INTRODUCTION

This document contains the rationale for the curriculum in Sello C, Advanced Composition, at ITESM, Campus Querétaro.  This course has been offered in its present form (wherein students display their writing in English within their personal web sites) since the fall of 1999.  This document contains all the information in the outline above, and it is intended for several audiences.  First, I hope students who are enrolled in the course take the time to read this "rationale" for the things we do throughout the semester.  All too often, we as students and teachers are so involved in the daily activities that we fail to see the course and its objectives from any other perspective than the "daily grind," and that's a tragedy.  All too often, courses are over before we know what happened, so this document will help to support a more complete understanding of the contribution of the variety of activities undertaken throughout the semester.  Second, this document is intended for other teachers within the TEC System who may want to transfer it and teach it at their campuses.  Within the basics which are detailed here, there is still "maneuvering room" for teachers to contribute their own personal touches.  Whether you are a student or a teacher, please feel free to contact me at http://eslbee.com/email.htm  for questions or comments.

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SELLO C, ADVANCED COMPOSITION IN ENGLISH IN QUERÉTARO

Sello C, Advanced Composition, is the most advanced English course offered by the English Department at ITESM, Campus Queretaro.  Currently, Advanced Composition is open only to students who have already passed their ITESM Institutional TOEFL metas, which in most cases is 550.  Thus, because of the current English Department policies in Querétaro, Sello C is open only to first semester students, new students who are already at an advanced level of English, new students who have already met their 550 TOEFL scores upon enrollment at ITESM, Campus Querétaro.

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GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of Advanced Composition in English is to provide students with the ability to write academic English for a US academic audience.  This means that when students choose to study in a foreign university for a semester or a year before their graduation from the TEC, this writing course makes it possible for them to succeed in meeting their foreign writing requirements.  Or when students are called upon to use English writing skills in their careers or participate in conferences and workshops, both before and after graduation, this course helps students accomplish those writing objectives.  Or when after graduation students go to work for US companies or Mexican companies that conduct business with US companies or other foreign companies in English, this composition course provides an excellent foundation for those writing objectives as well.

These goals are "functional" in that they enable the student to survive or even excel in the academic and business atmosphere.  Goals such as these can be approached mechanically from the respective "profiles" of Sello C, Advanced Composition, students.  Mechanically, for example, students in Advanced English Composition should be able to 

(1) produce simple, compound, and complex sentences, (2) produce adjective clauses, (3) connect ideas using logical transitions, and then (4) integrate simple, compound, complex sentences, adjective clauses, and logical transitions stylistically.  

Yes, Sello C, Advanced Composition, students know how to do these things upon completion of the course, but this is only a low level mechanical goal.  Another mechanical goal, however "higher" and more "global" in nature, is also listed in the "profiles" of Sello C, Advanced Composition:  Students should be able to 

(1) research opposing viewpoints, (2) summarize each viewpoint, (3) synthesize conflicting information to form their own viewpoint, (4) develop a rationale for their own viewpoint, (5) justify their viewpoint through supporting details, (6) anticipate possible objections, and then (7) write with an engaged voice in order to advance their viewpoint.

Obviously, these are higher order skills, and students who can accomplish these skills can accomplish a lot!  However, these skills like the first set are only functional or utilitarian in nature.  Accomplishing these goals, like the first, is a mere mechanical exercise.  There is another set of skills that goes beyond the mere functional level of the first two sets of skills.  Again, from the "profiles" of Advanced Composition in English, students should be able to

(1) ethically evaluate the validity of conflicting values, (2) respect others' unique cultural values, (3) respond appropriately to the cultural context in which they are placed, (4) distinguish between environmentally sound and unsound behaviors, (5) keep abreast of environmental concerns and development, (6) practice environmentally sound behaviors in their professional activities, (7) evaluate the impact of their professional activity on the community, (8) suggest strategies to ameliorate the negative impact, and (9) participate in civic activities as a response to the community.

Obviously, these skills define the fully functioning autonomous individual, the conscious individual, fully aware of him/herself in his/her surroundings and of his/her impact on those surroundings.  These skills are the same as those defined in the ITESM mission (in Spanish).  Although these skills are difficult to attain, students in Advanced English Composition are challenged to attain these skills.  

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PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATION

Before turning to the actual product that students produce during the semester, and before examining each partial and its contribution to accomplishing the above goals, I believe it would be helpful to examine the philosophical foundation upon which these goals are accomplished.  First, with regard to accomplishing the first two sets of goals, the utilitarian goals principally, I am guided most by George Hillocks, Jr., author of Research on Written Composition, published in 1986.  This seminal work involved a review of all research projects on writing prior to 1986, a search that originally yielded over 6,000 research projects.  Then through a screening process excluding "research dealing only with oral language and pieces which were essentially anecdotal, hortatory, historical, curricular, or literary," 4,000 titles were excluded leaving approximately 2,000 research articles which are now included in Hillocks' studies (xviii).  (The bibliography to his book alone is 103 pages!)

One aspect that Hillocks examines is the relationship between "Instructional Effectiveness" and "Focus of Instruction" including (1) grammar and mechanics, (2) sentence combining, (3) models, (4) scales, (5) free writing, (6) inquiry, and (7) all above combined.  In short, the Hillocks' study shows the Mean Effect of the Focus of Instruction as follows:

Focus of Instruction	Mean Effect
Grammar and Mechanics Sentence Combining Models Scales Free Writing Inquiry All Above Combined	-.29  .35  .22  .36  .16  .56  .26
	(215)

Hillocks' research shows grammar and mechanics to have a negative effect, interestingly, and inquiry having the highest positive effect.  This is important information to consider when designing a composition course, and I will discuss sentence combining, models, scales, free writing, and inquiry when examining each partial and its activities.

My philosophical foundation for the third set of goals, the part in which students are challenged to become fully functioning autonomous individuals, conscious individuals, is influenced by Marie Wirsing, my graduate school Philosophy of Education professor, who writes of awakening students to their surroundings:

A key method is intellectual confrontation, wherein the teacher attempts to stir up his students by focusing attention on ethical problems in which they have a personal stake.  At every opportunity, the teacher seeks to expose students to disturbing, incompatible, and uncomfortable ideas.  In other words, he deliberately tries to foment a constructive kind of mental anxiety, or disquietude--a learning atmosphere in which intellectual and emotional complacency is well-nigh impossible (55).

In other words, it is not possible for a student to remain "intellectually and emotionally complacent" and become a fully functioning autonomous individual, a conscious individual, at the same time.  For example, it is a difficult challenge for many students to support positions with which they disagree in writing, but they must.  Or beyond that, students must think about real and difficult problems similar to those they will face after graduation.  For example, cities and states face a variety of ethical issues, seemingly irreconcilable:  "Is it acceptable for a city or state to accept an industry that pollutes in order to provide employment for its citizens?"  "How much pollution (or unemployment) then is acceptable?"  Or, "Should communities embrace MacDonald's franchises and Wal Mart superstores even though small local businesses and the culture of the community will be negatively affected?"  These are real problems with no easy solutions, and students must become aware of their choices and their consequences.  I will discuss this aspect of the course when examining each partial and its activities.

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PRODUCT

The product of this composition course is a personal web site created by each student.  

(Note:  The links in the following paragraph go to a mirror (copy) of a former student's web site.  After this student completed my course two semesters ago, I received his permission to copy his entire web site for this purpose.  Of all the writing this student accomplished, his "analysis" paper is the best of any student I have ever taught (in that it reflects both the deepest thinking and the most authentic "voice") .  Mechanically, the writing in these essays is very good.  This student received a final course grade of 97.)

Students in Sello C Advanced Composition create their own personal web sites in which to display their writing in English.  The format of each web site is the same, consisting of (1) an "index page" introducing the topic or issue, (2) an autobiography, (3) an "issues page" with at least two links out to the www and links to four separate essays, (4) a "giving instructions" essay, (5) a "cause" or "effect" essay, (6) a "comparison" or "contrast" essay, (7) and the final project, (8) an "analysis" paper that inquires into two sides of an issue which is followed by an "argumentative" essay in which the student supports his/her own position, the last part requiring extensive research and documentation through hyperlinks.  To see a "map" of the complete site on one page, click here.   

The technical aspect of creating individual web sites is accomplished in a computer lab where classes are held once a week.  The computers are, of course, connected to the internet.  Lab time is devoted to building the web pages themselves or to research.  The only computer programs required are either Netscape Composer or Microsoft Front Page and at least a basic photo editor.  Students' pages are hosted by a variety of free web site hosting services such as Geocities, Tripod, etc.

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WRITING FOR THE WORLD WIDE WEB

Studies show the efficacy of writing for the world wide web audience as a motivating factor in the composition process.  I will first discuss this with regard to traditional portfolio assessment which I have advocated for composition students for a long time:  see Portfolio Development, An Introduction by Erlyn Baack.  However, an on line virtual portfolio, which is what a personal web site is, especially for this class, accomplishes even more than the traditional portfolio.  From my own experience and according to Evan Nisonson at UCLA, writing "virtual portfolios" for the www audience

instills an awareness of the writing process in the student, it forces the students to conceptualize their individual works as being components in some larger project, it foments within the student a keen awareness of him/herself as a provider of information, it strengthens and emphasizes the conceptualization of an audience,

all compelling reasons to support the promotion of personal web sites for composition students (documentation here).  Another proponent of authentic writing for the www audience  puts it this way (humorously), "As long as we insist on creating artificial needs for our students, they will continue to demonstrate artificial invention...ideas generated only to solve the immediate problem of completing the "English paper" for the "English teacher" due at a fixed time, somewhere likely between the "World Civ" paper and the next algebra test, and nothing more" (Donaldson).

For these reasons and for many other reasons, mostly having to do with the historical development of writing and literacy---from clay to parchment to the printing press and now to the internet and hypertext---students today must develop the literacy skills required for success in today's world (reading and writing hypertext is a literacy skill), and the creation of personal web sites in English is an excellent way for English Composition students to begin that process.  

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ACTIVITIES WITHIN PARTIALS

In this section of the rationale for Sello C, Advanced Composition, I will examine activities within partials and then explain how they contribute to accomplishing the goals and objectives described above.  The principal activities, the activities that run through each partial are (1) essays, (2) research and presentations, and (3) issues.  First, I will focus on each of these activities in general as the common thread that runs through all the partials, and then I will discuss specific aspects of each as they vary within partials.  It's possible to say at this point that each of the above activities contributes to the specific objectives listed above (lower level mechanical to higher fully functioning individual level), each in its own way.

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ESSAYS

This is an English Composition class, so students write several essays throughout the semester, each essay increasing in complexity as the semester progresses.  The order of the essays is as follows:  autobiography, giving instructions, cause or effect, comparison or contrast, and the final paper which contains support of an issue (pro), support of an issue (con), and essay to persuade.

The first writing assignment, an autobiography, is a "free writing" exercise (see Hillocks) occurring in the first week of class before much specific instruction about writing.  The single "mechanical" item I would like students to be aware of and apply in their autobiographies is "time transitions" linking the various "stages" of their autobiographies, almost always in chronological order.  At this point, I only "strongly suggest" choosing a stage or several stages to write about.  A "model" (see Hillocks) of an autobiographical event, or at least of the use of time transitions in an autobiographical event is available in the Course Documents section or here.

The second essay is a "giving instructions" essay which, like the first, is almost always in chronological order.  This is the first writing assignment in which I specify the exact format I require:  a five-paragraph essay (model:  see Hillocks).  My rationale for requiring five-paragraph essays rests on a strong theoretical foundation, too detailed to discuss in this space but available here.  (Please read this document, Rationale for the Five Paragraph Essay, because it is important!)  (Clicking the link will open the document in a new window.)

The organization of the third and fourth essays (cause or effect and comparison or contrast) is always exactly specified, always five paragraph, but increasing in complexity.  The comparison and contrast essay, for example, can be written using "block" or "point by point" organization, and students at this time can provide a rationale for using either one organizational scheme or the other.

Finally, the organization of the final essay is built upon the essays written previously; however, it is much more detailed.  For example, the final essay consists of essentially two position papers, one in support and the other in opposition to an issue, each requiring at least three documentary references hyperlinked from the text itself.  I always explain to the students that after reading both sides of the issue, I don't what to have any idea what the student's real opinion is because each side has to be presented fairly.  Then, after presenting both sides equally, the student has the chance to state his/her opinion which like the previous two sections must be documented and hyperlinked.

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PROCESS

All the essays described above are the result of a "process" which is as follows:  First, before beginning any writing at all, students are given some time in class (10 minutes) to discuss their potential topics with a colleague.  Ten minutes isn't much time, but some students have a "topic" or "theme" and this is usually enough to get the rest thinking more seriously about their own topics.  Then students are required to write a "rough draft" of each essay and bring it to class for "peer review."  Peer review is when students in either groups of two or three exchange papers and read and comment about each others' essays.  Students always have at least a week's notice (except for the autobiography) to complete each writing assignment.  Beginning with the Giving Instructions essay, I give students time in class to complete a "Peer Review Questionnaire" which contains specific questions, specific to each genre and specific to the particular writing convention we are emphasizing at that time.  Rough drafts must be on paper, double spaced (for penciling in comments or corrections), and spell-checked in English.  Students are usually given the entire class period to complete the peer review.  (Students at the beginning of the semester approach this task tentatively, usually wondering if they are "answering the questions correctly."  However, by the end of the semester, students approach this as a team of "seasoned professionals," and it is always interesting to see this transformation within students.  That is, through their own experience throughout the semester, students know both the purpose and the positive effects of a classmate's response.

After students have read each others' papers, they give their comments to the authors of the papers so the authors can make revisions and corrections based on comments they receive.  Within two or three class periods, students place their papers in their web sites where I copy them, paste them into MS Word, score them making comments and/or corrections (macro generated in many instances), and then I email the paper back to the student.  

Finally, students go back to their original papers (already in their web sites) to make corrections and/or revisions based on my formative assessment using the ESL Composition Profile rubric.  The entire process, from invention to completion, allows for students working both individually and collectively to revisit and revise their essays many times.  

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SCORING OF ESSAYS

The autobiography is not scored like the rest of the essays in that I do not respond at all to organization, writing conventions, or grammar.  The autobiography is the only essay written throughout the semester that is scored only on the number of words written.  The assignment is for 1,000 words, so 1,000 is a 100%, 800 words is an 80%, etc.  I respond to every autobiography, but only in general to the autobiographical content itself.  My rationale for scoring in this manner is that these essays are written before any formal writing instruction, and the purpose is free writing (see Hillocks), which is exactly that, to present as much information as possible, in this case autobiographical information, not to write a perfectly organized and polished essay.

All the rest of the essays are scored formatively using the ESL Composition Profile in terms of Content, Organization, Sentence Construction, Voice, and Mechanics + Proofreading = Finished Form.  (These are all things we cover in class.)  Formative scoring means that comments and/or corrections are specifically indicated so students can see exactly where and how to "correct" or "revise" to create a better paper.  In describing the "process" above, students are expected to correct and revise their papers after I score them.  The students' final web sites count as the final exam in this class, so when I go back to look at the essays in the web sites, I check to see that students have corrected and revised their papers after they have been returned to them. 

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IN CLASS ESSAYS

The first and second partial exams are in class essays about issues discussed in class prior to the week of the exams.  This semester the topics for the first and second partial exams are (1) globalization and (2) human rights.  These are topics that students will investigate both individually and in teams before the partial exams, and students will know in general what they will write about, but I will give the specific question on the day of the exam when students can answer one of two questions, their choice.  These in class essays, written in less than one hour, are scored summatively using the Test of Written English Scoring Guide, much the same as TWE administered by the English Testing Service (ETS).  My objective here is to try to score these in class essays exactly as they would be scored if they had been sent to the ETS for scoring.  Scoring the exams summatively means I do not write comments or corrections on the papers; I only give them a score and the scoring guide indicating the strongest or weakest point with a single check mark.  

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CONTRIBUTION OF WRITING ESSAYS TOWARD ACCOMPLISHING LOWER ORDER MECHANICAL OBJECTIVES TO HIGHER ORDER OBJECTIVES

I said earlier that essays are scored using the ESL Composition Profile according to content, organization, sentence construction, voice, and mechanics + proofreading = finished form.  The point value to each component is as follows:

Content	25%
Organization	20%
Sentence Construction	20%
Voice	10%
Mechanics + Proofreading = Finished Form	25%

At the beginning of this paper, I indicated several "goals" of this English Composition course:  first, two "lower level" mechanical goals and second, a "higher level" fully functioning autonomous individual goal.  The activities I have described above---the essays, the process, and the scoring---contribute mostly toward accomplishing the mechanical goals of writing in English.  Explicit instruction is devoted to organization of essays, sentence construction, and mechanics + proofreading = finished form, so obviously, these are the parts most affected by these writing activities.  Without a doubt, by the end of the semester, students will not only understand how to write, for example, a "five paragraph contrast essay using point by point arrangement of details," but they will be able to do it!  This is an excellent mechanical skill to master because it will serve as a foundation for all future writing, academic or recreational.

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RESEARCH AND PRESENTATIONS

After content and organization, I believe the most important aspect of writing in English is good sentence control.  I believe students should be able to define precisely the kind of sentence he/she is writing, whether it is simple, compound, complex, etc.  In the past, I have always presented all this information, and then tested the students on their knowledge of it in quizzes, but for the first time this semester, students will (1) investigate the course materials in Blackboard, (2) search the internet for supplementary information, and then (3) present their understanding in team presentations.

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PROCESS

In each partial, students conduct "research" into a variety of aspects about writing at the sentence level.  In the first partial, students examine (1) differences between writing in English and Spanish using contrastive analysis, (2) sentences including simple, compound, and complex, (3) use of coordinators, subordinators, and connectors, and (4) topic sentences.  The second partial is similar to the first except the topics are more "local."  The topics in the second partial are Subject-Verb Agreement, Adjective Clauses, Appositives, and Parallel Structure.  

First of all, all these materials are already provided in the Course Documents section of Blackboard.  However, I want students, in teams, to conduct an additional internet search, each team member finding at least one additional piece of documentation for each aspect.  In accomplishing this investigation, students will not only find what they need, but they will also develop the ability to discern what they do not need; in other words, they will learn more than if they just "listen to the teacher present this material" and then take a quiz on it.

In addition, during their work as teams, students will necessarily discuss these aspects at the meta level and then display their knowledge about them, first, as team members, second, in their presentations, and third, in their own writing.  Through team presentations, including auto and co-evaluation, students can come to understand these aspects as teams of professionals.  The presentations should be formal, similar to a formal business presentation.

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CONTRIBUTION OF RESEARCH AND TEAM PRESENTATIONS TOWARD ACCOMPLISHING LOWER ORDER MECHANICAL OBJECTIVES TO HIGHER ORDER OBJECTIVES

Writing effectively at the sentence level is second in importance only after content and organization, and I believe students who excel in these research and presentation projects will be able to both understand and write effective sentences.  At the beginning of this paper, I indicated the "goals" of this English Composition course:  first two different sets of "lower level" mechanical goals and then the "higher level" fully functioning autonomous individual goal.  Like the activities already described, these research and presentation activities contribute mostly toward the mechanical goals of writing in English.  Like the activities that preceded these, explicit instruction is devoted to writing at the sentence level, so students should master these skills.  And by the end of the semester, students will not only understand simple, compound, and complex sentences, etc., but they will also be able to discuss them at the meta level, and most important, they will be able to write well at the sentence level!  If students accomplish no more during the semester than master these mechanical skills of writing English compositions, they will have accomplished a lot.  To this point, however, it would not be possible to say that these mechanical goals contribute to the "higher level" fully functioning autonomous individual goal, which is also an ITESM System goal.  But it is to that goal which we now turn.

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ISSUES

The higher order skills ITESM Advanced Composition students should be able to accomplish are those that define the fully functioning autonomous individual, the conscious individual, fully aware of him/herself in his/her surroundings and of his/her impact on those surroundings.  According to the "profiles" of Sello C, Advanced Composition, and consistent with the skills defined in the ITESM Mission, students should be able to 

(1) ethically evaluate the validity of conflicting values, (2) respect others' unique cultural values, (3) respond appropriately to the cultural context in which they are placed, (4) distinguish between environmentally sound and unsound behaviors, (5) keep abreast of environmental concerns and development, (6) practice environmentally sound behaviors in their professional activities, (7) evaluate the impact of their professional activity on the community, (8) suggest strategies to ameliorate the negative impact, and (9) participate in civic activities as a response to the community.

Obviously, it would be impossible to achieve these goals without discussing some specific issues, so time in each partial is devoted to an examination of a variety of issues through which students can be challenged to move beyond the mechanical goals discussed previously.  Through the examination of a variety of issues, it may be possible for students to become informed, active participants within their constantly changing environments.

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RESPONSE TO ISSUES IN PARTIALS ONE AND TWO

Specific activities within each partial are devoted to an examination of issues, the first partial to the issue of "globalization" and the second partial to "human rights."  Obviously, these are issues I have chosen, and I fully recognize these issues are not necessarily the students' issues; however, I believe they will serve well to introduce the students to some of the complexities involved.  For example, the first partial exam is based on two articles, Writing for Peace and A Worker Talks to a Peasant, by Ngugi Wa Thiong'O, a Kenyan nationalist radically opposed to colonialism.  Beyond the fact that these articles are passionately opposed to globalization, they explain the anti globalization perspective succinctly to the point where students must become involved in their response, probably both intellectually and emotionally.  In addition to reading these one-sided essays, students are required to bring a pro-globalization article (an "inquiry" exercise:  see Hillocks) with a 100 word personal response to that article.  I suspect that only a minority of students will support Ngugi Wa Thiong'O; however, I am sure there will be opposing views, and I hope to allow equal time for both sides to express those views in class ("contentious issue":  see Wirsing).  After all students have the opportunity to be heard, I will then express my views.  I will then show them photos of (apparently very happy) indigenous Kenyans taken by a colleague last summer, and then I will ask them to form small groups to discuss "their comprehensive solution" or "their comprehensive response" to Ngugi Wa Thiong'O.

Ngugi Wa Thiong'O's position is also interesting from the sense in that he is a "third world" writer, and within the text, Writing for Peace, Thiong'O places a special responsibility on writers within both "first world" and "developing world" countries.  They must take the side of those who have no voice!

The discussion of an issue in the second partial exam will be the same as the first except the topic will be about human rights.  Students will choose an article from the Human Rights Watch web site to develop for their second partial.  I am looking forward to the variety of issues students choose from the human rights web site because it is huge and contains information about a large variety of human rights issues in a wide range of countries, US and Mexico included.

Time during both the first and second partials is devoted to in class discussion of these issues, and I will do what I can to ensure the discussions are lively and passionate.  Most important, both sides should be given an opportunity to voice their views.  The partial exams, in class essays, will also be devoted to allowing students to voice their views.  

The essays of both partial exams will be scored summatively using the TWE rubric (contains "scales":  see Hillocks).  I have discussed this scoring method previously in this paper.  See IN CLASS ESSAYS.

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EXAMINATION OF ISSUE AND POSITION PAPER AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL IN PARTIAL THREE

The issue of the third partial differs from the first two in that each student chooses his/her own issue in the third partial.  Obviously, students have their own issues which they are encouraged to explore thoroughly during the entire third partial.  All issues by definition have two sides, and in their investigation, students are required to research the internet ("inquire": see Hillocks) to find general web sites to support both sides of their issue, whatever it is.  To give an example, if capital punishment is the issue, appropriate general sites might be a principal site opposed to capital punishment such as the ACLU site or any human rights site.  On the other side, a principal site in support of capital punishment might be a site supported by victims of crime or police organizations, etc.  In general, these sites should be MAJOR sites that generally support or oppose the issue.  In addition to these general sites, activities three, four, and five in the third partial require that students look for specific pages to support specific arguments related to their issues.  

The final paper of the third partial is clearly the most ambitious paper students will accomplish in the Advanced Composition class in that it consists of several stages:  

The first stage is the controlling statement which is crucial to the success of the entire final paper.  The controlling statement enables (or forces) the student to limit the range of his/her issue and focus his/her research.  In inventing their controlling statements, students will bring their rough drafts, typed and double spaced and spell checked in English, and another student reads the paper and makes comments about it.  The student then "revises" the paper based on the peer comments and hands in a paper copy.  I try to read these papers from the "global" or "organizational" perspectives and analyze whether the student has clearly delineated the range of options and clearly limited the focus of his/her paper.  My purpose here is not to "grade" the papers as much as it is to try to ensure that the student has delineated the alternatives as clearly and succinctly as possible.  The controlling statement is (or should be) a general outline of the complete final paper.

Analysis Pro and Analysis Con.  In this part, students research ("inquire": see Hillocks) the www to find specific web pages (not general web sites) to support specific issues on both sides of their issue.  In their documentation, students should create hyperlinks to specific text to support specific points on both sides of their issue.  The point I make is that after reading both sides of their issue, I do not want to have any idea of the student's real position; in other words, both sides must be treated equally.

Argumentation and Conclusion.  Finally, the last part of this final paper is a "position paper" in which the student states and supports his/her point including complete documentation through the use of hyperlinks.  It is here where the student has the opportunity to move the discussion forward, whatever it is, to his/her view of a "better world."  

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CONTRIBUTION OF FINAL PAPER TOWARD ACCOMPLISHING HIGHER ORDER OBJECTIVES 

Do the discussions about issues in the first two partials and the writing about issues in the third partial contribute toward students with the capacity to fulfill the objectives in the ITESM mission?  Do students by the end of this course fit the profiles of Sello C Advanced Composition students mentioned previously:

(1) ethically evaluate the validity of conflicting values, (2) respect others' unique cultural values, (3) respond appropriately to the cultural context in which they are placed, (4) distinguish between environmentally sound and unsound behaviors, (5) keep abreast of environmental concerns and development, (6) practice environmentally sound behaviors in their professional activities, (7) evaluate the impact of their professional activity on the community, (8) suggest strategies to ameliorate the negative impact, and (9) participate in civic activities as a response to the community.

My answer:  Possibly, they can and they do!  Obviously, the discussion of the globalization issue in the first partial and the human rights issue(s) in the second partial contribute in that students become aware of at least two major issues that are affecting many people right now.  These are major issues with no easy resolution.  In addition, having successfully accomplished all the writing requirements of their final papers contributes toward "conscious and aware, fully-functioning individuals."  In writing their final papers, for example, students are required to fully support both sides of an issue, which in most cases requires that the student step "outside" his/her normal perspective.  Indeed, the act of the writing itself permits the student to read what he/she has written from an "outside" perspective, which is to become conscious of an issue from another perspective.  I believe these are major steps toward accomplishing both the goals of the ITESM mission and the profiles of Sello C Advanced Composition students.

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CONCLUSION

In sum, I believe Sello C Advanced Composition in English is one of the most important English courses ITESM students can take for several reasons, all stated and supported previously.  In Sello C Advanced Composition, students (1) can become proficient in the mechanical aspects of writing, (2) they can develop a reason to write, and finally, (3) students can publish their own writing in a personal web site which they create during the semester.  

I have seen the transformation that takes place within students who successfully accomplish all the objectives in this course.  In the first place, accomplishing even the "low level" mechanical skills of organizing five-paragraph essays, paragraphs, and sentences makes it possible for many students to go to the US or Europe or Canada for a year of studies, which they often do.  When students know how to organize a five-paragraph essay for a US academic audience, for example, they can succeed in any of their serious writing objectives.  When studying abroad, then, students can at least devote time to that experience rather than spending it in a remedial composition classroom learning how to write.

Second, I believe students should become active participants in their own destinies, which by definition requires they engage the issues they face in their own worlds.  Throughout the semester, we examine just two issues in depth, "globalization" and "human rights."  Obviously, these issues are not necessarily the students' issues; however, they could be, and they are relevant, at least to an extent.  During the first two partials, we devote some time to an examination of both sides of these issues so by the third partial, students are prepared to explore their own issue in depth.  When students analyze and criticize both sides of their own issue, they are in the respected position of an "authority" who can advance their own position consistent with their view of a better world, entirely consistent with the ITESM Mission.

Finally, students in this course also learn how to publish their own views in their own web sites which they create during the semester.  It has already been established that writing for the world wide web audience is a motivating factor in the composition process.  In addition, through "hypertext writing" for the world wide web, students in Sello C Advanced Composition develop the literacy skills required for success in today's world.  Obviously, reading and writing hypertext is a literacy skill, and the creation of personal web sites in English is an excellent way for English Composition students to begin that process.

These are all compelling reasons why ITESM, Campus Querétaro, students should study Sello C Advanced Composition in English.  While writing in English is very hard work (or because writing in English is very hard work), students gain a lot through Advanced Composition in English.  Through their accomplishments in this class, many doors are opened and many opportunities present themselves that otherwise would have not been possible.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hillocks, G. (1986). Research on Written Composition: New Directions for Teaching. Washington, DC:  NCRE and ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills.  (This link is to PDF file of book download and printing; however, the PDF file does not appear as the original book.  The text, however appears to be complete.)

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