Riverland Community College

This is an introductory college writing course designed to help students develop effective writing skills for college level work.  Students learn to generate ideas and organize them into unified, coherent essays.  Methods of instruction vary, but most sections combine individual conferences and peer review with regular class meetings.  Prerequisites:  A grade of C or higher in ENGL 0960 or appropriate placement score.

MnTC (Goals 1/CM and Goal 2/CT); (3 Cr – 3 lect, 0 lab)

Also satisfies: Goal 2 - Critical Thinking

Honors Composition I is an introductory college writing course designed to help students develop effective writing skills for college level work.  Students learn to generate ideas and organize them into unified, coherent essays.  This course will focus on writing about literature.  Students will employ the writing process as they study, analyze, and interpret short stories, poetry and fiction.  Methods of instruction vary, but most sections will combine individual conferences and peer review with regular class meetings.  Honors courses will emphasize independent inquiry, informed discussion, and direct application within small transformative classes which feature close working relationships with instructors.  

MnTC (Goals 1/CM and Goal 2/CT); (3 Cr – 3 lect, 0 lab)

Also satisfies: Goal 2 - Critical Thinking

This second semester composition course is designed as a continuation of ENGL 1101.  It teaches the skills needed to write clear and coherent essays using different modes of expository prose such as process, comparison and contrast, classification, and definition.  It will culminate in the study of argumentative writing in which the student learns to defend a position and argue a thesis with reason and evidence.  Prerequisite:  ENGL 1101

MnTC (Goal 1/CM and Goal 2/CT); (3 Cr – 3 lect, 0 lab)

Also satisfies: Goal 2 - Critical Thinking

This is a second semester composition course focused on the writing of an academic research paper.  Students learn how to employ the resources of an academic library and how to cite those sources in a fully documented analytical/interpretive term paper.  Prerequisites: ENGL 1101.

MnTC (Goals 1/CM and 2/CT); (3 Cr - 3 lect, 0 lab)

Also satisfies: Goal 2 - Critical Thinking

This is a second semester composition course based upon writing journalistic pieces and researching topics related to the practice and craft of journalism. Students will learn ways of interviewing and writing for various media, including print, broadcast, and online formats, study ethical issues facing journalists, and explore diversity issues specific to journalism. Students will also develop an understanding of First Amendment rights related to Freedom of the Press, the Freedom of Information Act, and the special role journalism plays in a democracy. Prerequisites: ENGL 1101
MnTC (Goals 1/CM and 2/CT); (3 Cr - 3 lect, 0 lab)

Also satisfies: Goal 2 - Critical Thinking

This honors section is a second semester composition course focused on an enriched study of Peace Studies and the writing of an academic research paper. Students learn how to employ the resources of an academic library and how to cite those sources in a fully documented analytical/interpretive term paper. This course explores nonfiction works addressing issues of peace and nonviolence from such authors as Dorothy Day, Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Colman McCarthy, H.D. Thoreau, and Thomas Merton. Students will engage in a number of discussions and assignments in an attempt to foster greater understanding of issues related to peace studies. Students may watch films, read literature, research historical figures, and present reports on important topics along with other types of course work all designed to assist in the exploration of peace studies. Honors courses emphasize independent inquiry, informed discussion, and direct application within small transformative classes, which feature close working relationships with instructors. Prerequisites: ENGL 1101.

MnTC (Goals 1/CM and 8/GP); (3 Cr - 3 lect, 0 lab)

Also satisfies: Goal 8 - Global Perspective, Honors Courses

This course focuses on the theory and practice of public communication including individual and group presentations.  This course emphasizes audience analysis, organization, content development including topic selection and speaking ethics.  Students will prepare and deliver a variety of both individual and group presentations and demonstrate an ability to apply research from diverse sources.  Students should expect to reduce speech apprehension and develop self-confidence in their ability to communicate in public.

MnTC (Goals 1/CM and 9/EC); (3 Cr – 3 lect, 0 lab)

Also satisfies: Goal 9 - Ethical & Civic Responsibility

This honors section of Fundamentals of Speech is an enriched study of the theory and practice of public communication including individual and group presentations.  This course emphasizes audience analysis, organization, content development including topic selection and speaking ethics.  Students will prepare and deliver a variety of both individual and group presentations and demonstrate an ability to apply research from diverse sources.  Students should expect to reduce speech apprehension and develop self-confidence in their ability to communicate in public. Honors courses emphasize independent inquiry, informed discussion, and direct application within small transformative classes and feature close working relationships with instructors.

MnTC (Goals 1/CM and 9/EC); (3 Cr – 3 lect, 0 lab)

Also satisfies: Goal 9 - Ethical & Civic Responsibility

This course focuses on communicating more effectively in personal, social, and professional environments and examining the practical and theoretical aspects of human communication. The course also addresses such topics as self-esteem, listening, effective language, nonverbal communication, perception, disclosure, conflict and cultural communication.  Human diversity issues and cultural/intercultural factors and how they affect human communication are examined.  Students will also reflect on the role interpersonal process plays in relationships and reflect on individual strengths and weaknesses with regard to personal interpersonal communication.

MnTC (Goals 1/CM 7/HD); (3 Cr – 3 lect, 0 lab)

Also satisfies: Goal 7 - Human Diversity

This course examines the interconnections between communication and culture and the need for intercultural communication competency in our global and ever-changing world. Students will assess the impact of cultural perceptions and bias, and how they affect communication behaviors in real contexts. Students read, observe, discuss, listen, and present about how culture impacts communication processes and shapes cultural identity and communication. There will be an emphasis on learning communication skills to better enable students to communicate with people from other cultures.

MnTC (Goals 1/C and 7/HD); (3 Cr – 3 lect, 0 lab)

Also satisfies: Goal 7 - Human Diversity