MA in Writing – Learning Goals and Student Outcomes 2017-05b

Program Goals Student Goals Student Outcomes

Goal 1: Goal 1: Craft and 1. Students will experiment with various genres,
Rhetorical audiences, purposes, and contexts.
The program will
Strategies 2. Students will develop a vocabulary to identify and
produce students Students will become discuss elements of craft and rhetorical strategies in
skilled in the craft their own work and the writing of others.
who are
and rhetorical 3. Students will experiment with the elements of craft and
knowledgeable, strategies associated other rhetorical strategies and apply them to their own
with creative, writing.
skilled, and
scholarly, and 4. Students will reflect on their current level of proficiency
adaptable in the professional writing. and identify where they should seek to improve their
skills.
strategies of multiple
5. Student will demonstrate a skilled use of elements of
genres. craft and rhetorical strategies.
Goal 2: Process 1. Students will discover and demonstrate how reading,
Students will research, experimenting, drafting, reflection, and
discover strategies revision are utilized in a multistage process of writing.
for how to engage 2. Students will discover and experiment with a variety of
and manage the compositional strategies and processes to explore their
complexities of material.
writing as a multi- 3. Students will develop the ability to reflect upon, revise,
stage, recursive and edit their own work and the work of others through
process. multiple drafts.
Goal 3: Reading 1. Students will discover and demonstrate how their
Students will study writing is influenced by texts and genres that precede
exemplary texts in a them or that respond to similar contexts, audiences,
variety of genres to and purposes.
identify the skills 2. Students will identify and critically reflect on the
available to them exemplary qualities of writing by other students and by
and to understand published authors.
their textual and 3. Students will identify, analyze, evaluate, synthesize,
social contexts. and apply writing techniques and rhetorical strategies
gleaned from the models of exemplary texts to their
own writing.
4. Students will reflect on past reading and prepare a
plan for future reading as an aspect of their writing
process and their overall creative, scholarly, and
professional agenda.
Goal 4: Genre 1. Student will identify and apply the traditions and
Students will explore conventions from which their writing emerges.
new genres and 2. Students will experiment in multiple genres to develop
deepen their their understanding of how the strategies and
understanding of the conventions of one genre can be applied to another.
genres in which they 3. Students will reflect on those conditions in which a
have the greatest convention might be challenged or supported.
interest. 4. Students will discover and reflect on how genres
change over time or new genres emerge in response
to their social, technological, literary, and rhetorical
contexts.
Goal 2: Goal 5: Audience 1. Students will identify their potential audiences, both
Students will develop ideal and real.
The program will
their understanding 2. Students will reflect upon the expectations of a variety
produce students of the role audience of audiences in literary, professional, and academic
plays in their writing contexts.
who are who are
and apply this to 3. Students will reflect on how they wish to relate to the
knowledgeable their own work. audience’s expectations and values, whether to affirm
or challenge them.
about the audiences
4. Students will develop an understanding of how readers
they address and relate to the texts as co-creators of meaning.
Goal 6: Context 1. Students will read and research to discover how their
the social, political,
Students will work enters into a conversation with contemporary or
and intellectual understand how their previous works.
writing is affected by 2. Student will discover how cultural and technological
contexts in which
their social, changes over time affect audiences, genres, purposes,
they write. historical, the roles writers play, and the work they produce.
professional, literary, 3. Students will discover the impact of technology on all
rhetorical, and stages of the writing process and on how writing is
technological published and received.
contexts. 4. Students will explore the conditions that encourage
[Goal 2 continued.]
new genres or new forms of writing to emerge.
Goal 7 Research 1. Students will cultivate intellectual curiosity to
Students will investigate both the form and content of their writing.
discover the 2. Students will employ research technologies and
research methods methods that are most appropriate to their creative,
and strategies scholarly, or professional goals and purposes.
available to them 3. Students will use sources with integrity by accurately
and how these may representing and correctly citing the ideas and
be adapted to a intellectual property of others.
variety of genres, 4. Students will search for the best means of creating
audiences, ethical, truthful, and responsible representations and to
purposes, and understand the limits of creative license.in their writing.
contexts.
Goal 3: Goal 8: Reflection 1. Students will reflect on their goals, purposes,
and Self Awareness strategies, influences, contexts.
The program will
Students will 2. Students will discover standards by which they
produce students develop, self-critical measure the quality of a work.
awareness of their 3. Students will identify and articulate strengths and
who are able to
writing. weaknesses in their own writing.
reflect on their 4. Students will recognize and demonstrate that the
composition of a text represents a series of authorial
motivating purpose
choices and will be able to identify and consider the
and the quality of impact of choices.
Goal 9: Purpose, 1. Students will discover how writing is a means of
their work as they
Identity, and interrogating the world, posing questions and looking
apply what they Professionalism for solutions.
Students will explore 2. Students will discover how writing is a method of
have learned to their
the various purposes bringing a fuller awareness to their experience.
profession or artistic that motivate them 3. Students will show commitment and persistence when
and develop their exploring new material under conditions of uncertainty.
calling.
identities as writers 4. Students will reflect upon the roles they play as
as artists, scholars, individuals and as members of a larger community.
professionals, and as 5. Students will demonstrate awareness of professional
contributing opportunities available to them through the
members of various development of their writing skills and strategies
communities. 6. Student will develop adaptability in applying the skills
they have learned in to a variety of creative, scholarly,
or professional contexts.
Goal 4: Goal 10: Creativity, 1. Student will discover how creativity involves risk and
Originality, and learn to identify when such risk-taking is of value.
The program will
Innovation 2. Students will discover that strong writing often
produce students Students will plan emerges from uncertainty or ambiguity and will
and create works investigate instances of dissonance.
will cultivate creative
that demonstrate 3. Students will articulate and demonstrate the ways in
courage as they creative courage, which they have challenged conventions and other
originality, and risks they have taken with their writing.
synthesize what
innovation in order to 4. Students will cultivate a sense of curiosity in their
they have learned contribute to a larger reading and writing about a wide range of subjects and
cultural conversation. experiences.
as they progress
5. Students will produce texts that synthesize and present
experience or information in novel and valuable ways.
toward making an Goal 11: Synthesis 1. Students will understand the interrelationships
Students will between all the above goals to the processes of
original and valuable
discover, composition they employ and the texts they produce.
contribution to their understand, analyze, 2. Students will plan, reflect upon, and complete a highly
apply, synthesis, and crafted and sustained, multi-staged work in a genre of
field of artistic or
evaluate above their choosing.
professional goals, adapting them 3. Students will be able to reflect upon and discuss the
to their personal genre, audience, purpose, skills and strategies,
objectives.
goals as they create intellectual and artistic influences, context, and the
new works. value of this sustained work.