Handbook

WRITING IN COLLEGE ENGLISH COURSES

1. Every English Department course requires writing, some portion of which is done out of class. Journals, mini-essays and other forms of writing can substitute for standard papers.
2. A substantial portion of the writing assignments is evaluated and graded for form as well as content, and returned to the students in a reasonable length of time.
3. Writing assignments should routinely refer to standards of manuscript format.
4. Writing assignments should insist on proper formal citation of primary and secondary sources. The current MLA guidelines on parenthetic reference and a list of works cited are strongly recommended and may be required.
5. The pedagogy of literature courses should include instruction in writing about literature, especially strategies for embedding details, references, and quotations into students' own discourse.