Competency in Communication Skills

Written Communication: Students currently matriculating at North Georgia who have completed ENGL 1101 here or elsewhere or who have been enrolled in college for two terms or who enroll in 2000-level courses at North Georgia are expected to have attained basic proficiency in writing. Since these competencies are taught and assessed in ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102 courses, it is strongly recommended that entering students enroll in these courses as soon as possible.

The competencies listed below are minimal expectations for students enrolled in lower-level writing courses. Demonstrating these competencies may be fundamental to receiving a satisfactory grade on any writing assignment in any lower-level course. Because content and other factors are central to writing, demonstrating these competencies does not ensure a satisfactory grade.

Students must demonstrate their ability to

  1. Compose paragraphs and essays that are logical, engaging, and informative;
  2. Develop essays that include a controlling idea or thesis, provide adequate supportive evidence, and make sure of effective organization;
  3. Demonstrate and apply an understanding of the relationship between audience, purpose, and context;
  4. Compose both single-draft and multi-draft essays, using techniques of prewriting, drafting, and revision, as well as editing;
  5. Cite and document material taken from sources;
  6. Construct clear, precise, grammatically correct sentences, using Standard Edited American English, and avoiding awkward phrasing and errors, including but not limited to the following: fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences, subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent disagreement, faulty pronoun reference, misuse of possessives, and misspelling.

Specific competencies that may be assessed by instructors in all disciplines are listed below. Because the competencies listed below are minimal expectations, demonstrating these competencies may be fundamental to receiving a satisfactory grade on any writing assignment in any course. However, because content and other factors are central to writing, demonstrating these competencies does not ensure a satisfactory grade.

Students must demonstrate their ability to

  1. Compose essays and other written works that are logical, engaging, informative, and that demonstrate a level of stylistic sophistication appropriate to the professional standards of the discipline and the course's level of study.
  2. Develop effectively organized essays and other written works that include a controlling idea or assertion, provide adequate supportive evidence, and evaluate or interpret that evidence effectively;
  3. Compose both single-draft and multi-draft writings, using techniques of prewriting, drafting, and revision, as well as editing;
  4. Cite and document material taken from sources;
  5. Engage writing technologies appropriate to the discipline;
  6. Construct clear, precise, grammatically correct sentences, using Standard Edited American English, and avoiding awkward phrasing and errors, including but not limited to the following: fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences, subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent disagreement, faulty pronoun reference, misuse of possessives, and misspellings.

Oral Communication: Students graduating from North Georgia are also expected to have attained proficiency in effective oral communication, as characterized by their capacity to

  1. Communicate in standard English with minimal verbal and nonverbal distractors.
  2. Plan, organize, support, and clearly deliver formal presentations in a logical and informative fashion.
  3. Engage in both formal and informal discussions in a clear and articulate manner.
  4. Comprehend, analyze, and evaluate oral communication.
  5. Adapt to formal and informal speaking situations within diverse social and cultural environments.
  6. Speak in clear, concise, and grammatically correct sentences, demonstrating proper pronunciation, enunciation, and modulation.

Requirements Across the Curriculum: No student shall receive a four-year degree from North Georgia without having completed two courses designated as writing intensive and one course designated as having an oral communication component. Writing intensive courses are designated with a (W). Courses with an oral communication component are designed with an (O). For each course with an oral communication component, there will be at least one planned presentation to the class, and 15% of the class grade will be based on oral communication assignments above and beyond routine class participation. Each academic major will offer at least one course with oral components at the 2000-level or above.

In order to streamline learning objectives and competencies across the North Georgia curriculum, the Writing in the Disciplines Program has been combined with the Information Literacy Program, described in detail in the following section.

Disciplinary writing, defined by the individual departments as well as by expectations within the specific disciplines, will be emphasized in writing intensive courses. The individual departments will also determine assessment strategies to align the Writing in the Disciplines program requirements with departmental learning outcomes and with the Information Literacy competency standards.

Writing-intensive courses should meet the following criteria:

Up one level:

Academic Regulations