2006-07 Catalog Archive (Archived July 31, 2006)

One College Avenue, Williamsport PA 17701 · (570) 326-3761 or (800) 367-9222

Course Descriptions

ENL001
Basic English
Emphasis on writing skills: organization, structure, content, style, and mechanics. Individualized instruction, instructor control of the writing process, limited class size, and personalization of grammar instruction are characteristic of the course. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): Placement by Examination.

ENL010
Communications
Skills and competencies in basic writing for the workplace and oral communication to meet the needs of the applied arts certificate student. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab)

ENL111
English Composition I
Composition: language structure; rhetorical principles; orderly, clear writing; and readings in expository prose. Offers a variety of methods for developing individualized written expression. Analysis, discussion, and practice of such methods as description, definition, narration, comparison, classification and argumentation. Students use writing to explain and explore, gaining experience in essential writing and research skills. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL001 or Placement by Examination.

ENL121
English Composition II
Continues the writing principles developed in ENL 111. Includes the study of poetry, prose, and drama. Emphasizes critical analysis and interpretation of literature through discussion and written assignments. Through writing about literature and its themes, students apply the skills learned in ENL 111 to examine the purpose, argument, and style of literary writing. Students explore the importance of literature to society and study the impact of language upon the reader. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111.

ENL201
Technical and Professional Communication
Intensive survey of technical writing with practice in preparing reports, instructions, memos, and other communications for business and industry. Students develop skills in analyzing audiences and writing for readers both with and without technical expertise. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111.

ENL211
The Craft of Research
Introduces the nature, uses, and objectives of academic research intended to solve a significant problem within a technical discipline. Intended for students in research-intensive fields, and/or those preparing a baccalaureate capstone proposal. 1 Credit (1 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL121 or ENL201.

ENL221
Detective Fiction
The serious treatment of crime and detection by such sleuths as Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, Perry Mason, Mike Hammer, and Philip Marlow. Also examines the development of the traditional mystery story and the hard-boiled detective story in terms of how each reflects the values of the culture that produced it. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111. Fall Only.

ENL231
World Literature
Explores the variations and developments in eastern and western world views through the literature of the ages. Offers a sampling of essays, poetry, fiction, and drama from the ancients through the moderns. Through an analysis of the literature of the world, the course seeks to trace the shifting perspectives of our world, the powers that reign and the condition of humankind. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111. As needed.

ENL235
Creative Writing
Develops the insights, sensibilities and skills necessary for the creation and refinement of expressive and imaginative writing. Early emphasis is upon the principles and techniques common to all genres of writing that seek to define, challenge and celebrate the individual. After cultivating observation, memory, and consistency, students will then focus upon crafting fresh and significant works that add to the traditions of poetry, fiction, and/or dramatic scripts. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111. (ART) Spring Only.

ENL240
Early American Literature
Overview of literary trends in American literature from the colonial period to the Civil War with focus on individual stories, essays and poems of representative authors. Applies such concepts as theme, image, symbol and irony and encourages critical analysis of literature in light of these contexts. Class discussions of reading assignments assist students in understanding the contexts out of which the literature grows, how the literature reflects the times and how it reveals the nature of the characters who make the times. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111. Fall Only.

ENL241
American Literature Since 1865
Overview of literary trends in American literature since the Civil War with focus on individual stories, essays, poems and plays of representative authors. Emphasizes literary movements such as romanticism, realism and naturalism and encourages critical analysis of literature in terms of these concepts. Class discussions of reading assignments assist students in understanding the contexts out of which the literature grows, how the literature reflects the times and how it reveals the nature of the characters who make the times. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111. Spring Only.

ENL250
Literature of the American Indian
Readings in the oral and written literature of Native Americans, with emphasis on literature produced in North America. The works will be approached through literary criticism, philosophy, religion, psychology, history, and social criticism. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) (Cultural Diversity) Fall Only.

ENL251
Masters of Horror: Horror in Literature and the Mass Media
Explores the serious treatment of "horror" by authors from the 17th century to modern time, including Shakespeare, Shelley, Poe, Lovecraft, and Bradbury. Also examines the evolution of the pulps, the horror comic, the horror radio series, and the horror film as forces that shape and mirror the mainstream of American social thought. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111. Spring Only.

ENL252
Women in Literature
Provides an overview of literature written by women of different eras and cultures, using literature from classical times to the present to examine the various ways women see themselves and the ways their cultures view them. Includes responses to and critical analysis of literature from all genres. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111. As needed.

ENL257
The Graphic Novel
This course explores a recent and still emerging genre of narrative literature. The course will tie together various cross-disciplinary approaches in an investigation of several significant modern novels that use both words and images to tell their complex tales. Course topics include Words and Images; Perception and Interpretation; Visual Thinking; Literary Roots of Sequential Art; Underground Comix as Satire and Critique; Krazy Kat and Surrealism; Time, Space and Planes; Women and Sequential Art; Culture, Power and Pleasure. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111. As needed.

ENL281
Sex, Death and Morality: Identity through Literature (Multicultural Perspectives)
The culture in which one lives strongly influences attitudes toward sex, death, morality, and identity. This diversity-focused course explores how novels, stories, poems, plays, and essays both reflect and shape identity depending on one's ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. Approximately half of the readings are from non-Western cultures. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111. (Cultural Diversity) As needed.

ENL301
Advanced Technical Communication
Students learn advanced concepts of document organization and design, the processes of information exchange, and document specifications. Each student completes two documentation projects in a specific technical discipline, resulting in two of the major types of technical documents: manual, proposal, or report. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL201. Fall Only.

ENL321
Rhetoric of Persuasion
Students learn advanced concepts of persuasion (also called argument). Students participate in two types of activities: evaluating other people's persuasive messages and creating persuasive messages of their own. They will examine the various forms of persuasion and the conditions under which persuasion works best through discussions, readings, three written assignments, and an oral presentation. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL111 and ENL112 and SPC101 or ENL111 and ENL112 and SPC201. As needed, Fall.

ENL330
Language, Writing and Signs
Students study the cognitive system of unconscious knowledge that underlies our ability to produce and interpret language within situational contexts. Students investigate the features that all human languages have in common: use, structure, and symbolic representation. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL121 or ENL201. As needed.

ENL331
Proposal and Grant Writing
The course prepares students to participate in the process of managing, planning, writing, and reviewing proposal documents. Each student will complete short commentaries on various kinds of proposals (technical contracts, nonprofit fundraising proposals, and individual research proposals); an interpretation of Request for Proposal (RFP) or grant specifications; and a profile of a major funding agency. In response to an RFP or nonprofit funding agent, students will organize a proposal-writing team, plan, manage, write, and review a proposal for submission. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL301 and ENL321. As needed.

ENL350C
Professional Issues and Standards(Co-op)
Through a co-op experience, students investigate issues and standards in the profession, including ethics, copyright, liability, document quality, usability analysis, and professional status. Students contrast theoretical frameworks with practical perspectives and experiences. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL112 and ENL301 and PHL210. As needed.

ENL361
Technical Scriptwriting
Students gain the basic writing and production skills required to produce a corporate technical video script. Students write three scripts: 1) a 60-second public service video, 2) a 7-minute product promotion script, and 3) a 12-minute instruction video. Students complete individual and group assignments working with a client recruited from industry. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL301 and ENL321. As needed, Spring.

ENL421
Technical and Scientific Editing
The course introduces the philosophy, theory, and practice of editing technical and scientific documents. Prepares students to deal with a variety of editing problems encountered in technical reports, proposals, and manuals. Views the editing process from the perspective of readers' needs, authors' styles, and the discourse community's expectations. Students will edit one technical or scientific document collectively under the instructor's supervision, then each student will solicit and edit a "client" document. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL301 and ENL351. As needed, Fall.

ENL430
Online Documentation 1: From Paper to Hypertext
An overview of the process for producing computer documentation, with special emphasis on techniques for improving user information. The course moves the student from established paper documentation strategies to online documentation requirements. 3 Credits (2 Lecture - 3 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL351. As needed, Fall.

ENL432
Online Documentation 2: Online Information Products
Focuses on creating online documents that help software users learn program features and use them to work productively. Provides the foundation for developing a complete process for analyzing software users, learning a software program, and designing task-oriented information products, as well as screen interface design. 3 Credits (2 Lecture - 3 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL430. As needed, Spring.

ENL441
Designing Product Information Systems
The course focuses on the two stages required to design and produce a product information system: development of systems and document specifications. Students develop a plan overviewing all the publications involved in the documentation of a product, then develop in-depth plans for each document needed to support the product. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) Prerequisite(s): ENL301 and ENL351 or ENL301 and ENL411. As needed.

ENL495
Capstone I: Senior Research Project
Students synthesize BPC coursework and technical study area by designing, administering, and reporting a quantitative or qualitative research project focused on technical communication practices within the student's technical study area. Students must have completed all BPC required courses through ENL421 and at least 6 credit hours of BPC electives and at least 15 credit hours in a technical study area. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) As needed.

ENL496
Capstone II: Technical Communication Internship
Students complete an internship, working on a client's documentation project; they write a final report, produce a portfolio for evaluation by committee, and make a public presentation. The course offering depends upon the availability of internships. Either ENL495 or ENL496 is required for BPC students; if ENL496 is not available, students will take ENL495. Students must have completed all BPC required courses through ENL421 and at least 6 credit hours of BPC electives and at least 15 credit hours in a technical study area. 3 Credits (3 Lecture - 0 Lab) As needed.