students passing your course but who received NP on final): 81

5. Competency 1: (Essay development and organization)
% A = 30%, % B = 33%, % C = 21%

6. Competency 2 (In-class assignment other than final exam):
% A = 24%, % B = 34%, % C = 24%

 

WRITING 121 COMPETENCIES #7-10
Not Targeted to Be Benchmarked

While Competencies #7-10 have not been targeted to be Benchmarked in 2000-2001, they will be addressed and student-assessed in my WR 121 courses during Fall 2000, as described below

Competency 7: Complete appropriate written critical peer reviews of student essay drafts, including suggestions for revision and editing.

Indicators of WR 121 students' ability to achieve this competency is
Participation in scheduled Writer's Workshops at the Preliminary Draft or Written  Preparation stage of Out-of-Class and In-Class Essays, and of the Formal Academic Summary - written and/or oral responses to other students' preparatory essay work is required to earn credit for these Writer's Workshops.

Competency 8:  Complete at least one (formal or informal) written review of the student's own writing strengths and weaknesses, including effective self-prescriptions for improvement.

[From Cora Agatucci's WR 121 Syllabus for Fall 2000:] "Students will work cooperatively with other students to achieve common course goals for developing and refining their writing skills in WR 121.  Writers Workshops of preliminary drafts will enable students to learn, with and from other students, effective ways to communicate their writing purposes with readers. Exposure to other students' writing will also enlarge everyone's appreciation of the possibilities, as well as the challenges, of achieving one's writing purposes successfully with an audience.  Such small group activities will build upon individual learning experiences from instructor's feedback and Writer's Profiles, which prompt students to recognize their writing strengths and style, identify writing weaknesses, and develop plans for improvement.  With guidance and practice, WR 121 students will gain competency in evaluating their own and other students' writing, and in formulating constructive suggestions for improvement."  

Indicators of WR 121 students' ability to achieve this competency are
the quality of Students' Writers' Profiles 
engaging students in self-evaluation and prescriptions for improvement 
of their formal graded writing assignments

Competency 9:  Demonstrate, monitor, and articulate the complete idiosyncratic process that the individual writer uses to complete an essay, including such steps as invention, thesis formation, organization, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading.

[From Cora Agatucci's WR 121 Syllabus for Fall 2000:] "Textbook and course instruction emphasize the importance of developing an effective writing  process to producing a successful finished composition. Each major writing assignment will be approached as a step-by-step process, from generating and organizing ideas, to drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading. Process-oriented activities and assignments will include "pre-writing" preparation, preliminary drafts and Writers Workshops with other students, revision and editing, instructor feedback, and Writers Profiles focused on self-reflection, self-assessment, and improvement plans."

Indicators of WR 121 students' ability to achieve this competency include
Completion of Textbook Ch. Exercises, preparation of preliminary drafts and participation in Writer's Workshops, and completion of a series of Writer's profiles

Competency 10:  Demonstrate an awareness of a variety of purposes and audiences.

[From Cora Agatucci's WR 121 Syllabus for Fall 2000:] "Most WR 121 activities and assignments already described above will exercise students' ability to identify and analyze different purposes and audiences in varied examples of academic writing presented in assigned textbook readings, as well as in students' own writing."

Two indicators of WR 121 students' ability to achieve this competency are
Completion of Textbook Ch. Exercises focused on different types of writing
Successful adaptation to the different genres of writing Essays Out of Class and In Class
 & the Formal Academic Summary

Student self-assessment ratings of Competencies #7-10 have also been
compiled from Final Writer's Profile Survey [at end of term]:
  http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr121/compet2.htm 

URL of this webpage:  http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr121/competencies.htm

WR 121 Syllabus|Course Plan| Links|Student Writing
Fall 2000 WR 121 Assignment directions Assignments (1)
Fall 2000 WR 121 Criteria-Referenced Evaluation forms  Assignments (2)
Online Handouts on Summaries, Comparing, Classifying, & Ad Analysis WR 121 Assignments (3)
Fall 2000 WR 121 Assignment Deadlines Course Plan
Fall 2000 WR 121 Course Grading Policies & Course Competencies (Outcomes) WR 121 Syllabus

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