Composition Courses: An Absolute Necessary - Essay Example

Composition Courses: An Absolute Necessary Words have power, and writing is the best way to unleash this power. Writing is an essential part of every individual, irrespective of his/her field of expertise. Writing is a great way to communicate and express thoughts and ideas. Hence, composition courses play an important role and must be a part of any curriculum. Composition courses in educational institutions across the globe and specifically in Owens’s Community College concentrate on developing English writing and reading skills of the students. Students in composition courses are made to read and write essays of varied lengths. Also, the composition courses try to develop various skills of the students, such as analyzing, critiquing, assessing, and researching and so forth. Composition courses stress the proper use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation and cover various writing styles such as descriptive writing, argumentative writing, summary writing, persuasive writing and compare/contrast writing. Students are also briefed on proper research techniques and various citation styles. Hence, composition courses must be mandatory, irrespective of a student’s major. There are various reasons that can be used to support this position, but the three main reasons are: English is the universal language, composition courses provide students a competitive edge, and they teach students how to plagiarism-free content. With globalization at its peak and English being the universal language, it is highly important for an individual to be able to communicate effectively in English. Irrespective of an individual’s field of expertise, he/she is required to communicate his/her ideas to the world. As English is universally accepted, it makes great sense for an individual to learn to write effectively and efficiently in English. This gives an individual greater reach in today’s highly technologically-developed world. An individual will be able to put forward his/her ideas to the world and can reach maximum audience. Also, in the majority of workplaces, there is a need for employees to communicate with fellow employees across the globe. The main tools that are used to communicate across the globe are email, chat, and so forth, and all these tools need effective English writing skills. Composition courses focus on improving the written skills of an individual and hence must be mandatory in academic institutions. The main learning outcomes of composition courses give students a competitive advantage. The primary purpose of education is to equip an individual with practical skills that help him/her to face the challenges of day-to-day life. The learning outcomes of composition courses, such as analyzing skills, critiquing skills, assessing skills, researching skills, and so forth are essential for an individual to face day-to-day challenges. These skills are vital from both an academic point of view and professional point of view. They help an individual to be more effective in his/her work and to increase productivity. Composition courses help students to acquire new skills and build on the existing ones. Composition courses are mainly helpful to those students whose native language is not English. Composition courses boosts the confidence of an individual, as an individual who is well versed in written English is more competent with handling challenges that are part of the global workplace. The ability to effectively communicate in English is itself a competitive advantage. Also, effective English writing skills not only give an individual a greater audience for scholarly work, but also give an individual greater access to scholarly work from around the world. Most scholarly work in the modern world is in English, and composition courses make it possible for an individual to access the works of various authors and researchers across the globe. Therefore, the competitive advantage associated with being able to effectively communicate in English justifies the argument that composition courses must be made mandatory in academic institutions. Failure to producing plagiarism-free content and adopting right research techniques is a hot topic in the academic world today. Many students fail to produce plagiarism-free work and suffer due to this. The main reason for this is the lack of knowledge about the right research techniques and citation styles. Composition courses educate students on the right research techniques and citation styles. This is highly important as the students will be able to acknowledge the use of other author’s and researcher’s ideas, and at the same time to be credited for original thinking and ideas. Hence, composition courses are vital and must be a part of every curriculum irrespective of the student’s major. Some may argue that when a student’s major is not English, then why it is necessary for a student to attend composition courses. The relevance or validity of the above argument can be best understood by comparing it to a real life example. The above argument is as good as saying that if an individual or a business has attained stability and sustainability, then there is no need for the individual or the business to develop new skills or venture into new business. As the individual and the business have achieved success in their field of expertise, there is no need for them to get into other fields or trades that will maximize their potential and in-turn success. But in reality, an individual or a business, irrespective of the success they have achieved in their field of expertise, will develop and acquire new skills, and venture into new fields. Diversification, expansion, development and acquisition (new skills), and so forth are a way of life. Similarly, it is important for a student irrespective of his/her major to attend composition courses. Composition courses just do not fine-tune or develop English skills but also teaches various life skills that are very helpful in day to day to scenario. At the same, English is an essential part of the 21st century. Science and technology are highly dependent on English and hence it is a necessity for an individual irrespective of profession and field of expertise to be able to communicate, both orally and written, in English. From the above discussions, it can be concluded that composition courses are very important and must be a part of every curriculum irrespective of the major of a student as it has various advantages. English being the universally accepted language it is essential for an individual to be able to effectively communicate in English and composition courses serve this purpose. Composition courses contribute to the development of various skills that gives student a competitive edge in day to day life. Also, composition courses helps in educating students about plagiarism and various research techniques and citation styles that can be used to avoid plagiarism. Also, composition courses boost student’s confidence and equip them with skills that will help them to succeed both professionally and personally. Hence, composition courses are very helpful and students must be introduced to composition irrespective of their major. Read More