Saint Mary’s College Composition Program
English 5: Argument and Research
English 5 builds upon the skills that students developed in English 4 and introduces students to the
process of initiating, developing, researching, and writing the college-level research essay. This course is
specifically designed to prepare students for the Writing in the Discipline course that students will
encounter in their chosen major.
In order to create coherence and continuity in the English Composition Program and to ensure that all
Saint Mary’s first-year students are held to appropriate college-level standards in their writing courses,
the Program has implemented the following expectations for all sections of English 5. English 5 requires
students to write 7500 words (approximately 30 pages). At least 5000 words (approximately 20 pages)
should be graded formal writing; the balance may be made up of informal writing, such as free-writing,
drafts, and written daily assignments. All English 5 courses will assign 2-4 formal essays. One of these
essays must be the English 5 Extended Research Essay. In this essay, we ask students to develop an
extended argument based on sources that they have identified.
The Composition Program has adopted a research essay guide, Susan M. Hubbuch’s Writing Research
Papers Across the Curriculum, to be used in all English 5 courses. All courses will incorporate Section 1
(the purpose of the research essay), Section 2 (the process of arriving at a research topic and strategy),
Section 3 (finding sources), Section 4 (evaluating sources), Section 5 (drafting the essay), and Section 6
(using and acknowledging sources within the research essay). By going through the developmental stages
recommended in these sections, students will be encouraged to think of the research essay not as a
product, but rather as a process made up of a number of developmental steps. In order to emphasize the
research process, instructors will evaluate at least three of these developmental steps. Part of the research
process will include a library session scheduled with a Saint Mary’s College librarian.
To emphasize the connection between English 5 and the Writing in the Discipline course, instructors will
have students explore discipline-specific research through a short assignment or activity, such as
interviewing a faculty member in the student’s anticipated major or exploring a discipline-specific library
database.
Students will write at least two essays requiring research, one of which must be the English 5 Extended
Research Essay.
1) In one of the shorter essays, students will analyze two or more sources on a single topic and
evaluate and synthesize evidence for the purposes of drawing valid conclusions and arriving at a
position relative to the sources [IERP3].
2) The Extended Research Essay will be 8-12 pages in length. This longer essay, usually the final
essay assigned in the course, provides students with the experience of developing and writing an
extended argument based on their own independent research. While working on this essay,
students should develop search strategies and use library catalogs and databases to locate relevant
material [IERP 1], practice evaluating sources critically [IERP 2], evaluate and synthesize
evidence for the purpose of drawing valid conclusions in relation to their own thesis argument
[IERP 3], and demonstrate understanding of how to practice academic honesty and safeguard the
intellectual property of others by properly integrating and citing sources [IERP 4]. Students will
be expected to cite at least three peer-reviewed sources in their Extended Research Essays. This
essay should prepare students to engage in college-level writing and research within their own
disciplines.
November 1, 2012