The College of New Jersey Logo

Apply     Visit     Give     |     Alumni     Parents     Offices     TCNJ Today     Three Bar Menu

English Major Competency Badges

Writing

To obtain a competency badge for writing, a student must

1. Write a literary analysis of at least 12 pages.

2. Write at least two articles published in The Signal, on Her Campus at TCNJ, or with another popular campus outlet.

3. Keep a regular, public blog (personal or class-related) for at least a semester or get published in The Sigma Tau Delta Review, The Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle, TCNJ’s Journal of Student Scholarship, or a regional or national journal of scholarship or creative writing (online or in print).

Teamwork

To obtain a competency badge for teamwork, a student must

1. Participate in a group project for an English course.

2. Work as part of a committee or team to organize a project or event for a student group on campus.

3. Work as part of a committee or team to organize a project or event for a group off campus (such as a book club at a local public library).

Public Speaking

To obtain a competency badge for public speaking, a student must

1. Do an oral presentation in an English course.

2. Do a presentation for the Celebration of Student Achievement, Accepted Students Day, or another campus event.

3. Present a paper at a regional or national conference.

Cross-Cultural Literacies

To obtain a competency badge for cross-cultural literacies, a student must

1. Take LIT 202 and a pre-1660 literary history course.

2. Take at least two additional courses in non-white, postcolonial, foreign-language, or pre-1660 literature.

3. Study abroad (for a semester or with a TCNJ faculty-led summer or winter course).

Leadership

To obtain a competency badge for leadership, a student must

1. Lead class discussion for a significant portion of a class meeting in an English course.

2. Work as a CA in the residence halls or hold an office in a student group and lead a committee or team in organizing a project or event. 

3. Hold an office in an off-campus group (such as a Sigma Tau Delta regional or national office) or lead an off-campus group (such as a book club at a local public library).

Research

To obtain a competency badge for research, a student must

1. Complete two LIT 499s.

2. Do an Independent Study or Independent Research course with a faculty member on a focused research project.

3. Do an Honors Thesis or engage with a faculty member in research that is not course-related (such as a MUSE project).

Editing

To obtain a competency badge for editing, a student must

1. Take at least three of the following courses: LNG 311/Understanding English Grammar, JPW 250/Writing for Interactive Media, JPW 311/News Editing and Production, LIT 310/Literature for Younger Readers, LIT 388/Contemporary Literature, CWR 301/Writing Communities.

2. Serve as an editor for The Signal or for another campus publication (print, web, or social media).

3. Complete an internship in publishing, web content creation, or another field in text production/editing (e.g., working on writing and editing print materials for a historic society).

 

Top