The English program prepares students to enter the job market in a variety of fields which require written and oral communication and critical thinking. Students with this degree can also transfer to a university in numerous fields of study. This degree will prepare students to pivot into emerging professions.
Students may gain immediate employment in offices and businesses that require strong reading, writing and communication skills. Students who go on to complete a Bachelor’s Degree may gain employment in Journalism, Creative Writing, Copywriting, Technical writing, Science Writing, Freelance Writing, and Grant Writing
Academic Curriculum Map
Contact Information
Randee Baty
Associate Professor of English randeeb@labette.edu
620-820-1177
Office Hours
Elizabeth Stoneberger
Professor of English elizabethw@labette.edu
620-820-1123
Office Hours
Philosophy of the Program
The Basics Underscoring the Approach to Composition classes at Labette Community College
Many students have problems in a composition class simply because they have completed high school without have done much writing.
This course will be a writing class and not a grammar class. Although there will be a quick grammar review, and an ongoing study for students with deficient backgrounds, the primary focus will be on developing the skill of writing.
Students cannot learn to write by listening to lectures about writing or by doing grammar exercises. Research has proved that there is little, if any, transfer.
For the most part, all writers support their stances from two basic sources-personal experience or library research. In composition I, students will validate their generalizations and assertions based on personal knowledge. They will be saying, in essence, that they find their stand a valid one because of their life experiences and the meaning they have assigned to those experiences. For example, if a student asserts that his grandfather is a kind but stubborn man in the character sketch, he will prove such a generalization based on his experiences with his grandfather.
In Composition II, students will support their assertions primarily from published material, but their writing will still reflect their own voice and their own convictions. In the broadest sense, all writing is based on the writer's personal experience - whether it is an encounter with a grandfather or an encounter with the ideas expressed in a published article on nuclear energy.
The emphasis in this course from the beginning to the end will be on specific substantiation.
Assertions come easily. It is the evidence that gives pause. Students can say that the President is effective or inadequate. But when they write such an assertion, they are committed to supporting that stand with specific evidence. Writers of exposition must substantiate and illustrate their point.
Good writing is the product of thinking, organizing, drafting, and revising. Revision is an ongoing process rather than a final editing. The emphasis on rewriting will be to alter sentences or passages for more specificity and more clarity.
The ultimate goal in this class is that students become good readers, editors, and evaluators of their own writing. The point of good writing is not to avoid error but to create and communicate meaning. And this class will take time. A paper will likely go through several drafts before it is satisfactorily complete; revision is not the sign of a poor writer but a good writer.
Attendance in this class is mandatory. The teacher will make every effort to help students who are coming to class and who are trying.
Students are allowed three (3) absences, but even when these absences are necessary and legitimate, students will miss important material. After the third absence, students take full responsibility for material missed.
Class sessions will be supplemented by conferences with the instructor. During these conferences, students may pose questions, and the instructor may point out what is working in an assigned paper and what is not. These conferences will be to discuss drafts rather than completed assignments so student writers can consider possibilities and tackle problems before the papers are handed in for a grade. In addition, students may "drop in" for help on a paper any time during the instructor's office hours. a schedule of these hours will be posted soon after the beginning of the semester.
Students may also contact the English specialist in the Learning Center for individualized help.
Students in this class will participate in reading and commenting on other students' writings to make sure they are the best they can be.
Students will be able to accept responsibility for what is written and how it is written.
ACCUPLACER Writing Skills Placement Test
What is the ACCUPLACER test and why must I take it?
The test is designed to help you fulfill your individual plans, goals, and needs as you begin your college career. In addition, it helps to ensure your success in college by placing you in classes that are the "best fit" for you.
How is the test designed?
The Sentence Skills part of ACCUPLACER asks you to find and correct errors in essays that are already written. The items cover the general categories of punctuation, basic grammar, usage, and sentence structure. Also, you will be asked to make decisions about the essays based on your knowledge of strategy, organization, and style in effective writing. You won't be asked to write an essay as part of the test.
Do I need computer skills to take the ACCUPLACER test?
No, but being familiar with a keyboard is helpful, since it is a computer test.
What if I "fail" the test?
You can't "fail" because it is not that kind of test. No one passes or fails. ACCUPLACER simply recommends what reading/writing class is right for you, based on your answers. It is important that you take the test seriously, however, and do your best. If for some reason you don't feel you have done your best work on the test, you can take the test a second time.
Can I study for the ACCUPLACER test?
Yes. You can review your knowledge of punctuation and grammar, and you can make sure that you can recognize a sentence fragment, a fused (run-on) sentence, and a comma splice, as well as other common mistakes such as misspelled words, problems with capitalization, and misplaced and dangling modifiers. If some of these terms mystify you, don't panic; you aren't expected to know all the answers!
Sample Paragraphs
Because the Writing Skills Placement Test is computer-based, no standard test can reproduce the interaction that takes place during the test. In other words, the test will guide you as you take the test, but these sample paragraphs cannot!
However, you can begin to sharpen your skills by reading the following paragraphs and correcting the mistakes you find. The first two paragraphs test your knowledge of grammar and punctuation and your ability to proofread. The third paragraph test you understanding of expository writing. Remember, however, when you take the actual exam, you will be looking for both kinds of problems: grammar and structure!
Steve Miller is a stingy friend of mine. When he comes to work, he never brings any money. But always asks me if I have a quarter to lend him so that he can buy cookies or a small bag of potato chips. One time he asked me to lend him a dollar so he could buy a chance from another employee forksgiving turkey. I refused at first but he practically begged me. As a result, I gave him the money. As I expected, he never offered to return my dollar. When I’d remind him, he’d say, Oh yeah, I’ll get it to you soon, but he never did. Another example of Steves stinginess were the time he and me and two of our friends decided to go out and eat during our lunch hour at the Red Rooster, a new restaurant. Steve suggested that we take his car, and as we were driving to the restaurant, he said his gas tank was empty. I couldn’t believe he would have the nerve to ask us for gas money. With only a total of eight miles to the restaurant and back. However, he pulls into an Exxon gas station and cheerfully said that a dollar for gas from each of us would be fine. I was really fuming because I could see that his gas tank was at least a quarter full. After we pulled into the restaurant parking lot, Steve informed us that he would have to wait in the car while the rest of us ate. I asked him with hard voice, “Don’t you have any money?” Steve’s reply was, “Yeah, but I’m not going to spend it eating out when I can go home and eat for nothing.”
When I was a child, my brother took advantage of my fear of ghosts. I would be taking a shower, and my brother would open the door turn out the lights, and start “wooing” until I began to cry. Then he would almost suffocate from laughing. Other times, he would make moaning sounds through the keyhole of my bedroom door. Rattling the doorknob as well. One night he did the worst thing of all, he took out the main fuse in the fuse box, and all the lights in the house went out. Neither one of my parents were home at the time, and I was so petrified that at first I couldn’t move. But I sure did move when my brother came running down the hall with a white sheet over his head. Screaming at the tip of his lungs. He must have chased me around the house for almost a half hour. I finally stopped grabbed an apple out of the fruit basket, and throwed it at him as hard as I could. I missed him but not the kitchen window. Telling my parents what happened later, they spanked my brother. However, thanks to him, I can’t walk down a dark street today. Without thinking there is someone behind me.
This paragraph tests your knowledge of paragraph structure, paragraph order and paragraph unity; it also tests your ability to think critically and to revise effectively. First, read the paragraph carefully. After you have read the paragraph, consider the questions listed at the bottom of this page.
The living conditions in many city jails are appalling. In fact, many of the jail cells aren’t fit for human habitation. They are often filthy and unsanitary. Disinfectant and stuff like cleaning agents are rarely used. Roaches and rats scuttle across the floor looking for crumbs of food. Roaches, of course, are difficult to get rid of even in clean places. Scientists say that roaches have changed little since prehistoric times and that if the world were to experience an atomic holocaust, roaches would be one of the few living creatures to survive. Finally, many city jails are overcrowded. As many as three or four inmates sleep in cells that are only twelve feet wide and twelve feet long. But, of course, most criminals deserve to be treated like rats. In addition, because the pay is limited, there aren’t enough guards in jails. When violence arises guards, fearing for their own safety, are afraid to take proper action. Of course, with more and more government funds being made available, this problem is easing up. In some city jails, murders and suicides have occurred because guards were occupied in other parts of the building and were unable to arrive in time to prevent them. Therefore, city and local officials can do much to improve the living conditions in city jails.